My opinion this week(58):
Lifetime employment
In Saturday night of February 28, there was NHK special TV program
titled " how to reclaim Japanese economy ". The program was a kind of
forum attended mainly by presidents of representative manufacturing
firms in Japan. The discussion was made on several themes on the main
subject. One of the themes was on lifetime employment system of Japa-
nese management in relation with the deterioration of operation of
Japanese firms these days.
Most of the attendants admitted that such lifetime employment system
is obliged to be changed under this economic and financial situation.
But Mr.A , the chairman of N Electronics Company said that lifetime
employment is one of a long established good Japanese management system
at any rate. He criticized the American management system saying that
they tend to lay off their employees very easily when they face bad
economic situations.
He continued to say that there would be no practice as such for Japa-
nese management that IBM Company had conducted the reduction of number
of employees regardless their good business records in the latest term.
Mr. A explained that Japan is traditionally a society of agriculture.
People live and help each other in this society as well as in any
organizations including business firms protected by lifetime employment.
This is what he calls a kind and warm management to the people.
In contrast to this assertion, Mrs. B, the Director of American manpower
firm in Japan pointed out the different viewpoints. What do kindness?
and warmness to the people mean? That does not necessarily mean by just
guaranteeing employment under any situation. The important point is to
clarify the contents of the employment contract between the firm and the
individual. What does the firm expect the employee to do? How do the
firm want to do on the employees when they could not meet the requirement
of the firm? The firm should consider the total career plans of the
employees rather than just keep hiring them in their organization. That
is what a kind and warm treatment to their employees.
Having heard those two assertions, I would like to agree with what
Mrs. B said. Most people would generally agree with what Mr.A said. But
such typical Japanese way of thinking is just at stake right now.
Today we see many Japanese firms gone bankrupt and laid off all
employees instantly who were told that that would never happen for
their lifetime at the firm. We should not forget the one very simple
economic principle. The lifetime employment is possible only when the
firm exist for their lifetime. The employment is guaranteed only when the
firm continue to exit forever. IBM Company should be praised for their
continued effort to improve their business based on the longer range
views and plans.
What is the most important thing is that we recognize the fact that
the employment is the contract between a firm and an individual. Both
should obey and keep the contract seriously and sincerely.
We should discard such old way of thinking that all employees are
expected to work hard for the firm without any doubt and reservation
while the firm guarantee their employment for their lifetime.
1998/3/7
Tadashi HAYASE
My Opinion this week(59):
Why have sales of PC decreased?
The sales of personal computers have increased very much in recent
years. But in the last year, the sales of PC were only about 6.7
million sets which were lower than those of two years ago. This
topics became one of a popular one in Bisiness Salon of BizTech Forum
and a number of reasons and background for the decrease of the sales
of PC have been discussed.
There we find several opinions and answer from users of PC to the
questionaire made by Nikkei Shimbun Home-Page of Internet concerning
how they feel about PCs. Some of users claims and complaints about
products and services provided by PC manufactureres are as follows:
・Although prices of PC has decreased to some extent, they are
basically still very high compared with any other electric home
appliances.
・The manufactures adovocate that it is easy to use PC in various way
but actually it is almost very difficult to use them.
・After care and serivice is very bad in general. They do not provide
any good serivice to answer various questions and troubles when
users wish to call for help and services to their service centers.
・It is hard to understand how to use and operate Windows95, etc.
All of those claims and complaints seem to be very reasonable. I
myself once pointed out a bad after-care provided by Japanese PC manu-
facturers seems to be the most critical problem in this My Opinion this
week. I am now satisfied with 24 hours free dial answering service
provided by one of an American PC manufactures since last summer. The
service of Japanese manufacutures has been improved a little bit these
days, but they are still not so good at all basically.
Another big complaints is that while manufactures always adovocate how
easy it is to use PCs, it is actually a kind of difficult to use them in
various way. A number of users who bought PCs tend to give up using
them for those difficulties.
