Sorimachi
Now, I would like to hear about the possible academic and business
collaboration, in terms of practicality, in developing new graduate study
programs.
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Tezuka
The term 'academic-business collaboration' had very negative
connotations in the 1960s. Since then, Japanese universities still have not
been open to this approach, yet it is my view that we should not be hesitant
in this area. We are at a point in time where investment from business
should be welcomed and mutual collaboration in research and education
between universities and corporations should be encouraged.
Sorimachi
What programs would suitable to that end in the law and economics
departments?
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Tezuka
We could provide companies with certain know-how. To take my specific
field, I would point out that in the business world, headed by the
Federation of Economic Organizations, there is increasing opposition to the
fixed pension system. With the introduction of international accounting
standards, companies have found that under this new system, they no
longer have a pension fund, necessitating the entry of pension payments
onto the liability side. Yet, there have been efforts made to convert this
item into the fixed payment fund category. The question then arises what
type of analytical tools should be applied in the financial and stock
markets. This is an issue of financial engineering and the United States is
probably ten or even twenty years ahead of us in this area. We can provide
such information through joint operations with companies through computer
networks, information sharing and analyzing and developing programs jointly.
Scholars who posses such capability should go ahead and engage in such
activities as a matter of course.
Even in the areas of conventional personnel management, accounting and
legal affairs, those who have accumulated practical know-how should avail
these assets to whatever sector may appreciate them. We are advocating
retraining of professionals who have worked in their fields to review the
knowledge they have accumulated and to determine how they can best apply it
to their future careers. This represents tremendous benefits for the new
graduate programs. Decades of experience accumulated by these professionals
are rich educational source materials and a review and analysis will be
mutually beneficial for both universities and the business community.
Sorimachi
The image of collaboration in the social sciences is hard to visualize
compared to that in the natural sciences where the handling of patents and
other intellectual property can result in concrete products which the
university and the business community may be able to find a proper way to
share.
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Sorimachi
University professors are normally experts in their particular areas of
concentration. A law professor may write an entire book on one paragraph of
one law. Yet, that book may have no practical value in the business world.
For professors, it can be a relatively easy life to repeat the same
lectures on the same subject with decades of experience and accumulated
knowledge. Whereas, in the proposed academic-business collaboration, they
may have some trouble channeling what they know into practical applications.
The university should be able demonstrate that the social sciences, such as
law, economics and accounting, can make practical contributions to the
business community.
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Tezuka
In fact, newly developing issues are not found in textbooks. New and
valuable information and ideas may pop up suddenly, becoming a valuable
research theme. An interdisciplinary niche is where very advanced themes
often originate. These themes may not be found within the traditional
framework of a discipline, such as the civil code, or capable of being
analyzed. As a member of academia, I have to admit that many of us are
unaware of this point.
Sorimachi
On the other hand, practitioners tend to talk in only practical terms
and straightforward business matters, just the opposite of the attitude of
scholars. Scholars criticize practitioners as pragmatists and practitioners
criticize scholars as being in an ivory tower,
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Tezuka
That is the barrier we must remove.
Sorimachi
I would hope that practitioners are proud of their experience as bank
officers or exchange traders and are able to theorize this experience,
elevating their strong points to an academic level.
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Tezuka
That is exactly the point I advocate. The university can obtain a great
advantage from these individuals from the business community.
Sorimachi
The worst case is dead silence and mutual disregard with hidden
contempt that makes the academic-business collaboration totally impossible.
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