Strengthening Organizational Cohesion and Building the “Five Schools” Framework
To address the defining challenge of our time—how to move from being a “large” Shandong University to a stronger and more capable one—we need to make the “Five Schools” framework a central driver of our development. As the University pursues greater strength and excellence, the School of Management must take greater responsibility and lead the way.
1. An Organizationally Strong School
A school’s strength is rooted in its organization. For any school seeking sustained development, the most fundamental priority is a strong internal organization. This is what we mean by becoming a “School within the School”: a cohesive, efficient, and resilient organization with the capacity to tackle major challenges collectively.
Organizational cohesion can be constrained when personal interests, disciplinary boundaries, academic circles, or established practices become stronger than shared institutional priorities. Individual expertise and aspirations need to be aligned with collective goals; disciplinary boundaries need to be bridged so that resources can be integrated across the School; and established ways of working need to remain open to change. Only then can the School bring its collective strengths to bear, respond effectively to major needs, and create lasting value. We must have the courage to reform ourselves. For a school of management, our own development should be grounded in effective organization and governance. Strong Party leadership, a shared culture, sound internal governance, and fair systems of evaluation and resource allocation will together provide the strategic direction and institutional foundation for the School’s continued development.
2. A School for the University: Serving Shandong University
The School has grown with the reputation, resources, and opportunities of Shandong University. It therefore has a responsibility to serve the University and contribute to its overall development, taking the initiative in addressing the management needs that arise across the University.
Our goal is to become a School that the University can trust and rely on. This requires a clear understanding of the University’s overall development priorities and a sustained contribution to them. We should aspire to a simple outcome: whenever the University faces a major management issue, the School of Management should be among the first institutions it turns to.
Management is inherently interdisciplinary, with particular strengths in integrating resources and connecting different fields. We should therefore deepen engagement with schools and colleges in engineering, medicine, and other disciplines, as well as laboratories and administrative departments across the University. Drawing on our expertise, we can support more effective resource allocation, stronger management capacity, and closer links between technological innovation and industry. Management education should also become part of the talent-development systems of these schools and colleges. In this way, the School can provide professional management solutions in support of the University’s high-quality development.
3. A School for Society: Engaging with Practice
Management education must remain closely connected to society and business. Chinese enterprises are entering uncharted territories of business development. In many emerging industries, Chinese and international companies are operating from comparable starting points. In a growing number of specialized fields, Chinese business practice is already at the international frontier. This changing environment provides new opportunities for management education and research. To become a leading platform for exploring new relations of production and management, the School needs to strengthen innovation in teaching, experiential learning, academic research, and engagement with society. Partnerships with local governments and enterprises should provide a foundation for joint education and research platforms focused on real business and management challenges.
We will develop joint classrooms, laboratories, and case centers that connect teaching, experiential learning, and research more closely with the frontiers of management practice and the development of new quality productive forces. These platforms will also support talent development for industrial upgrading and the transformation of growth drivers, with an emphasis on preparing professionals capable of addressing real-world management problems.
4. A School for the Nation: Serving National Priorities
As part of the “national team” of Chinese higher education, Shandong University has an important role to play in advancing management education and research in China. The School of Management should likewise serve as a leading force in the field.
A School for the nation should contribute in three areas: providing theoretical knowledge on major national management issues, serving as a think tank that supports major policy decisions, and developing practical solutions to complex governance challenges.
During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the development of national-level research platforms, major commissioned research projects, a strong pipeline of high-level talent, and major partnerships with enterprises will be among the School’s key priorities. We will also explore new approaches to talent development in areas including technology and business, health and cultural management, intelligent management, and engineering and business. The aim is close alignment with national priorities and a stronger portfolio of landmark achievements with theoretical depth, practical value, and policy relevance.
5. A School with Global Reach: International Engagement
A leading education system also requires a strong international presence. A School with global reach should contribute China’s own management knowledge and approaches to talent development to the global management community. It should also respond to the growing demand for management talent arising from the Belt and Road Initiative and the global expansion of Chinese enterprises, while providing management expertise to help safeguard China’s overseas assets.
During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, we will work with international professional organizations, industry associations, enterprises, and universities to establish platforms for international collaboration in talent development and research. We will explore new approaches to taking degree education overseas while also bringing international programs and resources into the School. Through sustained international engagement, we will expand our global academic presence while further developing our programs and refining our talent-development structure.
The “Five Schools” framework is an important pathway to the School’s high-quality development. These five dimensions are closely connected and mutually reinforcing. Strong organizational mechanisms provide the foundation; service to the University defines our institutional contribution; deeper engagement with society strengthens our practical value; alignment with national priorities gives us strategic direction; and high-level international collaboration broadens our horizons.
Together, these efforts will enable the School of Management to contribute its distinctive strengths to the continued strength and capability of Shandong University.
