Wednesday 22 October 2003
6:00pm – 8:00pm
The Information Society? Education, Training and the IT Revolution in Japan
Daiwa Foundation Japan House
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
In the 1980s, some observers expected Japanese industry to continue its successful advance into IT using the same methods that had brought worldwide success in mass production industries. By the 1990s, critics began to argue that weaknesses in IT were intimately associated with the lost decade of economic disappointment. In this seminar, Dr McCormick focussed on how government, industry and education are responding to the challenges of the Information Society. Mr Sanders explored the training and communication issues in the Japanese firm based on his extensive experience of working in and with Japanese industry.
About the contributors
Dr Kevin McCormick
Dr Kevin McCormick, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Sussex University, studied economics at Cambridge University and sociology at Edinburgh University and has held visiting appointments at Gakushuin University in Tokyo and Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. Dr McCormick has a strong interest in Anglo-Japanese comparative studies and his most recent publications include ‘Engineers in Japan and Britain: Education, Training and Employment’ (Routledge), and a chapter on ‘Post-war Japan as Model for Reform in Britain’ in The History of Anglo-Japanese Relations 1600-2000 (vol.5), (Palgrave).
Malcolm E Sanders
Malcolm E Sanders is Chairman of SCT (UK) Ltd, an IT Engineering and Manufacturing consultancy which he established in 1996. Mr Sanders has extensive experience of business development in Japanese/British companies including Sony UK Limited, Matsushita Electric (UK) Ltd and Race Electronics Ltd. He is also a Member of the Institute of Directors’ Welsh Management Panel, and was previously Chairman of Business in Wales and the Civic Trust.
(Due to unforeseen circumstances, Mr Sanders was unable to attend the seminar and his place was taken by his colleague at SCT (UK) Ltd, Mr Allen Williams.)
Bonnie Williams
Bonnie Williams (chair) is founder/partner and Managing Director of Waterbridge International Limited, a London-based consultancy specialising in international management and training. Born and raised in Japan, Mrs Williams graduated from Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, USA. She subsequently worked for J P Morgan in New York, London and Tokyo and has been living in London since 1987.