• Hitotsubashi ICS Reveals Secrets of Knowledge Management
  
• Extending Our Thinking, Extending Our Reach: A Message from JAIMS President Glenn Miyataki
  
• Yukio Matsuyama Lends Insight on Current Issues in Japan
  
• Audrey Hong Li on Chinese Law
  
• JAIMS on China Television
  
• ICMP Fall 2003 Commencement
  
• The Beginning of U.S.-Japan Relations
  
• New Bloggers
  
• New JAIMS Commercial
  
• Alumni Bulletin
  

Hitotsubashi ICS Reveals Secrets of Knowledge Management

On February 27, 2004, Hawai‘i professionals, businesses, and organizations gathered at a special forum on knowledge management hosted by JAIMS and the University of Hawaii College of Business. Featured were Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy (ICS) professors Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi. To begin the forum, Nonaka presented an overview of his dialectic approach to knowledge management. Nonaka’s approach involves combining diverse and often contradictory knowledge to create higher states of knowledge and skills into an ideal synthesis. Takeuchi followed Nonaka by elaborating on the dialectic approach and giving examples of its use in Japanese and U.S. organizations. Takeuchi himself, a living example of a dialectic synthesis with deep roots in both Japan and the United States, shed light on the contrasting nature of both cultures in terms of knowledge management.

Dr. Ikujiro Nonaka

“[Japanese] have tons of tacit knowledge but don't know how to articulate it,” Takeuchi said, “A lot of the challenge of the Westerners is the opposite. You have tons of knowledge [in your head], but how do you convert that and share it with your employees so that that knowledge is shared in your guts?”

Following the presentation, Takeuchi then facilitated a panel discussion and group brainstorming with the audience. The panel was composed of Hitotsubashi ICS professors Satoshi Akutsu, Yoko Ishikura, Ken Kusunoki, and Emi Osono who each contributed chapters to Takeuchi and Nonaka’s newly published book, Hitotsubashi on Knowledge Management.

The panel and audience discussions focused on Hawai‘i’s future in business and how it can be improved using Nonaka’s dialectic approach to knowledge management. Ideas ranged from finding and utilizing Hawai‘i’s unique and advantageous qualities to transforming its perceived weaknesses into strengths in the global market.
The forum was a special engagement co-presented by JAIMS and the University of Hawaii College of Business in appreciation of the partnership with Hitosubashi ICS, the first national entity in Japan to offer an MBA degree taught exclusively in English.

Nonaka is the first Xerox Distinguished Professor of Knowledge at the University of California at Berkeley Haas School of Business and is also visiting dean and professor at the Center for Knowledge and Innovation Research at the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration. He has presented his work to the executives of the Nippon Keidanren and is acknowledged to be a leader of the knowledge creation movement. Recently, he gave a 15-minute lecture on knowledge management to the Emperor and Empress of Japan; he is the first professor of management to have this honor.

Business Week voted Takeuchi as one of the top 10 “management-school professors in demand for in-house corporate education programs” in the world. Fortune introduced him as “among the intellectual leaders of the younger, globally-minded generation that is coming to power in Japan” in a two-page featured article on his work on knowledge creation. Prior to joining Hitotsubashi, he taught at the Harvard Business School for seven years. Takeuchi has authored many articles and books including his recent book, Can Japan Compete? which was co-authored by Michael E. Porter.

Extending Our Thinking, Extending Our Reach:
A Message from JAIMS President Glenn Miyataki

Reverend Daiun Iba, a former Fujitsu employee who came to study at JAIMS, left the business world to become a Buddhist monk in Japan (Kouya-san, shingon-shu). For several years now, he has had many relations with the Sri Lanka Buddhist world and, as he conveyed to me, “My style is of a kind of international Buddhist priest. I have no boundary in this world. The whole of the Earth is my temple.” With this philosophy, Reverend Iba visited JAIMS recently and shared his vision and inspiration of sending a cadre of Sri Lankan monks to JAIMS over the next few years for management training. This core of monks would then help to develop a management school in the monastery in Sri Lanka. The thought of being a part of a movement to bring management education into the sacred world of Buddhist monks will certainly test and extend our thinking and reach. It’s an adventure JAIMS welcomes as we promote intercultural management education into every corner of the world.

