With a view to letting them keep up with these changes without having to attend courses overseas, Assumption University has introduced the first doctoral degree course in management and organisational development in the country. The three-year course, taught in English, aims to broaden executives' views and improve their efficiency.

"Most Thai organisations are family-run companies which don't develop as well as they could. Now is the proper time to introduce a paradigm and systematically improve them," said rector Bancha Saenghiran.

Organisational development, as a subject aiming to streamline company efficiency by adjusting working processes and changing management attitudes, has been around since the late 1950s but has been a matter of concern to Thais only since the economic crisis, and still today Thai companies are more comfortable with the concept of re-engineering.

Many companies, led by Kasikornbank, have tried to re-engineer their way out of bad times but are likely to meet a dead end at some point for lack of supporting ideas.

For re-engineering is just part of organisational development.

Perla Rizalina M Tayko, director of the programme, said that foremost among the many things leaders needed to understand in the context of globalisation were their own organisations. Rather than acquiring expertise in any one field such as law or engineering, she said, they should apply information technology within an ethical framework for their firms' benefit.

"They should think differently in different situations," she said.

For a total outlay of Bt950,000 executives can learn from the successes and failures of international companies such as Enron, Xerox and Kodak at the hands of instructors from all over the world.

Dean of ABAC graduate studies Kitti Phothikitti said students were expected to swop experience with their classmates in different careers and could consult professors via the programme's web board instead of hiring consultants.

The thesis structure differs from that in other programmes in that students have not only to conduct research and defend their proposals but also to present case studies of their companies and discuss plans for improvement.

"They will have achieved much if there is any improvement in their companies," said Kitti.

The course not only provides an education in management but also in the key area of corporate governance.

Patima Jeerapaet, managing director of the Pasupat Group, said he was learning the principles of organisational development from professors from countries as varied as the United States, Australia and the Philippines, whereas studying in the US he would be exposed solely to US case studies.

He said he could apply these lessons to the better running of his company, an asset-evaluation business. For example, he could analyse the propriety of the government's asset-to-capital conversion policy and judge how to run his business in keeping with it.

Anoma Srisukkasem

The Nation