As the global economy continues to undergo structural transformation, it has affected the developed world as much as it has the underdeveloped world. Folks in China and India who could not ever dream of finding any employment at all are now being wooed by employers from the developed world. (Related article: Evolution of knowledge economy)
Everyone who is being affected by this monumental change needs to rethink what needs to be redesigned. The responsibility is even greater on politicians, business leaders, and educators. (Related article: Structural changes in the American job market). It was, therefore, good to hear from the dean of my alma-mater (International University of Japan Business School) who is reaching out to the alumni to find out what can they do to prepare the business leaders of tomorrow. Here is a small part of my response to him.
1. In your opinion, what should IUJ stand for? That is, if IUJ were to develop a reputation for being very good or excellent for something, what should it be?
Everyone who is being affected by this monumental change needs to rethink what needs to be redesigned. The responsibility is even greater on politicians, business leaders, and educators. (Related article: Structural changes in the American job market). It was, therefore, good to hear from the dean of my alma-mater (International University of Japan Business School) who is reaching out to the alumni to find out what can they do to prepare the business leaders of tomorrow. Here is a small part of my response to him.
1. In your opinion, what should IUJ stand for? That is, if IUJ were to develop a reputation for being very good or excellent for something, what should it be?
- Now that the center of gravity is shifting to Asia and the world is truly global now (in reality vs. what we read in the textbook), IUJ is in the right place at the right time to help American/European companies find executives who can help them succeed in Asia (in particular, China, India, The Philippines, etc.).
- It will be a challenge for IUJ to compete with any of the American business school (not because the program is not good enough - in fact being an exchange student at Simon School made me realize that our program was much better than the Simon MBA) simply because we were 7,000 miles away in a country that seems to matter less to Americans. We need to find a niche and the events of last three years might have created a niche for us.
6. If we were to try to align our programs with customer needs, in your company, what are the three Key Management Challenges that senior managements facing that are (a) important and (b) likely to be around for a few years? (An example could be outsourcing whereby a company has to manage the process of off-shore production of goods or services while attending to the needs of those who remain behind).
- Getting things done with fewer people. What is important now is not the depth of knowledge that you have about the coolest business models but how can you roll up your sleeves and get things done.
- Global mindset - the competition is truly global (suppliers, customers, competitors, talent pool, etc.)
- Speed and flexibility - we no longer need people who are experts in any one area. One, things change too fast these days to become an expert in one or two things. Two, business models become irrelevant overnight. Thus, being able to adapt to changing external environment and developing new skills aligned with these changes are key.
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