This challenge to reach many cultures is an impetus for JAIMS to embrace universal concepts such as the “creative class” and “knowledge creation.” In his book, The Rise of the Creative Class, author Richard Florida refers to the “creative class” as those who work in such industries as biosciences, computer technology, or art. Referring to this group as the “super-creative core,” he surmises that they now exceed more than 10 percent of the working population in the U.S., and when those in the financial and legal industries are included, this core approximates about 30 percent of the working population. This core of workers has the skills necessary to infuse creativity into the culture and economies of everyday life and will define the new structure of society. JAIMS will design its curricula with creative thinking and extending knowledge to ensure that its graduates will be at the forefront of challenges in the knowledge-based economy.

Another key concept advanced by Dr. Ikujiro Nonaka and Dr. Hirotaka Takeuchi of the Hitotsubashi Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy in Tokyo is “knowledge creation.” Their involvement with JAIMS over the past decade urges the creation of new knowledge through “tacit knowledge,” (i.e., knowledge that resides in experience, wisdom, and intuition) along with “explicit knowledge,” (i.e., knowledge that reflects facts, information, and data.) Their insight of synthesizing intuition and facts creates knowledge that addresses the myriad of problems facing organizations today.

Nonaka and Takeuchi recently expanded their knowledge creation concept to include a “dialectical management” theory that manages “paradoxes.” This theory helps leaders deal with complex situations and problems in an environment full of paradoxes. How would one provide empowerment while seeking control; risk failure while encouraging risks for success; expect disciplined behavior while fostering initiative; and seek positive outcomes while experiencing negative results at the same time? Their approach explains the need for dialogue and synthesis as a way of addressing such contradictions. The JAIMS curriculum incorporates these concepts, challenging our students’ thinking as they learn to manage the paradoxes in the business world.

Knowledge creation and dialectical management also involve extending our reach via e-learning. “The Next Level of e-Learning” was the theme at an Oxford University-sponsored forum in January 2004 in which JAIMS was a co-sponsor with the Oxford Internet Institute, Microsoft, and the United Kingdom (UK) Department of Education. The forum assessed the merits of the first generation of e-learning while testing the merits of moving the second generation of e-learning into international markets. JAIMS is planning to harness these concepts to extend our thinking and extending our reach to those who may rely upon this form of delivery to acquire education, especially in different cultures.

Author of Megatrends, John Naisbitt, who participated in the forum, encouraged JAIMS to extend our notion of “cross-culture” into the content and pedagogy of e-learning programs, an effort not usually found in most of the current generation of e-learning programs. JAIMS believes that infusing cultural dimensions into e-learning programs will result in more people utilizing distance education to improve their quality of life. This is another challenge JAIMS faces today.

Naisbitt and JAIMS are planning to convene an executive roundtable in Hawaii early next year on “future mindsets.” Naisbitt will be sharing his thought processes on how he acquires his insights on various megatrends and cross-trends that he communicates so clearly as future mindsets.

The opportunities for JAIMS are enriching and apparent. Linking these concepts with creative individuals, curricula improvements, technological changes, and new teaching methodologies will further ensure that JAIMS continues to extend its thinking and extends its reach… as far as Sri Lanka.

Aloha and malama pono,

Glenn K. Miyataki
President, JAIMS

Yukio Matsuyama Lends Insight on Current Issues in Japan

On February 20, 2004, JAIMS held a special invitation-only open house featuring former Asahi Shimbun editor Yukio Matsuyama. Brandishing his sharp insight into the trends and people of Japan, Matsuyama discussed the current issues of Japan amongst a crowd of local business leaders and JEMBA and CHEMBA students.
Since he first visited Honolulu in 1961, Matsuyama has seen a dramatic change in the U.S. perception of Japan and even more in the influence both cultures have had on one another. From the exchange of popular culture to the significant import of politics and business practices, Matsuyama has seen far more instances of change than he would have dared imagine over forty years ago.

However, not all change is brought about externally. Matsuyama notes that some changes come about not just because of U.S. influence but because of Japan’s economic hardship. Most notably, Japanese companies’ policy of lifetime employment has made a turn against tradition and has taken to laying off workers. In turn, more Japanese employees are shunning traditional career values and choosing to change jobs more frequently.