As a matter of fact, PCs are entirely different from other electroric
appliances. They can not be used so easily as other appliances such as
TV sets and audio visiual sets. In the case of TV sets or audio applinaces,
the purpose of uing them are very clear that are to watch programs and
to listen to music. The purpose of using them is so clear that the users
are able to get satisfaction without fail by solving some operation
problems by themselves.
On the ohter hand, in the case of PCs, the purpose of using them are
various and multiple. There are hundreds ways of use and because of
this reason , there will be a big satisfaction if they are used
properly. But provided that users start to use them without any
concreate purpose, they would fail to get satisfaction in most of
cases.
I once watched one of a TV programs on how users will be able to
master using PCs. The most important point is that users should have
definite purpose of using PCs at the begining. Some of those people
who started to learn PCs wihtoug any definite and concrete purpose
tend to fail mastering them.
Users should be responsible for the failure , of course. But I would
like to say that there are a greater responsibility for manufactures
as far as this issue is concerned.
The manufuctureres should clearly say the following fact. The fact
is that users should spend some significant times and make some great
effort to master PCs which are different from other electric and
electornic appliances. Some big fruits can only be aquired only after
spending such a big effort and time. The PC manufacutures try to sell
PCs only by some mood utilizing some TV talents and and singers in
their advertisement. That is wrong.
Some of the people who bought PCs and failed to start using them
would tell their bad experinece on PCs to their friends and people
around them. Then such bad rumors would affect the people who intended
to buy PCs next time. Needless to say, the manufacturers are responsible
for such vicious circle.
It seems that the reason for the decrease of the sales of PCs is also
appicable for the reason for the decrease of overall consumption in
the present economy. Many economists pointed out a number of reasons
for the slump of consumption at the present business conditions. They
are,for examples, slow actions by the Government, increase of consumtion
tax in the last spring, the anxiety for the present financial conditions,
and so forth.
Yes, that may be right. But I want to say that the most important
reason of all is that some of those basic marketing policies on products
and serivices provided by vendors are wrong.
We consumers will ask vendors to reexamine all of their basic marketing
policies and strategies on how they make products and provide serivice to
consumers taking what consumers really want and need into consideration.
1998/3/14
Tadashi HAYASE
My Opinion this week(60):
What are the public works in telecommunications?
Japan is now under strong pressure from the international societies
including its Group of Seven partners to spur domestic demand-led economic
growth and pull its Asian neighbors out of the economic doldrums by
purchasing more goods from them. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party
will call for an additional economic stimulus package of more than 10
trillion yen after the Diet approves the fiscal 1998 state budget in
April, top officials of the LDP have indicated.
The package would concentrate on public works projects in tele-
communications, the environment, education and other areas to be
funded by the issuance of government bonds. So far when they talk about
public works, those mean the construction of road, railways, bridges
and so forth. They did not mention any of those construction works at
this time. And what is the most important point of their announcement
is that the projects on telecommunication have been listed up at the
top of the list.
I will not mention such other projects as on environment, education
welfare,etc at this time. The infrastructure of all of those area in
this country seems to be inferior to those in other Western countries.
But I wish to make some comment especially on the inferior infrastructure
of telecommunication and network system of Japan. For example, it is sure
that the infrastructure of telecommunications of Japan is behind from
that of the U.S. In this sense, I agree with the new public works plans
to be presented by the Liberal Democratic Party at this time.
We should recognize the reason and background as to why today's U.S.
economy is booming while Japanese economy is under such serious
recession. It is impossible for us to discuss those reason in one or
two words. However, the one of the definite reason for the difference
is that the infrastructure of telecommunications area in the United
States is much more advanced today than those in Japan.
It was almost five years ago, when the United States had started the
Information Highway project advocated by the Vice President Goa. The
U.S. Government had made investment in various projects relating to
this information highway projects very aggressively in the recent years.
I have no statistics on the amount of investment and some actual
outcomes. But it is certain that the greater difference in the infra-
structures of two countries have been created today. Some concrete
examples are that penetration rate of PCs in schools and households,
the rate of networking of PCs in business firms, a number of Internet
users, the penetration rate of Cats, etc.
