This book identifies the ongoing management issues and compatible management systems for sustainable and inclusive development in a transforming Asia. In the dynamic process of economic development in Asia, many positive and also negative issues have arisen. Since the latter half of the 1990s, the network economy based on digital technologies began to be established and technological and cross-border transfer of managerial knowledge became easier. This change in technological and market structure now requires companies to meet another dimension of competition. In this new paradigm, many Asian companies are struggling with turbulent new managerial and organizational issues together with economic and social problems that concentrate at the bottom of the pyramid. This book elucidates these issues, keeping sustainability and inclusiveness in mind. The book is highly recommended not only for academicians but also business people who seek an in-depth and up-to-date overview of dynamically changing business and industrial structures in Asia focusing on sustainability and inclusion issues.

Focusing on the Asia-Pacific region, which in recent years has been the engine of global economic growth , this volume surveys trends and prospects in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) with particular reference to achieving inclusive growth and the greening of economies. Underlying the increasing pressure for new models of TVET provision is the rapid pace of technological change, demand for a work force which is highly responsive to evolving needs and a transforming market place that calls for higher order skills and lifelong learning. The book proposes a re-engineered, modernized TVET system that fosters an innovative approach which enhances the employability of workers as well as the sustainability of their livelihoods. The book includes contributions from leading policy makers, researchers, and practitioners, including those in the private sector in analyzing and forecasting the most urgent priorities in skills development. The book argues for creative approaches to TVET design and delivery particularly with a view to improve job prospects , and meeting the goals of inclusion, sustainable development and social cohesion. Addressing issues such as the chronic mismatches between skills acquired and actual skills required in the work place, the volume proposes diversified approaches towards workforce development and partnerships with the private sector to improve the quality and relevance of skills development . The new imperatives created by ‘greening’ economies and responses required in skills development and training are addressed. Developing TVET is a high priority for governments in the Asia Pacific region as they seek to achieve long-term sustainable growth since the .continued success of their economic destinies depend on it. The volume also includes an emerging framework for skills development for inclusive and sustainable growth in the Asia and Pacific region.

The international community has come together to pursue certain fundamental, common goals over the coming period to 2030 to make progress toward ending poverty and hunger, improving social and economic well-being, preserving the environment and combating climate change, and maintaining peace. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been agreed to by states, which have in turn adopted national targets and action plans. This volume studies the governance and implementation of these goals in Southeast Asia, in particular the difficulties in the shift from the international to the national, the multi-level challenges of implementation, and the involvement of stakeholders, civil society, and citizens in the process. Contributors to this volume are scholars from across Southeast Asia who research these issues in developing (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar), middle-income (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam), and developed countries (Brunei, Singapore) in the region. The perspectives on governance and the SDGs emerge from the fields of political science, international relations, geography, economics, law, health, and the natural sciences.

'Inclusive Growth, Full Employment, and Structural Change: Implications and Policies for Developing Asia' discusses policies to achieve inclusive growth in developing Asia, including agriculture, investment, certain state interventions, monetary, fiscal, and the role of the state as employer of last resort. Felipe argues that full employment of the labor force is the key to delivering inclusive growth. Full employment is the most direct way to improve the well-being of the people, especially of the most disadvantaged. Since unemployment and underemployment are pervasive in many parts of the region, Asian leaders must commit to the goal of full employment. The book also analyzes the region's phenomenal growth in recent decades in terms of structural transformation. Accelerating it is vital for the continued growth of developing Asia. But efforts to achieve full employment might be held back given that structural transformation requires massive labor shifts across sectors, and these are difficult to coordinate. Moreover, the goal of full employment was abandoned in the 1970s, and governments and central banks have since concentrated on keeping inflation low.

This book focuses on digital innovation and sustainability in the Asian region in the context of business and management. Managers and policy makers rely on digital technologies to face the region’s sustainability challenges and solve sustainability problems. From business perspective, sustainability is defined as the adoption of business strategies, activities, and operations that meet the needs of the firm and its stakeholder today while protecting, sustaining, and enhancing the human and natural resources that will be needed in the future. Digital innovation refers to the application of digital technologies to existing business problems as well as the development of the firm’s strategy, culture, and human resources talent to deal and use digital technologies to solve sustainability issues. There is a consensus among scholars and practitioners that organizations need digital innovation to stay competitive. Businesses that are digital innovators consider new ways to solve old and new sustainability problems facing the Asian region. This book, with its practical examples, gives the reader impulses for new Asian’s approaches and encourages the readers to dare to think and act in new ways. This book is the first annual compilation of innovative ideas and valuable managerial solutions produced by the region’s managers and decision-makers who think and act creatively, helmed by Tobias Endress and Yuosre F. Badir from the School of Management at the Asian Institute of Technology.

This book discusses the attributes of inclusive business by engaging people (customers and stakeholders) in creating social and customer values and enhancing business growth among customer-centric companies. Corporate policy and implications of the inclusiveness in businesses on social development constitute the core discussion in this book. Inclusivity concepts and arguments are endorsed by case studies across the developing economies. Philosophy and practices of inclusive business through theoretical foundations, design arguments, and managerial analysis has been discussed across five chapters. Discussion on the success of inclusive businesses in the context of innovation, technology, and new product development which motivated people-led companies to adapt to agile business modeling and drive co-creation and coevolution initiatives are central to this book.