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Developing business schools in the Asian region are becoming closer to world-class with the help of academics from the UWA Business School .

The Asian Forum on Business Education (AFBE) was established late in 1992 as a mutual self-help group of business schools in, or interested in, Asia. These schools all wanted to improve the quality of business education they provide and consider co-operation and collaboration with like-minded business schools in other countries to be critical, particularly in relation to international business.

Assistant Professor Chris Perryer , Winthrop Professor David Plowman and Professor Roger Smith from the UWA Business School are all actively involved in the AFBE's activities.

Making a difference

‘Participating in the AFBE is about giving back to society and developing academics who work in environments where they're not paid very well, who take an extra class rather than write a research paper,' said Assistant Professor Perryer.

‘It was suggested to me by Professor Roger Smith six or seven years ago that I might like to go along to one of their [the AFBE's] conferences so I went along and before I knew it I was a significant player in the organisation, in the executive committee.

‘The AFBE's conference isn't a top kind of conference. It doesn't compare with the Academy of Management or anything like that but it tries to make a difference.'

Accrediting Asia

As part of the AFBE's quality assessment system, Assistant Professor Perryer recently returned from Kazakhstan, where he was part of an accreditation panel assessing courses offered by the Bang College of Business at KIMEP University.

While travelling to Kazakhstan has thrown up its own challenges - and Assistant Professor Perryer names the long hours, cold temperatures, language barriers and local delicacies such as horse meat as among these - he is confident the AFBE's work is helping Asian business schools to grow.

‘In September last year, we made 60 recommendations on actions that the school would need to take to get AACSB accreditation,' said Assistant Professor Perryer. ‘They were so pleased that they asked us if we could go back and help them.'

In February this year, the panellists returned to the School to assess the progress of the recommendations made in the initial audit, conduct an audit of another course, and provide further advice to senior staff of the university. In April, they will return again to further assist in the implementation of the recommendations.

Opportunities to develop

In the area of business education, the AFBE's next project will be to develop an international Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) designed to give students access to a high quality research degree without needing to leave their home countries.

‘The problem is that many people from developing countries get scholarships to go to Australia or the United States to get a PhD and then get permanent residency or citizenship and never go back home,' said Assistant Professor Perryer.

‘This will be a DBA taught by western academics and comparable to western standards, but accredited by a local university. Students would get awarded a degree which would be of value in their own country but not anywhere else.'

Lessons learnt

Back at the UWA Business School, Assistant Professor Perryer teaches international management. ‘My research focuses on cross-cultural management so my work with the AFBE is particularly relevant to that and from time to time I'll make connections which may lead to publications down the track,' said Assistant Professor Perryer.

These publications include Business Development in Asia, which he has co-edited with Winthrop Professor Plowman. Published in association with the AFBE, this book provides developing academics an opportunity to further their research work through publication.  A second edited book, Advances in Business in Asia: The Opportunities, Threats, and Future Trends of Businesses in China, India and the ASEAN Countries is currently with the printers.

‘These books give scholars in Asia a place to publish their work,' said Assistant Professor Perryer. ‘Top tier books and journals may have rejected some of these chapters - perhaps because of the language barrier, or because the authors or their universities are not well known. But how are these people going to develop if they don't get an opportunity to publish?'

The AFBE holds an annual conference, produces an online peer-reviewed journal, supports the publication of edited books and offers a quality audit and assessment system for business courses.

Assistant Professor Perryer travelled to Kazakhstan while on consulting leave from UWA. Professor Smith and Winthrop Professor Plowman are members of the Editorial Board of the Asian Forum on Business Education Journal and Assistant Professor Perryer is a member of the Editorial Sub-Committee. Assistant Professor Perryer and Professor Smith are also members of the AFBE's executive committee.

Media references

Catherine Vogel (UWA Business School)    +618 6488 7340
Verity Chia (UWA Business School)            +618 6488 1346