CASE V
Rough Times at NOMURA

Adel, Camille Keven
Adolfo, Elaine
Banez, Kaye Ann
Caballero, Gio Renzo
Hernandez, Jocel Mae
Micosa, Miriam
Ona, Odessa
Patricio, Lyra
MGT 131-C
Group III

I. Point of View:
The case shall take the point of view of Mr. George Rosebush, an American sales trader at Nomura Securities International.

II. Problem Statement:
What plan of action would George Rosebush do in order to solve the conflict between him, Mr. Yamaguchi, and NSI due to the cultural differences between the Japanese and the Americans?

III. Analysis of Relevant Case Facts:
a. Problem
• George Rosebush was in Nomura Securities International (NSI), the American subsidiary of Japanese giant Nomura Securities Company Ltd., since July 1986.
• The management in Nomura had refused to give Americans such as George the latitude to aggressively pursue business.
• Japanese were very slow to make decisions or changes due to their consensus method of decision making.
• Nomura was a monolithic machine where decisions emerged from the system with little need of creativity. This was a significant impediment in achieving success in the trading business, where the ability of trader to respond quickly to customer needs the vital to success.
• The securities environment in the securities industry was suffering a major recession following the stock market crash of October 1987. Despite the market’s downturn, changing the Japanese trading habits had accounted for much problem.
• Factors frequently noted as holding Nomura back were adherence to Japanese tradition; inflexibility in negotiations; lack of imagination, little expertise in critical investment banking sectors; and weak relationships with U.S. and European institutional investors.
• George found himself faced with a decision whether he could stay at NSI and continue to develop new plans to improve