“When we enjoyed stability and prosperity, we preferred the status quo to any drastic change,” Matsuyama said, “but recently more and more Japanese have come to realize that we have to accept the changes from the traditional ways of doing things in order to survive.”

Even deep-rooted beliefs in the roles of women seem to be changing. Traditionally Japanese women have been shunned from positions of authority, but according to Matsuyama, even this seems to be changing.
There is now a paradigm shift lead by new gender equality and employment laws and more women taking positions of high authority–unthinkable just a few years back.

“The more women are educated, the more they are frustrated [with traditional views],” he said.
As cultures mingle and the world grows even smaller, says Matsuyama, both Japan and the United States must look beyond standard government to government and business to business relationships between nations.

“I don’t believe it will ever be possible to make lasting happy relations between nations only through exchange of technology, trade, or financial affiliations…” he said, “what is now badly needed is not more material or technological relations but more opportunities to promote mutual understanding.”

A graduate from Tokyo University's law department in 1953, Matsuyama is the former Chair of the Editorial Board of the Asahi Shimbun and former Distinguished Visiting Professor at Harvard University. Matsuyama is considered one of the leading authorities on U.S.-Japan relations and has written several books on Japanese and American societies and cultures in both Japanese and English. He has also served on the board of several advisory committees at such institutions as Harvard University, the Monterey Institute of International Affairs, and the International University of Japan. Awards include the Japan Society, N.Y. Award (1996), The Best Man of the Year (Japan Career Women’s Association, 1987), Ishibashi Tanzan Prize (1986), and the Japan Press Club Prize (1978).

Audrey Hong Li on Chinese Law

For U.S. businesses, China can often be a mysterious and daunting market especially with the rapidly growing legal landscape evolving just within the past 20 years. Audrey Hong Li, partner at Shu Jin Law Firm, clarified recent developments on foreign investment and dispute resolution in China. The discussion was held on February 23 at JAIMS with the China-focused MBA students.

With over 12 years of practical legal experience in the field, Hong Li covered the history of foreign investment in China and cited recent developments in regulations that suggest that now is an opportune time to enter China. Foreign operations will become more streamlined, and mergers and acquisitions, both domestic and cross border, will become enormous, she said.

With her seven years of experience at the China International Economic & Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Hong Li expounded on the intricacies of dispute resolution and the significant considerations one needs for arbitrating before CIETAC. She also discussed CIETAC developments in domain name dispute resolution and financial dispute arbitration rules.

Audrey Hong Li is a Chinese lawyer based in Shanghai with more than 12 years practical legal experience in international arbitration, foreign direct investment and international trade, and corporate transactions. She is a partner of Shu Jin Law Firm and was nominated as Young Leaders Forum 2003 Fellow by the national committee on United States-China Relations. Previously, Hong Li worked at the China International Economic & Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) then was a partner at Concord & Partners, a top five Chinese law firm in Beijing and Shenzhen. She received an LL.M in corporate law from New York University Law School in May 2002, in addition to an LL.M in international economic law from Wuhan University Law School in 1997.

JAIMS to be Featured on China Television

A Shanghai TV cameraman films the CHEMBA class.

Soon over 200 million people in China will be introduced to JAIMS in their homes. Through the efforts of CMC Consulting Group Inc., the Documentary Channel of Shanghai TV sent a crew to feature JAIMS as part of a three-episode documentary entitled “Hawai‘i’s China Connection.” The documentary, which will air in June, will present a Chinese perspective of Hawai‘i businesses to viewers in Shanghai. JAIMS President Glenn Miyataki, who was interviewed for the piece, believed it was a positive experience for both the Shanghai TV crew and JAIMS. “The crew was very excited about the story they are doing on JAIMS and were very impressed with our place and our students,” Miyataki said. Pacific Business News covered the television shoot in their February 27, 2004 edition complete with photos of JAIMS students.

