The Nepalese Academy of Management (NAM) is a leading professional association for scholars and professionals dedicated to create and disseminate knowledge related to all disciplines required for managing organizations. Members of the academy are scholars at colleges, universities and research institutions, as well as practitioners with scholarly interests from business, government, and not-for-profit organizations. The Academy of Management frequently organizes international conference, workshops, doctoral consortium, and faculty development programs for the benefit of its members and wider communities. 
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Welcome Speech

Welcome Speech by president of NAM
I would like to start with by welcoming you all to the inaugural meeting of the Nepalese Academy of Management. In particular I want to extend my heart-felt welcome to our Chief Guest, Honorable Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mr. Bharat Mohan Adhikari, who is now with us for inaugurating this international event. As President of our Academy of Management, and on behalf of all delegates from around the world, I thank you for taking some of your valuable time and honouring our conference with your presence.

I also would like to welcome our distinguished Key note speakers, Chris Brewster, Professor of International Human Resource Management at the Henley Business School of the University of Reading in the UK, and Garry D. Bruton, Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University in the USA and President of the Asia Academy of Management. They are with us to provide their valuable support in making this historic event a success.

I also would like to extend my warm welcome to Barbara Gastel, Professor of Integrative Biosciences/Medical Humanities Texas A & M in the USA who is here with us on a special mission to run an author-aid programme. I extend my welcome to Vice Chancellors and Deans and other academic institutions’ leaders from different universities for being here in this international conference. Our Eminent delegates who have come from all over the world to add value in this conference, I bid you all a very warm welcome to Nepal. Distinguished academicians, CEOs, managers, entrepreneurs, researchers, students, ladies and gentleman on and off the dais you are all welcome.

We are indeed honored to have all of you here with us in this first international management Conference on changing perspectives of management 2011 organized by the Nepalese Academy of management in association with KFA business school. We have about 200 participants from more than 32 countries representing all continents of the globe gathered here today, making our conference a truly international one in this beautiful mountainous country of Nepal.

In the last two and half decades we have passed through a number of changes in management theories and practices. Traditional nation specific management practices, leadership styles and communication methods and labour management relations practices have been challenged by the increasing flow of foreign investment, innovation in information technology, changes in national political systems, changing government rules and regulations in various regions, changing ownership patterns and research, and by the publication of innovative and creative research works. There are direct and indirect impacts of these developments on our education systems as well.

The theme of this conference is ‘changing perspectives of management’ and the idea is to revisit the existing, and explore the novel ideas. In this conference 100 papers are to be presented in three plenary and nine technical sessions in different areas of management including leadership development, labour management issues, and the global financial crisis and its aftermath. Papers will be presented by distinguished professors and management practitioners covering national and international management trends and development and at the same time emerging challenges and opportunities therefrom.

The main objective of this conference is to provide a global platform for our academicians, CEOs, managers, graduate students and many others who are interested in the changing perspective of management to disseminate their research and ideas with others.

To this end we are also organizing five different forums, namely, a CEO forum, a managers’ forum, an MBA forum, an Entrepreneurship Forum and an Author Aid forum. Our five forums are chaired by different internationally renowned experts in the related fields. These experts will act as support and resource persons. Our CEOs are facing number of challenges and opportunities emerged from changes in regulations, climate change, emerging technology, emphasis on CSR and corporate governance and many other issues. Similarly, we want to address the changing nature of the situation of the managers who are responsible for institutionalization of innovation at work place, managing organizational culture and engaging people at work. We need to cultivate honest, fair and responsible entrepreneurs for our economic development. In this perspective we provide a forum for emerging and well-established entrepreneurs to discuss the problems and prospects of entrepreneurship development. Around the world, business schools are being questioned for not being proactive in changing their curricula to suit the needs and requirements of business houses. This international conference also provides a forum to discuss balancing the demand and supply side of MBA education.

In addition, during the conference we will discuss various issues and problems related to corporate governance, quality of working life, decent work, innovation for poverty eradication, private-public partnership, use of information technology for organizational efficiency and productivity, branding of products, international management strategies and practices and knowledge and talent management.

Knowledge became the prime source for change in our society and society is became increasingly knowledge based. The corporate world is now focusing on innovation and change to cope with increasing challenges from inside and outside the country. We have great examples from the emerging nations such as China, Brazil, India, and Vietnam where management practices have undergone drastic changes to cope with their economic development goals. In the case of Europe, after the fall of the Berlin wall and political changes in many Eastern European countries, economic priorities have changed and been followed by supportive institutional developments and different management practices. However, there are countries, including Nepal, that have not been able to cope so well with the changes in the management perspective even after changing their political and economic goals and priorities more than two decades ago. This is the rationale for organizing this conference here in Nepal.

Globalization and liberalization were taken for granted as the best panacea to grow and develop a nation. We all, therefore, embarked in this movement. However, due to poor preparation and institutional mechanisms we have faced global crisis. This conference will bring such issues to the forefront of thinking of our delegates and enable us to look for future ways to proceed.

We have with us representatives from esteemed universities and research organisations, CEOs, managers, employees from government organisations, research scholars and students. I hope this three-day conference will be a platform for thought for everyone here to share their ideas and views on best practices and principles and to bring us novel ideas. By its nature, this conference will challenge all delegates, in particular the heads of institutions, to think more about the ongoing management practices that are still known as ‘best approach’ for their countries and to think about other novel management theories and practices that can transform their work places.

believe that this conference, however, will not be just another “talking shop”. By the end of the event, we intend to formulate a set of recommendations, to be known as the ‘NAM –Declaration-2011’. The Declaration Statement will be a benchmark for the future national and international management.

In an increasingly globalised world, there is a critical need to develop guidelines and recommendations for promoting integrity in research at an international level. To this end, the NAM- Declaration shall serve as a fundamental and landmark document for all countries guiding future perspectives of management for change and development.

At this juncture, and on behalf of the NAM advisory board and Secretariat, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Chairman Mr. Resta Jha and his fellows of KFA business school for associating with NAM and enabling us to organize and to bring to success this mega event.

In closing, I encourage delegates to participate actively in the interesting discussions over the next three days. I wish everyone a successful and fruitful conference.

Thank you.
Professor Dev Raj Adhikari
Head, Central Department of Management
Tribhuvan University
President, Nepalese Academy of Management
10 March 2011

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