Cultural Translation of Management Philosophy in Asian Companies (eBook)

Preface 6
Contents 9
About the Contributors 11
Chapter 1: What Is Cultural Translation of Management Philosophy? 14
1.1 Introduction 14
1.2 This Book’s Perspective on Management Philosophy 16
1.2.1 “Management Philosophy” in Preceding Studies 16
1.2.2 Perspectives on Management Philosophy in This Study 18
1.3 What Is Meant by the Transmission of Management Philosophy as a “Process of Cultural Translation”?: A Case Study on the Overseas Expansion of Panasonic (Formerly Matsushita Electric) 19
1.3.1 Konosuke Matsushita’s Management Philosophy and Process for Overseas Expansion 19
1.3.2 Expansion into Indonesia and Transmission of the Management Philosophy 20
1.3.3 Expansion into Taiwan and Transmission of the Management Philosophy 21
1.3.4 Expansion into China and Transmission of the Management Philosophy 22
1.4 Conclusion: Transmission of Management Philosophy as “Cultural Translation” 23
References 25
Chapter 2: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.’s Overseas Expansion and the Transmission of Its Management Philosophy: The Power to Realize the “Dream” 26
2.1 Introduction 27
2.2 Honda’s Overseas Expansion 27
2.3 The Management Philosophy of Honda 29
2.3.1 Creation of the Management Philosophy 29
2.3.2 Structure of Management Philosophy 29
2.4 Diffusion of Honda’s Management Philosophy 32
2.4.1 Partial Revision Due to the Overseas Transmission of the Fundamental Beliefs 32
2.4.2 Modification of Japanese Corporate Principles Owing to the Overseas Move 33
2.5 The Propagation of the Management Philosophy 33
2.5.1 Honda Version of the Bible: Top Talks 34
2.5.2 The Propagation of Honda’s Philosophy Through Education and Training 35
2.5.3 The Practice of the Management Philosophy 36
2.5.4 Propagation to Overseas Employees and Overseas Offices 37
2.6 Conclusions 41
References 43
Chapter 3: The Creation of a Corporate Philosophy in a Japanese E-Commerce Company: A Case Study of Rakuten 44
3.1 Introduction 44
3.2 Research Method 45
3.3 Corporate History 46
3.3.1 The Rakuten Company 46
3.3.2 The Founding of Rakuten 47
3.3.3 Creation of a Corporate Philosophy 49
3.4 Cultural Changes through Globalization and Englishnization 51
3.4.1 Changes as a Result of Globalization (Englishnization) 51
3.4.2 Providing Higher-Quality Service 54
3.5 What Are Rakuten’s Core Values? 55
3.5.1 Empowerment as a Core Value 55
3.5.2 Merchant First as a Core Value 56
3.6 Conclusion 57
References 58
Websites 58
Chapter 4: Changes to the Corporate Philosophy in Response to Corporate Globalization: A Case Study of Globalization in Olympus 59
4.1 Introduction 59
4.2 Perceptions of the Corporate Philosophy 60
4.3 History of Olympus 61
4.4 Corporate Philosophy of Olympus 66
4.5 Globalization and the Corporate Philosophy 70
4.6 Evolution of the Corporate Philosophy 73
4.7 Cultural Translation of Olympus’s Corporate Philosophy 76
4.8 Conclusion 79
References 79
Chapter 5: Transmission of Management Philosophy: Beyond the Differences in Customs and Norms in Foreign Cultures 81
5.1 Introduction 81
5.2 Analytic Framework 82
5.3 The Case of Matsushita Electric Industrial and Its Chinese Branch Offices 84
5.3.1 The Systemic Impact of State-Managed Enterprises 85
5.3.2 Trust in the Company’s Own Products 86
5.3.3 Delegating Authority to Local Employees and Fostering Independence 86
5.3.4 Chinese Laws on Labor Contract and High Mobility 87
5.4 The Case of Matsushita Electric Industrial and Its North American Branch Offices 88
5.4.1 “Common Sense” About Overtime in Japan and the United States 88
5.4.2 The “Common Sense” of Fairness and Rights 89
5.4.3 The Importance of Personal Choice and Logical Persuasion 90
