ith the human resource changes it has announced, Matsushita is trying to achieve a younger workforce that is encouraged with individuality, initiative taking and risk seeking. It wants its young managers to become rational and logical, ambitious and aggressive, and at the same time to create an organization that can carry out their ambitious plans. One of the impediments to successfully implementing these changes is the lifetime employment commitment, which held Matsushita back from cutting off unnecessary management staffs. Also, the existing managers are performing poorly because of their old way of doing things. Again, since it cannot lay workers off, it has to cut back on its hiring and this is triggered by the slow growth rate. Implications for Matsushita:
(a) If changes are made quickly, the company would have a dynamic workforce that would increase the growth rate. But that would lack the loyalty of its employees, which is still a very strong force to keep the company going. (b) If Matsushita takes too much time, it might fall back and become unable to revolutionize its workforce. If old employees do not make way for new employees, the company will have a slower growth rate with an aging workforce. 5. What does the Matsushita case teach you about the relationship between societal culture and business success? The Matsushita case teaches us that societal culture and business success are very closely related. This is because the culture in the organization is a very important driver of its success and this culture is shaped and determined by the existing culture of the