Business and Academe:

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Business and Academe Vital Partners?
Royal Holloway, University of London
October 22, 2008
Nobuo KAWABE (Waseda University)
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Business and Academe Vital Partners?
1. Introduction of Japanese Business in
Europe 2. Characteristics of Academic
Disciplines 3. Background to Cooperation between
Business and Academe 4. Cooperation between
Business and Academe Benefits to Academe and
Business 5. Agenda and Prospects for the Future
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1. Introduction of Japanese Business in Europe

• 1. Teaching problems - Japanese Business in
  Transition
• Old, stereotypical understanding of Japanese
  business
• Biased view of Japanese business from
  English-written books
• 2. Introduction of Japanese Business in Europe
• Idea from course endowed by the Federation of
  Economic Organizations
• Top management of European Headquarters
• Understanding European operations and global
  strategies
• Deep understanding of real business world from
  lectures by top management
• Interaction between students and lecturers
• Development of relations between lecturers (and
  their companies) and faculty members

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2.Characteristics of Academic Disciplines
Philosophy Ideology
Science
Practice
Philosophy Literature
Engineering
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Practical Academic Disciplines

• 1. Engineering
• (i) Narrow space for subjective decisions under
  the same conditions
• (ii) Experimental results and development of
  products are clear
• (iii) Relationship between scholars and business
  is traditionally strong
• Technological advice to business, joint research
• Analysis of products and materials, supported by
  theories
• 2. Management
• (i) Subjective decisions play an important role
• (ii) Results and performance outcomes are not so
  clear
• Management methods, decision making processes,
  information systems, management science, market
  analysis etc
• Business education and consultations

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3. Background to Cooperation between Business
and Academe (1)

• Recovery after the burst of the Japanese bubble
  economy
• Development of the Research Oriented University
• Creation of new industries and business
• 1998 Technology Licensing Organization (TLO) Act
• 1980 The Bayh-Dole Act
• 1985 Young Report Commission on Industrial
  Competitiveness
• 2. Improving quality in the Education Oriented
  University
• Response to global competition, and life-time and
  high-level learning

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Changes in University Education

• Development of New Technologies
• IT and biotechnology
• Entertainment technology and robotics
• 2. New Courses
• Start-up Business Course
• Management of Technology (MOT)
• Engineers obtain management know-how necessary
  to creation of new businesses, combining
  engineering and management skills
• Undergraduate and Postgraduate Programmes in
  Finance
• Financial engineering due to the development of
  MA and derivatives
• School of Public Administration (quality
  management in public sectors)
• 3. Teaching Methods
• Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
• Different from internship, solving problems in
  real companies

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3. Background to Cooperation between Business
and Academe (2) Second to Third Industrial
Revolution

• 1. Since the 1970s
• 2. The Meaning of the Third Industrial Revolution
  for Scholars and Researchers
• Freeing scholars from the ivory tower
• Development of new business leaders
• 3. Changing Economic and Industrial Structures
• Requirement for high level of professionals
• Hi-tech in finance provision
• Start-up businesses in hi-tech fields
• 4. Government and business should support
  universities physically and mentally

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Business in the Three Industrial Revolutions
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Meaning of Third Industrial Revolution for
Business
Increasing Uncertainty of Business
Environment (1) Business leaders seeking to deal
with rising uncertainties (2) Back-up business
strategies with academic theories From
intuition based upon experience to rational and
theory-based decision-making (knowledge
capital) (3) Executives know their companies
Scholars know more than twenty or thirty cases
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Towards a Management for the Third Industrial
Revolution

• 1. Management that mainly studied scientifically,
  not merely practically
• 2. What is required for Universities and Scholars
• Education from making money to the challenge
  (pursuing dreams)
• Balance between philosophy, science and
  practice
• Research start-up businesses based upon new
  technologies and knowledge
• Reform of existing businesses (new business
  leaders)
• Management in the global age (international and
  comparative management)
• Contribution and service to community
• 3. Importance of Smith, McSweeney and Fitzgerald,
  eds., Remaking Management
• Finding a new framework for management in the
  third industrial revolution
• 4. Increasing risk management and internal
  control

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4. Cooperation between Business and Academe (1)
Benefits to Business
1. Business obtains the latest knowledge by
participating in academic research 2. Core
technologies in the third industrial revolution
change quickly, and businesses need employees to
study advanced knowledge and know-how 3. By
joining academic research, business people allow
scholars insight into genuine business issues,
and themselves gain access to useful research 4.
Confirmation of basic principles and application
to practice 5. Presence of business in society 6.
Recruiting human resources
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4. Cooperation between Business and Academe (2)
Benefits to Academe
1. Improving research quality by including real
and current business trends The need to
comprehend and analyze problems happening in real
businesses 2. Insight into real business world
transforms the research frontier, generating new
approaches and ideas 3. Applying practical
results to advanced research, and impact on
performance 4. Possibility of discovering new
research and study seeds 5. Development of case
studies and general theories by mixing lecturers
in strategies and management methods with
management and theories developed by scholars
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5. Agenda and Prospects in the Future Necessary
to develop cooperation between business and
academe for the management demands of the third
industrial revolution
1. Matching research seeds at universities and
needs of businesses 2. Development of long term,
not instant, perspective to useful technologies
and theories 3. Assurance of academic freedom,
management research separated 4. Improving
quality of education, and meeting the standards
and needs of people with the understanding that
comes from work experience Academics need the
resources to meet these specific demands and the
additional teaching burden, universities need
further transformation 5. Encouraging application
of research results and performance measurement
for the development of new businesses 6.
Increasing visibility of results and performance
through economic and business research