5.4.4 Japanese Uniformity and American Values 90
5.4.5 Training of Seconded Managers 91
5.5 Telecommunications Precision Equipment Manufacturing Company B and Its Chinese Branch Offices 91
5.5.1 China’s Education and Predictive Capabilities 92
5.5.2 The Independence of Local Employees 93
5.5.3 Seconded Managers from the Perspective of Local Employees 94
5.5.4 The “Common Sense” of Internal and External Labor Markets 94
5.6 A Case in Silicon Valley, North America 95
5.6.1 High Mobility Regions 96
5.6.2 Views on Employment in Silicon Valley 96
5.6.3 Consideration for Appealing Jobs and Research and Development in Regions of High Mobility 97
5.6.4 Mobility and Mission Statements 98
5.7 Conclusion 99
5.7.1 Summary 99
5.7.2 The Cultivation of Social Humans as Transmitters of the Management Philosophy 100
References 101
Chapter 6: The Philosophy of the Yakult Group and Its Propagator, the Yakult Lady 103
6.1 Introduction 103
6.2 The History and Business Philosophy of the Yakult Group 104
6.3 The Birth of the Yakult Lady and the Sales Mechanism 106
6.3.1 The Birth of the Yakult Lady Dealer System 106
6.3.2 The Yakult Lady Dealer System 107
6.3.3 The Spread of the Yakult Lady Overseas 108
6.4 The Changing Position of the Yakult Lady 109
6.4.1 Freeing Themselves from Being the Seller: The Case of Kobe Yakult 110
6.4.2 Health, Benefit, and Hospitality Company: Case of Hyogo Yakult 112
6.5 Conclusion 115
References 116
Websites 116
Chapter 7: A Sociological Approach to Management Philosophy of Chinese Family Businesses in a Transition Period: The Case of Ningbo Fotile Group 117
7.1 Introduction 117
7.2 Fotile’s Development Process 118
7.2.1 Basic Information 118
7.2.2 Founding of Fotile 120
7.2.3 Business Succession 123
7.3 Development of a Management Philosophy and Its Practice at Fotile 125
7.3.1 Stipulation of a Management Philosophy 125
7.3.2 Introduction of Confucianism 127
7.4 Implication of the Fotile Case 129
References 131
Chapter 8: Practicing the Company Philosophy to Survive: The Competitive World of Samsung Group 133
8.1 Introduction 133
8.2 Samsung: From Its Founding to the Present 134
8.2.1 Founder: Lee Byung-Chull 134
8.2.2 Successor: Lee Kun-Hee 135
8.2.3 The Second Foundation and the New Management 136
8.3 Samsung’s Management Philosophy 138
8.3.1 Prioritizing Human Resources 139
8.3.2 Samsung’s Control Tower 140
8.3.3 Samsung’s Value System 141
8.4 Penetration and Diffusion of Samsung’s Management Philosophy 142
8.4.1 Nishikigoi and Catfish 142
8.4.2 Washing Machine Incident and Burning Ceremony 143
8.4.3 Twenty-Five Nights, 26 Days, and a Mass Game 143
8.4.4 Samsung Man and the Worker Ant 144
8.4.5 The Principle of Competition and the Principle of Reward and Punishment 145
8.5 Conclusion 146
References 147
Chapter 9: Asian Financial Crisis and LG Electronics Paradigm Shift 148
9.1 Introduction 148
9.2 First Korean Consumer Electronics Manufacturer 149
9.2.1 LG’s Inception and its Spirit of Harmony 149
9.2.2 Geumseong-Sa (Goldstar Company) 150
9.2.3 Practicing Jeong-do Management 150
9.3 Business Strategy with Selection and Focus 151
9.3.1 LG Electronics Before the Asian Financial Crisis 151
9.3.2 Selection and Focus After the Asian Financial Crisis 152
9.3.3 From Expanding Scales to Internal Reinforcement 154
9.4 Advance of Global Strategy 155
9.4.1 Structural Reform of Global Business 155
9.4.2 Advances into Emerging Markets 155
9.4.3 Advance of Global Strategy 157
9.5 High Value-Adding Strategy 157
9.5.1 LG Electronics’ Brand Value Creation 157
9.5.2 Design Management 158
9.5.3 Building a Market-Oriented Technological Competitiveness 160
9.6 Conclusion 161
References 162
Websites 163
Index 164