Made In Japan

BOOK REVIEW PRESENTATION

INTRODUCTION  Autobiography of Mr. Akio Morita  It was written with the assistance of “Edwin R. Reingold and Mitsuko Shimomura  The book not only narrates the story of Mr. Morita but the Sony corporation’s formation after Japan’s defeat in world war-II  Book also provides insights into Japanese Culture and the Japanese way of thinking, particularly their business Management Philosophies and styles.  Morita introduces the origins of his family, and how Sony was founded.

Introduction  Chapters picture the War, early tape recorders, and various conclusions on International Markets.  The Transistor was invented in North America in the 1950’s and Sony took advantage of it.  The biography gives authentic details about the patent issues, business conferences in various countries, and the invention of the Walkman.

About the Author 

Name : Akio Morita

 Birth Date : January 26, (1921-1999)  Nationality : Japanese  Occupation : Entrepreneur , Co-founder and former chairman of the board of the SONY Corporation  He was a frequent speaker on International affairs.

The book is divided into following nine sections : 1. War 2. Peace 3. Selling To The World ( My learning curve) 4. On Management ( It’s all in the family) 5. American and Japanese Styles ( The difference) 6. Competition ( The fuel of Japanese Enterprise) 7. Technology ( Survival Exercise ) 8. Japan and the World 9. World Trade (Adverting Crisis)

History In 1945 after World War II, Masaru Ibuka started a radio repair shop in a bombed-out building in Tokyo.  The next year, he was joined by his colleague Akio Morita and they founded a company called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. which translates in English to Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation.  In 1955 – Sony release the first transistor radio.  In 1957 – First small pocket transistor radio  In 1958 – Company’s name changed to Sony corporation & in Dec.2008,the company was listed on the

Selected Quotes  "The investor and the employee are in the same position, but sometimes the employee is more important, because he will be there a long time whereas an investor will often get in and out on a whim in order to make a profit."  “ The primary function of management is decision making and that means professional knowledge of technology and the ability to foresee the future direction or trends of technology. I believe a manager must have a wide range of general knowledge covering his own business field. It also helps to have a special sense, generated by knowledge and experience”  "...the key factor in industry is creativity. I said there are three creativities: creativity in technology, in product planning, and in marketing. To have any one of these without the others is self defeating in business."

For Achieving Goal Sony uses following techniques  A monthly R & D meeting  A technology symposium once a month  An R & D Planning and Co-ordination Division  Invests Venture Capital  Technology fair once a year. The idea of these initiatives are to avoid duplication and to keep control over R&D expenditure.

Differences between Japanese and American mentality

 Japanese do not think that managers are special people and are elected to lead stupid people to do incredible things.

Americans posses mentality of proritizing their employees on the basis of designations. 

 Japanese corporate  Americans rely too much executives make decisions on outsiders for making on their own. business decisions.  One of the distinctive features of Japanese creativity is that it is driven by changes in the consumer marketplace rather than by defense industry expenditure.

 Many U.S. technology breakthroughs are spinoffs from defense work funded by the government

 In Japan special care is taken for the workers and their enthusiasm is maintained.  Many Japanese companies work on the principle of ‘Proposal’ system.

 In the U.S., workers are not job secured, managers leave the organization as and when they require but so isn’t possible for a worker.  Whereas in the U.S., one-man or small-team management is a common practice and top level people only can propose their ideas.

Why this book ??? • Good lesson for Entrepreneurs • An IDEA can change your life • Success story of Japanese style

Key learnings • Team Work • Innovation • Keep high Motivation in crisis situation • Build relationship with employee

Thank You…