1. The Peer Review Results
The mission statement upholds the aspiration for cultivating professionals who are able to conduct effective management in a globalized business environment, the global or international perspectives are not clearly visible in the program design.
- The School appears to have no formal ties with foreign institutions for collaborative education or research. We see no exchange programs at the level of faculty as well as students.
- Both the faculty and student bodies are not so international in composition.
- The improvement in communication skills in English language are paid little attention.
The school rather notes the needs for Japanese language training for some few foreign students. The outlook here is rather inward-looking rather than global-looking. - The mission statement also pronounces the aims of nurturing business persons with strength in terms of collaboration and needs of local companies in the Tokai as well as Asian regions.
The School apparently identifies the Tokai companies as one of the major stakeholders of the Program. From this standpoint, the School unfortunately finds itself in the position as follows. - The Program here are placing too much emphasis on theory and lecture in the eyes of the potential MBA seekers.
- The School is yet to institute some formal arrangements with Tokai companies so that the faculty members and industrialists get involved in some non-degree executive program or in developing real-world business-cases collaboratively.
- The School is working assiduously to enrich the courses related to practical education such as Research Project I and II, and “Industry-Government-Academia Collaborative Project” in which collaborative companies, organizations and NPOs are actively involved. These practical education courses, if fulfilled, promise to make the Program much more attractive.
- Some of the issues involving financial requirements, faculty structure and renewal of the curriculum are subject to the University policy and are beyond the discretion of the division in charge of this Program.
With these reviews combined, we conclude our evaluation as follows.
“The Program’s educational and research activities generally satisfy accreditation standards. The Program’s Quality Improvement plans are good and quality maintenance and prospects for the improvement of education and research are promising.”
2. The Period of Quality Assurance
Accreditation commences from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2021 for a five-year period.
3. Good Practices in Management Education
Uniqueness:
The responsible management education is enriched by the following courses: Business ethics, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), CSV (Create Shared Values) and environmentally-friendly management, etc. The Program also aspires for cultivating professionals with a focus on manufacturing and logistics as well as collaboration with Asian countries.
To enable us to realize our mission statement, the curriculum of the School’s educational program has the following features:
- Practical education that matches the needs of the Tokai region One of the features of the education offered by our program is that it meets the globalization needs of the manufacturing industry located in the Tokai region. In order to foster people who have an advantage in terms of collaboration with companies in the various countries and regions of Asia, among the advanced courses we have set up many courses covering business administration in Asia, Toyota Production System, and Logistics.
The curriculum has the following four features, which correspond to the four learning goals explained in Section 5. - Responsible management education that upholds the University’s educational motto “For Human Dignity”
In order to achieve Learning Goal no. 1: “Cultivate a firm conviction and flexible decision-making ability based on careful consideration of what business ethics and corporate social responsibility mean in the global 21st century,” we teach our students from the standpoint of business ethics and environmentally-oriented management. For this reason, the program has established Business Ethics among its core courses and Environmentally-oriented Management and CSR courses (seven courses) in the advanced courses. - Practical courses to improve practical problem-solving ability
In order to achieve Learning Goal no. 2: “Nurture a broad perspective, the ability to think through issues logically, and the management ability to get things done,” practical courses have been established within our program. The practical courses are offered in order to develop practical problem-solving ability. Research Projects, carried out as group research, extend team building and leadership abilities. We offer a joint supervision framework, which involves multiple advisors, including both academically qualified faculty members and professionally qualified faculty members. - Advanced courses that offer a flexible response to the various career plans sought by students
Advanced courses have been established in our program in order to achieve Learning Goal no. 3: “Further enhance the advanced expert knowledge and practical ability required to be successful business professionals.” Having gained an understanding of the basic theories and essence of business students further enhance their own particular professional skills through the advanced courses. These consist of the following seven course groups: “Accounting” (9 courses), “Finance” (7 courses), “Human Resource Management” (12 courses), “Strategy” (9 courses), “Marketing” (9 courses), “Operations Management” (9 courses), and “Environmentally-oriented management and CSR” (7 courses). - Thorough understanding of the basic theories and essence of business
In order to achieve Learning Goal no. 4: “Learn the theories and analytical tools that form the foundation of business practice, including a basic knowledge of the main functional areas in business and analysis of financial reports,” we offer core courses to instruct students in the basic theories and essence of business. These courses are compulsory for first year students. In addition, we have set up introductory courses for students who did not come equipped with a sufficient grasp of accounting and mathematics, so students with diverse backgrounds and experience are able to be admitted to our program.
Good Practice:
“Responsible management education for human dignity”
Responsible management education upholding the University motto “For Human Dignity”, and responsive to the needs of local industries and society in Tokai region.
4. Matters to be noted
- There is a persistent issue of the insufficient number of applicants and unfilled enrollment capacity. Consequently, most classes are attended by only a few students.
- Most courses are oriented towards teaching theory and delivering knowledge in a lecture mode. Business professionals may not be cultivated by lectures alone.
- It is recommended that the School introduces more interactive participatory courses and methods such as Case Studies, Management Game, Debates and Team project.
- The School needs to set out a concrete scheme through which Tokai companies, the major stakeholders, can help further shore up the flagging program.