StoryZ of Research

An Investigation into the Human Resource Challenges Faced by Organizations

Tomoki SEKIGUCHI, Professor, Graduate School of Economics

An Investigation into the Human Resource Challenges Faced by Organizations

Professor Tomoki SEKIGUCHI (Graduate School of Economics), with a research team with international flair, has been putting his efforts into studying human resource management and organizational behavior. By researching topics such as how business put international human resources to use in a globalizing society, Professor SEKIGUCHI examines the challenges of human resources faced by organizations.

As for what led him to his path as a researcher: "Through working with businesses as a consultant, I wanted to unravel the mysteries behind the universal mechanisms at the innermost reaches of management." From his business experience, he has learned to value the connections between people more than anything.

Though surveys are his main source of information, Professor SEKIGUCHI also actively incorporates experiments into his research. He also analyzes the decision-making process of  job recruiters from a psychological standpoint in order to examining the trends of the hiring process for businesses.

In a field dominated by American theories and research, Professor SEKIGUCHI has raised the level of management research in Japan, even getting his research efforts published in a top international journal. For these achievements, Professor SEKIGUCHI has been awarded the 2013 Presidential Award for Achievement.

While not hard at work performing world-class research, Professor SEKIGUCHI enjoys walking and reading, but says that he doesn't have a particular favorite genre. Though he is surrounded by specialized literature in his office, ideas will often strike him while he is taking a well-earned break walking around campus.

Presidential Award for Achievement

The Osaka University Presidential Awards for Achievement were established for the purpose of recognizing faculty members at Osaka University who achieved outstanding performance in education, research, administration, or social and international contribution in order to ensure the future development of the University.

Interview held in December 2013