March, 2008 - Tosoh America Teams Up with Ohio State University and the Fisher College of Business

Day in, day out, a company’s workforce focuses on a narrow set of objectives in relation to a specific goal. Over time, the workforce becomes proficient at these objectives in relation to working conditions. Amid increasing globalization, however, change and growth are the name of the game. And that in part means shifting the workforce from its immediate, narrow view to a broader, longer-term perspective. 

Seeing the bigger picture; acquiring the knowledge needed to stay ahead; and brushing up on skills that can make us better, faster, and more successful for the long term is what continuing education is all about. To this end, Tosoh America introduced the Executive Training Program to better its workforce. The return on investment may not be immediately quantifiable, but there is no doubt that learning more will help Tosoh employees enhance their skills and introduce new ideas to their company and ultimately strengthen the Tosoh Group as a whole. 

In 2008, Tosoh America, in conjunction with Ohio State University, offered four more sessions of courses in its Executive Training Program beyond the two courses already offered in the first session.  The first course offered, Aligning and Implementing Strategy, was launched on February 6, followed by Finance Essentials on February 7. Both courses drew a large turnout, including global team members from Tosoh Corporation, Tosoh America, Tosoh USA, and Tosoh SMD, which had a stellar showing. 

These first two courses were crafted to provide not only theoretical principles in strategy and finance, but also introduced a variety of real-case scenarios. Since each course was eight hours long, there was time to break into groups to allow the class participants to interact on a number of levels while working on actual problems. This lecture method was particularly effective in letting participants understand the gap between theory and reality. More importantly, it was a way to move from the abstract concepts toward dealing with present-day Tosoh Group challenges. 

Yes, it is valuable for Tosoh employees to break away from the daily grind and to gain a new perspective on the vast world of businesses and strategies. But the most rewarding aspect of a continuing education course for people in business is that it provides the opportunity to better understand your own challenges in a different light. Corporate cultures can be quite closed, with dominant lines of thought prevailing. So hearing a professor’s opinions along with those of people from various companies provides a different plane for dialogue.  

It also is interesting to learn about the limitations of accounting principles. In the real word, we rarely have time to consider the validity of how an arbitrary concept, such as depreciation, is calculated. However, the fact is that many accounting standards fall short of adequately evaluating the true cost or value of operations.

In this sense, both courses allowed time to step out and take a closer look at the tools we take for granted on a daily basis. The more we understand the nature of the systems we use to evaluate our success, the more we should be able to tweak those indicators or to adopt new standards if we find that the old don’t measure up. 

For course participants, it was important to go back and review the course materials to discern if there was something in those materials that could be applied to everyday challenges. In better understanding new and old concepts, we are reminded that it is important to keep learning on a daily basis. Perhaps this continuing education program has already spurred more of us on to proactively learn and grow. 

The second session of the Executive Training Program was held in May followed by two other courses: Performance, Management, and Decision Making and Negotiating and Conflict Management. Decision making and conflict resolution are at the heart of our successes and failures. So the hope is that once again our executives and others so inclined will take advantage of this valuable opportunity to further their insights.