On October 19th, the first postgraduate “Academic Research Week” -- Activity Series for postgraduate capacity enhancement of the School of Management, invited Professor Huo Baofeng of Zhejiang University to give an academic lecture on “Management Research: Literary Perspectives”.
In the lecture, Professor Huo led us to think about management research from a literary perspective by sharing works of Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë, and Jane Austen and his two papers. He said that we should treat each paper like a work of art, which is a way for people to express their personalities, and it is only by treating it as a work of art that it can have a penetrating power and transcend cycles. He linked the relationship between characters in the work and management, thinking that the characters in a literary work are equivalent to the variables in dissertation writing, which correspond to the core, moderating and controlling variables and that the interaction between the characters forms a variety of relationships, similar to the models in the management study. Professor Huo also used humorous expression to let students learn that they should find their interest in the process of research, have their thinking and imagination, and learn from the ancient sages, which can help them make the most vital and best works. He emphasized that we should have not only the will to live, but the will to be superhuman, and persevere and bring our potential into play. In addition, we should have a creative way of thinking, and learn not only from the works themselves, but also from their personalities, eyesight, and ways of thinking, i.e., from the perspective of inputs and outputs, it is much more valuable to rely on imagination-driven research, and we should strive hard to make the accidental become inevitable.
In the interactive session, Professor Huo patiently answered students’ questions and gave valuable suggestions. He said that we should make use of the fragmented time, and coordinate the relationship between hobbies and research; we should be smart and agile to do things, and treat life and learning with critical thinking.
He shared his valuable experience with the students, helping them to get out of the confusion and feel the similarities and differences between literary works and dissertation writing. The activity further strengthened students’ enthusiasm for research and helped them explore diversified ways of thinking, broaden their perspectives on research, and improve their research ability.
