Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. last month announced a decision to abolish its long-standing system by which individual product divisions handled the integrated development, production and marketing operations for their products. The system, praised as the secret of the consumer electronics giant's success, was established in 1933 by the late founder Konosuke Matsushita, the guru of Japanese-style business management. The company once had more than 120 independent divisions for products such as television and VCRs. Officials said the only way to survive intensifying competition is for top management to work out integrated strategies and oversee their implementation.
Nissan Motor Co., the Japanese automaker that was sold to the French automaker Renault because of its difficulties, recently posted an amazing profit turnaround under President Carlos Ghosn, a former Renault executive. Ghosn showed the importance of management strategies and cool decision-making to Japanese executives who were used to traditional management style.
Japanese companies are now aware that the key to surviving cutthroat business competition in the global market is a top management that is capable of working out viable strategies and exercising strong leadership.