Feb 5, 2012

Adapting Globalization is Urgent Matter for Japan

It's season of disclosing fiscal financial conditions, and i hear IT related service companies such like DeNA, Glee, social game service provider for mobile phone users are expanding their business. But those traditional home appliance giants such like Panasonic, Sony, NEC and etc are disclosing tremendous amount of deficits that we haven't heard for a while. Affecting the earthquake, super strong yen, and sluggish domestic economy, Euro Crisis, etc etc, they can name many cause of negative performance. And experts points out major reason of their declining performance actually losing their share against Korean, Taiwan, and Chinese counterparts especially TV business.
CEO of Panasonic
explains wimpy result



Biggest reason losing is the price. Japanese TV's are okay in terms of quality but price is way up compare to competitors because the production line is still in Japan or even outside that are not efficient enough. Traditionally Japanese has strong sense in monodukuri, manufacturing for their strength and have myth that they never get lose in this category but in fact, they are losing. They have strong belief that their superiority in making things but sadly it's no longer effective by viewing the all those deficits are reported. I think Japan needs to get out the belief that they are tough in this section without evidence.

Mind set is still trap how they change their organization and catch up with competitors. So bottle neck is that they are so conservative enough not to change and assimilate global stage. But blind folded not see the fact of losing. I think myself used to work in an American global company and i thought their strength is people that come from all over the world to join and participate to make company better. People are diversified and the diversity is the biggest strength of the organization of course they are smart people. Because our business environment is changing rapidly and homogeneous which many of Japanese enterprises still are, hard to catch up the what's happening around world. Less flexibility thus no speed on decision etc. Homogeneous way worked well when world was simple to create simple set of products. The world we belong no longer works that way, but to see rapidly changing environment and decides what's to do. That makes possible is to mixed of many different ways of thinking to prepare change.
Students are still adapting to homogeneous
 recruiting culture in Japan

Japanese companies are starting to hire foreigners or foreign experienced Japanese students even for their HQs. Until recently, many of fresh graduates join the same company, most of them have similar back ground and spend many years together in the same company. But now it's more likely your coworkers are coming from different places and so get different values and thoughts. That's quite new experience at many work place in Japan. But i think that's few thing that Japanese companies can be flexible and be quicker thus be stronger.

Feb 3, 2012

Queen Never Makes Mistake

I remember that my father's friend used to work at GE and rose up to top of consumer appliance division in APAC but fought against Jack Welch at the time, and eventually he left  the company and started his own business which is analogue record player. But the player is unusual because the needle isn't made of ordinary metal, but involved some kind of laser technology.

http://www.laserturntable.com/

Since it doesn't scratch on record physically, it doesn't get damage by playing year by year. That's amazing technology. However, it costs a lot as well. I heard least costs 3 million yen, which is like US$40,000. I also heard that Stevie Wonder came to buy 3 of them. And one day, a guy from UK embassy asked to my father 's friend. The Queen is interested in the Laser turntable. Yes and actually she bought it. Thing is she paid 3 million Great Britain Pound instead of 3 million yen. Of course, the supplier of turntable send a letter to UK embassy, she paid in wrong currency. It's quite amazing that the embassy replied he didn't need to pay back because Queen doesn't make mistake.

As a consequence, he got 500 millions yen for selling one player. But even that he isn't that rich, because he spent so much money to invest to develop this product. Yeah he is passionated guy even he fought Jack Welch.