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Real Power in Modern Management: Relevant Wisdom drawn from Tao Te Ching

Introduction

Tao Te Ching(TTC) was written by Lao Tzu 2500 years ago with about 5000 Chinese characters in a very poetic and picturesque way. It said, “A picture is worth a thousand words but a verse in TTC is worth a thousand pictures”. There are 800 verses in TTC. In other words, Lao Tzu has painted his wisdom in 800,000 pictures. It covers wide and diverse areas including metaphysics, dialectics philosophy, literature, military art, sociology, politics, science and management etc. Joseph Needham in his famous book “Science and Civilization in China” (1956) commented that “ TTC is the most profound and beautiful work in the Chinese language”. The best selling author Stephen Mitchell once said “… the TTC, perhaps the world most profound book of leadership wisdom, talking about principles that underlie all truly fulfilling enterprises…”

Over the years, in China alone, not less than 3000 scholars have put up wide varieties of versions/interpretations of Lao Tzu’s wisdom. TTC has been widely regarded as a classic in world literature and is the most translated work in different languages. Lao Tzu’s wisdom is a living subject that strongly influences the development of Chinese culture for the last 2500 years. The purpose of this course is to identify and discuss the relevant old wisdom which is applicable to modern management.

Course Objectives

The main objectives of this course is to help participants understand the characteristics and nature of wisdom as described in TTC so that they are able to apply the relevant ideas in their managerial work

Course Outline

Relevant wisdom from TTC applicable to modern management includes:
• Paradoxes in leadership
• The wise leader
• Unconventional wisdom in management
• Giving up control to gain full control
• Finding new uses from old ideas
• Creating a learning community for creative thinking
• Flowing with the changes
• Making use of misfortune
• Avoiding failure due to success
• Making use of Lao Tzu’s ‘non-action’ for most effective form of action
• Asking ignorance questions to gain new knowledge

Trainer(s)

Dr Sam, Kong San

B Sc (Computer Science)
MA (Systems in Management)
PhD (Business and Management)

Dr Sam Kong San has deep insight into the Chinese classic, Tao Te Ching due to his PhD research and rich managerial experience.

“I could not have had my deep appreciation of ancient Chinese wisdom as described in Tao Te Ching without having had my managerial experience in the highly volatile IT industry for the last 26 years since I completed my B Sc (Computer Science) in 1973….”

In 1980, he took a sabbatical of one year and enhanced his learning skills by going through the MA programme at the Lancaster University, UK. There he learned about Systems Thinking and Soft Systems Methodology. In 1995 through 1999, he consolidated all his managerial experiences and learning skills by undergoing the PhD programme from the University of South Australia and writing a thesis on “The Tao of Action Learning”. He earned his PhD by combining the wisdom of Prof Revans, the originator of Action Learning and of Lao Tzu, the author of Tao Te Ching. Based on his thesis, Dr Sam developed and taught the course, “ Introduction to Tao for effective Action Learning”, one of the first in the world for undergraduates at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) from 2001 to 2006, by combining the essence of Action Learning and the ideas of Tao derived from TTC. Recently, he published a paper “Action Learning guided by Tao for lifelong learning” in an International Journal called “Action Learning: Research and Practice” to share his work at NTU with his fellow action-learning practitioners.

Who Should Attend

This program is suitable for middle and senior management who wish to apply Lao Tzu’s wisdom in their work.

Course Details

Date:

20 to 21 August 2009

Time:

9:00am to 5:00pm

Venue:

NTU@one-north campus, Executive Centre

Closing Date:

6 August 2009

Fee:

Standard: SGD$590 Alumni: SGD$472 Group (3 & Above): SGD$531

Registration fees inclusive of:

Course materials
Light refreshments
Lunch
Complimentary parking (1 entry/day) - applicable at NTU@one-north campus only.
Prevailing GST

Online Registration

>> CLICK HERE to Register Online

Methods of Payment

1. Credit Card (Visa and Mastercard only)

2. Cheque made payable to Nanyang Technological University

3. Invoice to Company (for Company Sponsored Participants)

4. E-invoice (for Government Organizations)

Cancellation & Refund Policy

Written notification to cce@ntu.edu.sg or fax: (+65) 6774 2911 at least 10 days before course commencement	No cancellation charges (Full refund)
Written notification within 4 – 9 days before course commencement	50% of course fees (50% refund)
Written notification within 3 days before course commencement	100% of course fees (No refund)