USM PENANG, 3 December 2021 – With the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, businesses around the world have been exposed to various challenges and the increase in interest on digital business has triggered them to build business resilience and drive impact for a sustainable future.

The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) School of Management (SOM) recently hosted the 14th Asian Academy of Management International Virtual Conference 2021 (AAMC 2021), with the theme ‘Rethinking Old Notions of Business Management: Building Resilience and Driving Impact’, through Zoom application and Facebook live @USMmanagementschool.

This year, the theme emphasizes on managing a business that meets the needs of the current stakeholders while being able to withstand and recover quickly from difficult conditions and AAMC provides opportunities for collaboration to promote awareness and interest in the field of management.

The conference was launched by the Chairman, USM Board of Governors, Dato’ Dr. Awang Adek Hussin and in his opening note, he said that the COVID-19 has created an imperative for businesses to configure the operations and opportunity to transform them. To the extent that they do so, greater productivity will follow.

“This conference is appropriately aimed to reach the international as well as our local community, since COVID-19 started as a health crisis and quickly evolved into a global economic crisis in speed and magnitude that we have not seen in our lifetime,” he said.

Awang Adek hoped that with this experience, we get to share greater lights for businesses to build resilience in their drive for future survival.

Meanwhile, the President of Asian Academy of Management, Associate Professor Dr. Hasliza Abdul Halim in her welcoming address said that the main objective of this conference is to provide platform for researchers to present and discuss on the current management issues.

“Through this discussion, it is hoped that the outcome would not only assist and enhance the knowledge on the field of management but also to contribute to a better management practice, and we hoped that by listening from the experts’ views and insights we are able to get a clearer picture and get new perspectives from current issues,” she said.

In addition, the Dean of USM School of Management, Professor Dr. Noor Hazlina Ahmad said that 2020 and 2021 have been very challenging for millions of people across the globe, and she hoped that all delegates will gain new insights and acquire an updated knowledge from the speeches and papers presented at the conference, especially on building resilience and driving impact in a post-pandemic era.

The diverse participants of the two-and-a-half-day conference, numbering approximately around 150 people, comprised of delegates from various countries.

The keynote address was delivered following that by the Founder and Executive Chairman of Berjaya Corporation Berhad, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun and Chairman of Prasarana Malaysia Berhad and QSR Brands (M) Holdings Berhad, Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, relating to the overall theme of the conference.

Also present at the virtual conference were members of the USM board of governors, academicians and other key officials

Text: Nur Farrah Ezlin Mohd Suhaimi