A seminar for executives at a company managed by a former seminar participant/ Shaanxi Weizhi Group Executive Seminar (June 30-July 8, 2013)

We received a request from Ms. DIWU BI RONG, a member of a PREX alumni association who participated in the fiscal 2006 JICA China Promotion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Seminar Course, to implement a seminar in Japan for executives of the Shaanxi Weizhi Group, where Ms. DIWU BI RONG serves as president. The first seminar was held last fiscal year. After the same request was made this year, the second seminar was held from late June for a 10-day period. Last year, the seminar targeted executives at garment companies within the corporate group, while this time the targets were executives from a wide range of fields. The group came to Japan with Ms. DIWU BI RONG as its leader.

The participants are fascinated by the sight of kindergarten children practicing the traditional tea ceremony. The group visited the Hibarigaoka Gakuen school, which has a kindergarten and elementary, junior-high and high schools at a single site.

Business needs in China

Shaanxi Weizhi Group Co. comprises subsidiaries in clothing, real-estate and property management, with more than 1,500 employees. The clothing company, established in 1987, forms the Group’s core and has 500 specialist retail stores throughout China bearing the “Weizhi” brand. At the executives’ seminar implemented last fiscal year, inspections were arranged mainly at sites related to the apparel industry, as the target participants were executives from the Group’s textile company. This time, however, the Group hoped for inspections in fields in which they hoped to expand, as the executives from a range of different fields participated and, moreover, the president herself was among those taking part.

Specifically, the sites were schools including a kindergarten and an elementary, junior-high and high schools and a senior citizens home. In China, there are growing demands among parents who wish to send their children to good kindergartens due to the rise in people’s living standards. In addition, the issue of care for the elderly has come into sharp focus, as the population ages and birthrate declines. Group members seem to have begun trials on the management of kindergartens, and they are now also studying developments in the field of care homes for the elderly.

Akiko Sakai, International Department

Seminar summary