Konica Minolta supported
International Conference on Global Business and Economic Development
September 5, 2007
Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities sponsored the 10th International Conference on Global Business and Economic Development held in August at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan. An outline of the conference is described below.
Support for the International Conference
As we move into the 21st century, it is no longer permissible for companies to put forward the pursuit of profit as their primary motive. Instead, they are required to demonstrate an unshaken awareness that they too are a part of society. As the march of economic globalization continues apace, a wide range of problems are emerging from a variety of perspectives. Consideration of these issues on a global scale is becoming a pressing matter, and the significance of this conference lay in the fact that the world's leading thinkers in the social sciences gathered in Kyoto to try and discover clues that might lead to answers to such questions in this situation. As Konica Minolta agrees with the conference aims, the Group offered its support as part of its corporate social responsibility activities.
Conference Outline
| Conference Title | The 10th International Conference on Global Business and Economic Development |
|---|---|
| Sponsoring Organization | The Society of Global Business and Economic Development |
| Aims | To discuss corporate social responsibility, how companies should approach globalization, global economic mechanisms, and other global issues in the social sciences, and to publish the results |
| Dates | August 8–11, 2007 |
| Venue | Ryukoku University Fukakusa Campus (Kyoto, Japan) |
| Number of Participants | 380 from 37 countries (50 from Japan, others from overseas) |
| Conference History | First held in 1997 in Beijing, China, and nine times since. Tenth anniversary conference held in Kyoto, Japan. |
Details of Support by Konica Minolta
- Cooperation with printing of conference program and papers for presentation
The papers for presentation and the conference program were printed and bound by using a Konica Minolta on-demand printing system. - Keynote speech
Keynote speeches were given in advance of the main conference by representatives of government, the academic world, and industry. Yoshikatsu Ota, President and CEO of Konica Minolta Holdings gave the speech representing the industrial sector. He spoke on the theme "One Concept of Business Strategy in the Era of Globalization," as a top executive offering a message rich in practical, inspiring content to the assembled professors and researchers from around the world. - Demonstration in exhibition area
As a service to participants from overseas, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Japan Co., Ltd. the Konica Minolta Group's general domestic sales company, offered a practical demonstration of its NewspaperDirect service. NewspaperDirect uses a network to output over 500 newspapers from 67 countries in 36 languages on a Konica Minolta digital color multi function peripheral (MFP). Many overseas participants were impressed that even in Kyoto they were able to read their regular newspapers from their home countries. - Facilitation of corporate visit
Twelve MBA students from Montclair State University (USA), the home of the headquarters of the International Conference on Global Business and Economic Development, made a corporate visit to the office of Konica Minolta in Osaka following the end of the conference. The company gave them a product demonstration in the showroom and arranged a meeting with the officer responsible for CSR (Mr. Hiroshi Ishiko), creating the opportunity for a lively discussion about corporate social responsibility.
The Konica Minolta Group sees CSR as the essence of management. Pursuit of the Group's management philosophy, "the creation of new value," and the implementation of the Konica Minolta Group Charter of Corporate Behavior form the basis of Konica Minolta's CSR. The Group's objective is to become a company indispensable on the global stage, and it will continue to work extensively for economic development and for the future benefit of society.