Dear Colleagues,
I have been elected as the President of Japan Society of Business Ethics (JABES) for fiscal year 2023-24. This is my third term as President.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Vice Presidents, the Secretary General, and the Board of Directors for their strong support that has enabled me to make it this far. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of you.
As I briefly mentioned at the general meeting in June 2023, the JABES is celebrating its 30th anniversary and entering its 31st year this year, and has become a medium-sized society with more than 500 members. Amid the great waves of social change in recent years, it is difficult to predict what changes society and business will undergo and what challenges they will face in the future. However, in recent years, the importance of business ethics has been increasingly recognized in the industrial world, and the number of cases in which business ethics is proactively considered as a management strategy has increased. In light of this, it is anticipated that expectations of JABES will continue to rise in the future.
Therefore, in order to meet these expectations and achieve further development as an academic society, we propose the following three priority management policies for fiscal year 2023-2024.
1.Strengthen academic and research activities
While the importance of business ethics is being sought in companies and various other organizations, it can be said that academic research on business ethics has only just begun. There is a growing need for more qualitative and quantitative academic research based on experience and case studies of management practice in organizations. Therefore, we believe that JABES, as an academic organization, should first focus on strengthening its academic research activities.
Specifically, while enhancing opportunities to learn how to conduct research, such as through the activities of thematic research groups, research presentation workshop, and research method workshops, which are the hallmarks of JABES, we will make efforts to increase the number of presenters at research presentation conferences and the number of submissions to two academic journals, the Journal of Japan Society for Business Ethics and the Sustainability Studies in Business (SSB). In this way, we believe that we can contribute to building an ethical and prosperous society.
It is also important to disseminate the outcomes of our research internationally. Therefore, JABES will continue to hold international conferences with foreign universities and actively facilitate the participation of our members in international conferences. A joint international conference will be held at Thammasat University Business School in Bangkok in March 2024. Company visits are also planned in the following day.
2.Facilitate the participation and commitment of members
To strengthen our research activities, we invite all JABES members to participate in JABES activities more than ever before.
In addition to the activities mentioned above, JABES has established the Mizutani Masakazu Prize for academic papers and books by its members. We encourage all members to apply actively for this award.
In recent years, JABES has posted various announcements and information its web. It is recommended that members check the JABES website regularly. The JABES website also includes the JABES Bulletin, which provides JABES news, and "From the Window of Business Ethics," which is written by each board member in turn, as well as other public relations activities of the society. It is encouraged that members take the time to read them as well.
3.Cultivate and encourage future business ethics researchers
To ensure the future development of JABES and research in the field of business ethics, it is necessary to increase the number of researchers in this field and foster the younger generation who will lead the next generation of JABES. Therefore, we believe it is important to create a mechanism that encourages young researchers to actively participate in JABES activities.
We would like to invite new members to join the Board of Directors, committees, and other bodies. The aim is to revitalize JABES by incorporating innovative ideas.
These are the key policies for JABES' current and next fiscal year. We welcome a variety of ideas through interactions with JABES members and will incorporate them into its management as the society moves forward. We appreciate the member's continued support for the further development of JABES, a valuable place for knowledge creation.
Best wishes,
Ayako Sendo
President
August 10, 2023