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Introduction The Kometsu Company was mainly and single mindedly aimed at of the bulldozer to surpass their rival in the market that is the Cat Company. There as need to think of the company open-mindedly and see what the company was capable of becoming. When the management of the Komatsu Company decided to dismantle its bulldozer icon which symbolized the company's aim to become world's premier construction equipment manufacturer, many people did not understand what this meant. The "Committee for the 1990's" had carefully timed the removal of this symbol to mark the numerous changes that were about to be brought into the management and running of the company. They gave up the traditional aim of the company which was "to catch up with and surpass Caterpillar(Cat)" and adopted a new slogan "growth, global, group wide" which was a more abstract challenge than one focused on catching up and beating Cat. The main problems and ways in which these challenges could be overcome is the main focus of this study. Between 1964-1982 in the Kuwai era, he introduced a new policy which he called "management by policy" which could enable the company to overcome its challenge, and to focus management on his strategic priorities. In his first policy he sought to raise the quality of Komatsu's middle-sized bulldozers to Cat's level. This project was successful and Kuwai's new management enabled the company to double its warranty period within two years while cutting claim rates by two-thirds. Another success in the company was due to Cat's entry into Japan which triggered increased in sales that raised Komatsu's market from 50% to 65% by 1970. This contrasted with the experts’ prediction of an early demise. A challenge that faced Komatsu was the economic stagnation that hit Japan in 1965. A strategy had to be put in place to counter this and Kuwai came up with a program that sought to make Komatsu internationally competitive in cost and quality so as not to depend entirely on domestic sales. Generally, the main problem in the company is the implementation of change through different policies and strategies. This is also linked to the different styles of management used and the various changes that occur in the market. The policies may not differ among leaders but the ways in which they implement them is what brings about different results (Komatsu Ltd. and Project G (A), 1997). Changes in leadership style from autocracy to beaurocracy helps a company to grow in the market since the voice of every member of the company is heard and this makes leadership better by providing more ideas. Competitive advantage is a strategy that a company can use survive in the market. This works when the company produces high quality products and selling them at a favourable cost. Consumers are interested in high quality goods with prizes that match that quality. Qualitative data: it is evident that democratic leadership style works to the advantage of a company. Workers are free to express their views and make contributions that steer the company forward. This type of leadership also welcomes innovations from all members of the company thus making it possible to apply policies that work best. Qualitative information: by mid 1990s, the company was able to achieve a sales level of 1'400 billion yen which is double its revenue level in1989. The top leaders in a business are responsible for the success or failure of the business. They should come up with management and marketing strategies in order to offer the best to their customers. Carrying out research on what their customers want will help them to produce commodities that suit their needs. If commodities are of high quality, they are more likely to sell at a high prize with little or no complaints from the customers. Businesses should also be in a position to create new products, keep their costs lower than that of their competitors and also keep rebranding their products in order to retain and build a customer base (Komatsu Ltd. and Project G (A), 1997). In conclusion, the market is changing and there are developments in technology that can be used to keep up with these changes. In addition to this, to put up with the competition in the market, there should be teamwork and hard work in businesses.
Reference
Komatsu Ltd. and Project G (A). 1997.