19 Jul AJBCC Future Leaders: 60 attendees
The AJBCC Future Leaders Program continues to develop in the lead-up to the AJBCC’s 55th annual conference in Tokyo during October 2017. The Future Leaders Program is designed to to support the development of the “next generation” of Australia-Japan business leaders. Generously sponsored by AJBCC member Ashurst (who provided their facilities and use of their videoconferencing network) this was the second seminar organised by the Future Leaders. The group in Melbourne, Sydney and Tokyo, together with invited guests, had the opportunity to engage with the following panelists over a live video link:
- Bob Seidler AM, Chairman of Hunter Phillip Japan (and a Vice President of the AJBCC), Sydney
- Ikumi Inoue, Executive Board Director, The Buchan Group, Melbourne
- Stacey Steele, Associate Professor of the Asian Law Centre, Melbourne Law School
Many questions were covered in the lengthy discussion. Some highlights were:
Bob outlined the strengths of the relationship and discussed the importance of “respect and patience in overcoming weaknesses such as a cultural perception gap”.
Building on the theme of overcoming cultural differences, Ikumi discussed cross-cultural negotiation strategies that facilitate effective business engagement. She stressed the value of internal mediators in situations such as the Japanese acquisition of an Australian company.
Finally, Stacey raised the issue of how information technology creates both opportunities for, and challenges to, the legal profession in Australian and Japan. She suggested that university degrees must change to reflect this as well as do more to nurture individuals who choose to combine their Japanese studies with their professional degrees.
A video of the entire proceedings will shortly be available on the AJBCC website.