How to Promote Intercultural Inclusion and Inclusive Leadership in the Working Environment: Ca' Foscari University of Venice Japanese Studies Alumni's experiences

This thesis investigates the thematic of interculturalism and inclusive leadership in the working environment, particularly in Japan-based companies and Japanese companies abroad subsidiaries. The research question concerns how to promote interculturalism and inclusive leadership in the working environment, how to deal with these aspects and what is possible to learn from the analysis of professional experiences of Alumni of Japanese studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. The purpose of the thesis is to analyse Alumni’s career paths and professional backgrounds (job positions, experiences in working in/with Japan, their experiences towards intercultural inclusion work practices and inclusive leadership), with the aim to identify intercultural inclusion and inclusive leadership best practices for companies, workers and students who are about to enter the professional world. The thesis is organized in five chapters. The first one introduces the research question and hypothesis. The second chapter deals with the notions of culture, interculturalism, inclusive leadership and studies on intercultural inclusion and inclusive leadership in Japanese companies and subsidiaries. The third chapter outlines the research methods, while the fourth chapter presents and discusses data from questionnaires and interviews with Alumni. The conclusion suggests intercultural inclusion and inclusive leadership best practices, future research perspectives and research limitations.