Faculty of Economics SAITAMA UNIVERSITY
English
Japanese
Major

Business Innovation

In the major “Business Innovation” you will study how individual companies and non-profit organisations create the structure of business activities. You will master the following basic skills in this academic field: the ability to look at companies and non-profit organisations from an administrative and strategic perspective and from a financial perspective; the ability to understand the necessity of innovation and entrepreneurship; the ability to understand and analyse the problems which the different functions of companies and non-profit organisations have to deal with (such as production, finances, human resources, marketing, accounting); and the ability to understand the activities of companies and non-profit organisations from a global perspective, an ethical perspective, a historical perspective, and a quantitative perspective.

What does it mean to think strategically? Can traditional Japanese manufacture survive in the global society? Can`t we solve the problem of fake brand products? Is the existence of so-called sweatshops unavoidable? ? As members of this major, you will become able to think about problems like these on your own.

Graduates of this major should be well prepared to take on brainwork at production companies, in the service sector, or with non-profit organisations. This major is also ideal for people who want to start their own business! Finally, graduates have the option to return to Saitama University after gathering some work experience and to enter graduate school.

 

Changing Japanese Companies, Changing Society

Japanese companies are facing a difficult situation. One reason is that globalization has changed the competitive environment. Companies are trying all they can to reform themselves while relying on their strengths, but it is difficult for them to decide what to change and what to keep.

It becomes easier to understand this difficulty if we imagine reshaping a soccer team that isn`t winning. Should we choose an offensive formation or does the team need to strengthen its defense, or do we have to rethink the strategy entirely?

We can think all we want, if we don`t rely on the team`s strengths and the special abilities of the players when we make changes, we cannot expect the team to win.

Companies are like that. Japanese companies have to analyze their situation objectively and carry out changes. In my course about the history of Japanese management, we examine concrete examples of how Japanese companies dealt with difficult situations in the past, which will help us see the present situation not as a problem but as a chance for positive change.

Naoki OISHI Associate Professor

Introduction to Business Studies
*Compulsory Subjects
Business Administration / Corporate Accounting / Business Ethics / Japanese Business History / Introduction to Business Studies
*Compulsory Elective Subjects
Employment Relations / Production Management / Marketing / Busi ness Information / Calculation Systems / Business Strategy / Th eory of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises / International Industries / Technology Management / Business Statistics / Business Finances / Financial Accounting / Management Accounting / Auditing / English Academic Subjects