An Inspiring Commencement for the ICMP Fall 2003 Class

Dr. Glenn Miyataki, JAIMS president, presented awards for the previous day’s business competitions. First place for the President’s Business Plan competition went to Heui Suk (Julia) Ko. Second place went to Lina Tan and third went to Ken Ukai. First place for the President’s Business Research competition went to the team of Ken Hagiwara, Tomoaki Sawada, and Lina Tan. Second place went to Yutaka Saito and Akiko Takahashi; and third went to Ivanhoe Bene and Dung Viet Nguyen.

The recipients of the Funika Scholarship were Ivanhoe Bene, and Rona Puntawe. Lina Tan was awarded with both the Francis A. Wong Award for Leadership and the Students’ Choice Award. Tan then gave a heartfelt student address to thank her fellow graduates, the JAIMS faculty and staff, and her host family.

Known for her uplifting personality and leadership qualities, Tan left her fellow graduates with final words of inspiration.

“ With courage we can all be instruments of enlightenment and change.”

While some ICMP graduates immediately resumed their careers, others continued on to complete the Business Exchange Program (BEP) where they interned in the U.S. for two months.

The Beginning of U.S.-Japan Relations: A Visual History by Shigeru Miyagawa

Last December, professor Shigeru Miyagawa of MIT spoke to Intercultural Management Program (ICMP) students on the visual depiction of Commodore Matthew Perry’s historical trip to Japan in 1853. This lecture session was held in conjunction with the multimedia exhibit Black Ships and Samurai: Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan which Miyagawa helped to create along with MIT historian John Dower.

“We were curious about thinking of history, not from a textual point of view but from a visual point of view,” Miyagawa said, as he presented images he and his staff had collected from various institutions over the past two years.

The exhibit consisted of daguerreotype photographs, paintings, sketches, and lithographs representing the differing perspectives of the United States and Japan during Perry’s endeavor to open trade between the two countries.

Miyagawa highlighted Japanese artists’ depictions of Perry as a stereotypical Western man with a big nose and hairy face, though Perry had no such features. As Miyagawa noted, Japanese artists increasingly demonized Perry’s image as time went on.

Miyagawa also showcased the “The Black Ship Scroll” in the exhibit presented on interactive displays complete with translated stories and anecdotes related to Perry’s visit.

“We’re always seeing foreign cultures through our own screens—our own filters—and that’s something that’s really important to understand,” Miyagawa said.

The lecture session was held at the East-West Center where the free exhibit was featured until December 7, 2003. For more information visit http://www.jaims.org/blackships/.

Shigeru Miyagawa is Professor of Linguistics at MIT, where he also holds the Chair, Kochi-Manjiro Professor of Japanese Language and Culture. He is co-creator of the multimedia traveling exhibit, Black Ships and Samurai: Commodore Perry and the Opening of Japan, and is the creator of StarFestival, a digital curriculum on Japanese culture and history. He is the winner of numerous awards for his pioneering work in educational technology, including “Best of Show” by MacWorld magazine and the “Highest Rating” by MacAddict magazine. In 2002, Converge magazine selected him as one of the twenty “Shapers of the Future.”

New Bloggers Log On to JAIMS.org

There is a new set of bloggers on the JAIMS Web site. The bloggers are part of the ICMP 2004 spring communications team and will be documenting their JAIMS experience using this online journal. They are Hiroki Maruyama, Akihiko Ota, Teruhiko Suga, and Mayumi Yahata. All four bloggers come from Japan and come from various professions:

•Akihiko Ota: Team Leader, Global Establishment Services – American Express International, Inc.
•Hiroki Maruyama: Sales Staff, Financial Group, Sales Dept. – Fujitsu Limited.
•Mayumi Yahata: Systems Engineer – TIS Inc.
•Teruhiko Suga: Assistant Manager, Prototype Sec. No. 1, Vehicle Prototype Works Dept.

Visit: http://www.jaims.org/blogs/.

The New JAIMS Television Commercial

JAIMS recently filmed a new television commercial to begin airing in February on local Hawai‘i television. JAIMS appreciates the time and effort of current students Mark Masutomi, Heath Barlow, Noah Han, and Melody Yapson for their starring roles. Special thanks also goes to alumnus, Suzanne Nakano (JEMBA-8), for committing several hours to the project. The commercial will run for a year on KHON 2 in Hawaii and is linked on the JAIMS Web site.

"We're JAIMS!"