Phacharakamol Kumpinyo
ID: 5529161
Case NO.1: Matsushita 1. Triggers of cultural change in Japan during the 1990s were traditional ways of doing business. In 1990s, Japan was encounter with bubble burst of financial crisis (economic slump) then every business unit which were get the problem with crisis must change their business ways as fast as they can to make their business moving on with not crush. Businesses start to lay off worker and reduce business size to smaller and change in many internal process such as company benefit, company housing, etc. Then it makes cultural change on working attitude of worker to have less loyalty and focus on higher salary instead. 2. Japan change culture influence the way Japanese business operate in the future is decentralize the power and profit to split the risk that can crush the company. The potential implications of such changes for the Japanese economy. 3. The traditional Japanese culture benefit Matsushita during the 1950s-1980s is cradle to the grave employee. At Matsushita, employees were good taken care from the company. The firm provided them with a wide range of benefits including cheap housing, guaranteed lifetime employment, seniority based pay systems and generous retirement bonuses. The Matsushita was got loyalty and hard work from its employees. Did traditional values become more of a liability during the 1990s and early 2000s? Yes it is. The Matsushita spend a lot of money for take care their employees as cheap housing, retirement bonuses and guaranteed lifetime employment. The Matsushita must pay high cost while get low profit from Japanese economic slump. 4. Matsushita trying to achieve with human resource changes it has announced is taking aim at the life time employment system and the associated perks. The Matsushita give 3 options for recruits. First, they were get benefit almost as same as before such as subsidized company housing or receive a retirement bonus. Second, they could deny the guaranteed retirement bonus for higher starting salaries and keep perks. Third, they would lose any subsidize from company and guaranteed retirement bonus but they would start at a still higher salary. Moreover, the company has moved into new industries such as software engineering and network communications technology. It has begun to sing the praises of democratization of employees. a. The culture changes are made quickly is lead to quickly change in business way of doing; first period may be lack of profit and performance on business but not be a long time from changing, business is recovery itself and moving again with normally step of business profit. b. Take even decades to fully change the business way is lead to resistance of economy. They would not accept for all changing. Matsushita take choice b to doing business. The company continue poor performance until cannot survive and collapse in finally. 5. I think Matsushita itself (Owner thinking) can be recovery their business without changing traditional and following the economic happens with stand-alone worldwide business divisions. But it is not like them think. 6. From Matsushita case, you can see different between traditional Japanese culture and new culture where get western ideas. The traditional culture is reciprocal obligations relationship between company and employees. The societal culture is help each other, the company provide benefits to employee to expect loyalty and hard working. The employees receive many benefits from the company such as bonuses, generous retirement bonuses and subsidized services. The employees feel happy for these benefit, they will give loyalty and try to hard work as they can for the business success. Conversely, the new generations has new idea. They grew up in richer family and get western’s idea. They don’t want to be salary man all their life. They emphasize to progress in work not only be the good employee, only hard work and do everything that boss said.