banner
Asian Association of Management (AAMO)

AAMO is a partnership of National Management Organizations (NMO) in the Asian Region whose purpose is to share and actively leverage resources to enhance the achievement of their respective missions. AAMO is an independent, non-political and not-for-profit Association of NMOs, which promotes, facilitates and supports the development of professional management in the Asia Pacific Region. The current 10 countries of AAMO include Australia, Hongkong, India, Macau, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines and Sri Lanka.

The activities of AAMO are aimed at but not limited to establishing and maintaining active links between NMOs, providing a framework for facilitating the widest range of bilateral initiatives and networking across NMOs in the region and beyond. It facilitates sharing of resources, knowledge and regional information in support of today's interconnected management world and the demand for ready access to up-to-date management information, thinking and views. It organizes and conducts specific (non-competitive) management programs, supported by the NMOs. With its presence, AAMO adds an international dimension to activities and image of NMOs.

AAMO Evolution

Evolution of (AAMO) as a Regional Grouping

Asian Association of Management Organizations(AAMO) was conceived on March 2 1960 in Melbourne, Australia, out of the need for management institutes and professional bodies in the Asia Pacific Region to come together to share experiences and to promote the cause of management in the region.

The early 1960s was an era in which Management as a profession and Management Education as a discipline were becoming universally recognized and accepted. The World Council of Management (CIOS) was the international organization which spread the gospel of management across the globe. AAMO therefore, began as the Indo Pacific Council of the Comite International I'OrganizationScientifique (IPCCIOS) one of the regional arms like CECCIOS (for Europe) now renamed as EMA and PACCIOS (for the Americas) of the world organization.

IPCCIOS began on a modest basis with a few subscribing members, prominently the Australian Institute of Management (AIM), All India Management Association (AIMA), International Management Association of Japan (IMAJ), Hong Kong Management Association (HKMA) and the Philippines Council of Management (PHILCOMAN).

The name of the regional organization was changed to AAMOCIOS on October 3, 1968 at a meeting in Hong Kong. During the early 1970s AAMO membership was extended to the Malaysian Institute of Management (MIM) and Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) followed by the Thailand Management Association (TMA) and the Indonesian Management Association (PERMANIN).

Reference to CIOS was dropped in the mid 1970s when the membership structure of CIOS changed from direct membership of National Management Organizations to that of regional associations. Since the last two decades the regional management organization has been referred to as AAMO.

The early beginnings of AAMO during the first 15 years from 1960-1975 are best described as the period for sharing experience among the few members, Staff workshops were convened and itinerant seminar leaders moved across the region to support the work of member organizations. One very significant developmental activity was an AAMO organized and developed "Course Leaders Course" in which trainers from the National Management Organizations were brought together in Hong Kong for two weeks to be trained to lead "Course Leaders Course" in their respective national organizations. The "Course Leaders Course" is still offered in Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore on a regular basis.

The second phase covers the period 1976-1980 and was characterized by regional activities designed to secure the regional market. The period saw a clear move to transform AAMO from a club into a self-financing organization. The resources of two or more National Management Organizations were brought together to organize and manage regional activities such as seminars. One senior management seminar held in Kuala Lumpur had facilitators and leaders from India and participants from Indonesia. The source of funds was from UN agencies. Under the auspices of UNESCO a specially designed training programme to develop teaching skills of university professors in the region, was organized and held in Fraser's Hill Malaysia.

The early 1980s was a period of economic difficulties in the region. Recession coupled with the emerging difficulties of supporting CIOS which was undergoing severe constitutional leadership and financial crisis affected AAMO. Organizational activities virtually ceased and AAMO retreated to club status seeking more members. This period continued until the early 1990s when there was substantial change to the key officials of the member organizations of AAMO.

The 1990s ushered in a new resolve to transform AAMO into a value-added regional body. With globalization and the digital economy, distances which had been considered difficult to bridge were now speedily connected through fax, email, video conferencing and the internet. Already the renewed focus of AAMO is on regional programmes designed to assist and support national member organizations through staff workshops and staff exchange, sharing of expertise and competencies and reciprocal memberships as well as programmes designed to help develop managers in the region.

AAMO Secretariat
The Hong Kong Management Association
14/F, Fairmont House,
8 Cotton Tree Drive,
Central,
Hong Kong
Tel:+852-27663303
Fax:+852-23651000
Email:hkma@hkma.org.hk