Message from the Dean

The Dean of Graduate School of Business Administration

Katsuhiko Kokubu

Email:教員のメールアドレス(画像)

There are two main purposes of studying at a university. One is to acquire knowledge, and the other is to learn the theory of how to use the knowledge. In high school, the focus was more on acquiring knowledge, but in college, it is important to develop the ability to use knowledge. If we compare this to sports, it is like the relationship between eating and getting in shape and actually exercising and using your body. Knowledge is nutrition, and theory is the guideline for activity. Only when these two wheels are working well can your intellectual power improve.

Another important thing to remember is that in a university, we do not learn what will be useful tomorrow, but what may be effective in the distant future. Acquiring knowledge that is immediately useful may give you a sense of accomplishment at first, but it will soon become useless, or if others also acquire that knowledge, it will not help you to differentiate yourself in society. Instead, there are certain kinds of knowledge and theories that can be useful even 10, 20, or even 50 years after your graduation. The education in a university should be built with this kind of long-term span in mind. When you go to a library and are surrounded by many old books, you will feel this in your body.

What is the study of “business administration” that you are going to study? Chinese characters of “management (経営)” means the image of a bonfire surrounding a building or place(営)and the flow of time from the past to the future (経). If we think of it this way, “management” can be thought of as a discipline that considers how to ensure that human activities continue beyond time and space.

The subject of the Faculty of Business Administration is corporations. Corporations can be said to be organizations in which human beings, who have only finite lives, expand their activities beyond time and space to meet the demands of society. The Faculty conducts research and education on all aspects of corporate and business activities. Business administration is an academic discipline with strong practicality and application, so it is not enough to study it at a university. The results of the education must also be put into practice in society. We recommend that you always keep this in mind when you study.

You belong to undergraduate, postgraduate, or MBA programs. You will graduate from each of these programs when the prescribed year has passed. However, it is after your graduation that the true value of a university education comes into play. Our greatest hope is that you will be able to make use of your university studies in various opportunities in your life after graduation. Our Rokkodai campus is always open to you. The research resources of our faculty will always be your common property. We hope that you will spend your time as a student in a meaningful way in order to acquire the ability to fully utilize them.

April 1, 2022