Doing business in a wellbeing economy: a view from the mountains of Bhutan

Management

Speaker:	Isabel Sebastian , Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Website:	https://www.uts.edu.au/staff/isabel.sebastian
Date:	Wednesday 25 February 2015
Time:	14:00 - 16:00
Location:	Pearson Lecture Theatre, Building One

Further details

Summary: Wellbeing economics is becoming increasingly popular in the narrative of developed nations among policy-makers and in business circles. The UK recently launched a set of policy recommendations by an All-Party-Parliamentary-Group on Wellbeing Economics. At the same time, business leaders in Europe are actively engaging in initiatives such as 'Economies for the Common Good' and in the US, business leaders predict that the ‘Human Economy’ will be the next phase after the ‘Knowledge Economy’. The only wellbeing economy in the world that currently measures its progress through 'Gross National Happiness’ rather than only through GDP, is the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. Isabel’s PhD research focuses on understanding the dynamics of how business functions in the wellbeing economy of Bhutan and what conditions enable or hinder business success in such an economy. Isabel will also outline the ‘New Development Paradigm’ (NDP) framework that was developed by an international group of academics and experts, coordinated by Bhutan, which was submitted to the UN’s post-2015 development agenda as a new context and paradigm for development. Brief Bio: Isabel is currently a 2nd-year PhD student and has just completed the first stage of interviews in Bhutan with a range of business, government and spiritual leaders. She is now based in the UK and Europe to conduct more interviews with relevant initiatives relating to wellbeing economics and business. Isabel has 25 years of experience working in travel, tourism and hospitality businesses, sustainable business consultancy and academic teaching, and has lived and worked in Germany, Australia, India, Tajikistan and for the past eight years in Bhutan. She holds a Bachelor of Business and a Post-Grad Diploma in Environmental Studies from Australia. http://www.uts.edu.au/research-and-teaching/our-research/institute-sustainable-futures