To start the Fall Semester, Keio CEMS students had a busy week with a company visit and two one-day Skill Seminars. The CEMS MIM (Master's in International Management) Programme is a world-leading international management master's course in which graduates receive a master's degree both from their home institution and from CEMS.
On September 25, a group of CEMS Students visited Kowa Company, Ltd. at their Tokyo branch office. Representatives from five main divisions of Kowa welcomed the group and gave an introduction to the various fields of business and projects they are involved in. The Kowa staff were generous with their time, and the CEMS students showed a strong interest in the wide range of business that Kowa engaged in.
The day after the office visit, Professor Adam Komisarof from the Faculty of Letters conducted a Skill Seminar titled "Mastering Intercultural Communication with Japanese People in Business." This seminar allowed students to better understand intercultural communication in international business environments in Japan and abroad, while exploring how cultural differences impact communication and relationships in diverse business environments. They also learned to create strategies for promoting positive, effective intercultural communication as well as to improve their persuasive communication skills.
Then, on September 30, the CEMS students attended a Skill Seminar titled "The Psychology of Intercultural Effectiveness" led by Professor Joseph Shaules of the Keio University GIC Center. This workshop focused on the cognitive and psychological factors that can lead to poor performance in the face of cultural complexity. By examining how culture shapes our mental processes -- how bias is a "natural" part of our perceptual architecture that affects our judgment and how intercultural effectiveness requires the ability to "read the air" (or correctly interpret cultural patterns) -- students looked at how to function effectively in intercultural contexts and achieve desired outcomes.
This first week of the Fall Semester provided a solid foundation for the CEMS students for the busy semester ahead.
Learn more about the CEMS program at Keio: https://www.ic.keio.ac.jp/en/study/cemsmim/overview.html
Find out more about the global activities of CEMS: https://www.cems.org
Keep up to date with CEMS in Tokyo on Instagram: @cemsclubtokyo
