1) Management Training in Japan (Subsidized program)
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We are now open application for the following course!
Please keep updating you by AOTS website.
Program for all countries subject to Japan’s ODA [Language: English]
(1)The Training Program on Program & Project Management [PPTP]
Acquire systems and methods of Program & Project Management through classroom lectures, case studies,
and exercises from both theoretical and practical perspectives.
Duration: 17 to 30 January 2024(Training in Japan)
Place: AOTS Tokyo Kenshu Center (Adachi-ku, Tokyo, Japan).
Application deadline: 6 Nov 2023.
Please visit AOTS website for more details.
https://www.aots.jp/en/what-
The latest information will be updated accordingly.
Please stay tuned and don’t miss out on this great opportunity!
Inquiry: AOTS Overseas Cooperation Group
E-mail: shouhei-au@aots.jp
Tel: +81-(0)3-3888-8256
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2) Insight: Thoughts on the Management Philosophy of Various Japanese Companies
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Thoughts on the Management Philosophy of Various Japanese Companies – September 2023
Many companies and managers advocate their own “management philosophies.” Among them, those of Konosuke Matsushita and Kazuo Inamori have received appreciation and support around the world, and their businesses have also proved enormously successful because they possess a universal human “rightness.”
A recent example of this is an episode involving Uniqlo. With its focus on achieving sustainability, the company was a pioneer in its industry in attempting to manufacture and sell clothing made from recycled materials. Initially, the supply chain had not been established and other factors were highly uncertain as well, so it was apparent that the cost of using recycled materials would be extremely high.
Despite this, the company overcame the various challenges and ultimately, although it took some six years, Uniqlo’s products made with recycled materials-which it managed to sell within the same price range (and with the same profits) as its regular products-were supported by many consumers and proved a huge success. The reason it was able to pursue these activities was that Tadashi Yanai of Fast Retailing (Uniqlo’s parent company) has made focusing on the “right thing” a central management pillar.
Believing that a business must be managed by adopting a universally accepted idea of what is right, he incorporated “focusing on rightness” into his management philosophy. This means succeeding in making customers’ lives better in the long run.
Yanai says that “right management” equals “not deceiving others.” While many company managers engage in deception and adopt an ad-hoc approach, he believes the attitude of “right management” is to stubbornly work toward achieving what people around the world really want.
Similarly, in the case of the Hardlock Nut, which I mentioned in a previous column, the company’s founder did not tolerate deception and stayed focused on doing right based on the “spirit of altruism.” For this very reason, it was able to create “fasteners that never come loose.” As the story behind this episode is extremely interesting, I will discuss it in more detail next time.