The economy of the advanced countries of Western countries are now
more software's and service oriented than hardware. Software and
services now share much higher rate than hardware in the total GDP.
And telecommunications system is now the main artery of such software
and service oriented industries. The development of telecommunications
systems are most necessary to speed up business process as often
referred by such words as QR, ECR, CALS, etc.
Regardless how fast those investment on public works will bear fruits
or not, I admit that the project of public works centered on telecommuni-
cations advocated by the Liberal Democratic Party at this time is very
right. But in order to proceed the improvement of infrastructures of
information society, the improvement of telecommunications area is not
the whole story. Some more promotional measures to increase the number
of Pcs in business, schools and in households are necessary as I
mentioned in My Opinion of this week last week. Some promotional
education and training on PCs is also very requited as we see the case
in the United States.
1998/3/21
Tadashi HAYASE
My Opinion this week(61):
Teen-agers Court
There was a very interesting NHK TV program in the night of March 15th
titled "Teen-agers Court". The increasing juvenile delinquencies is a
common problem all over the world wide today. In the beginning of the
program, they introduced some serious cases of school polices established
at high schools to control a number of crimes inside of school campus in
the United States. The juvenile delinquencies are now one of the most
serious problems in the United States.
The situation is the same in Japan. A number of serious crimes by teen-
agers happened recently. However, there are some interesting differences
between the countermeasures taken by American authorities and by Japanese
authorities. It is obvious that American authorities tend to apply some
severe punishment against any of those crimes in the United States. On the
other hand, Japanese apply a kind of generous punishment against any crimes
committed by teen-agers. In Japan any of those crimes by teen-ageres are
now under a control of Teen-agers Laws.
In the United States, the extreme case is that even a 7 years old child
can be sentenced to death under the present law existed in a certain State.
In Japan, any teen-ager criminals are never sent to jail even though they
commit some serious crimes like murder. They are mostly sent to a reform
school for a while in the worst case.
In addition, any records of such trial are not opened for public to
protect the right of the teen-ager committed the crime. The records are
not to be opened even to the families who suffered some serious damages
by the crime. There arise some argument that those records should be
opened for those who suffered such crimes so that they will be able to
know how their families and relatives are involved with such serious
crimes. This is the basic right of the men who suffered such crimes.
It seems that such argument occurring these days is quite reasonable while
the present Teen-agers Laws try only to protect the right of the teen-agers
who commit the crime.
It may also be the case in Japan that punishment against teen-ageres'
crimes will become severer than in the past. But will that trend solve
some basic issues? The biggest point is that the rate of repeating any
crimes by those teen-ager criminals is not decreasing in number even with
the enforcement of severe punishments as in the United States. The question
was how to reduce the rate of repeating crimes in total.
The answer for that question is the Teen-agers Court reported in the
TV program mentioned above. The rate of repeating crimes has been reduced
dramatically since the introduction of this new court system.
The Teen-agers Court is to judge some of the minor criminals committed
by teen-agers. It is an official court by itself. The prosecutors and
attorneys are teen-agers by themselves. They were appointed by the district
courts through some examinations and interviews by official court judges.
The prosecutors prosecute teen-agers who commit some minor crimes at the
Teen-agers Court. The attorneys defend for the prosecuted teen-agers at
the court. The prosecutor and the attorney summarized the case in front
of a jury in a jury box. All juries are teen-agers by themselves. The most
Interesting point of all is the fact that most juries selected for the
court are teen-agers prosecuted for the Teen-agers Court in the past.
After the final argument are made by the prosecutor and the attorney, a
jury discussed the case in the separate room to decide whether the teen-ager
prosecuted is guilty or not guilty. The scene of that argument was most
interesting and impressive one in that TV program. Those teen-agers
discussed the case from various point of view, analyzing the situation
and background how the crimes had happened, and motives and psychology of
the criminal.
After a kind of hot discussion, a jury comes back to the court room and
the chief of a jury reports the result to the judges who is a only adult
in the court. The judges concluded the judge following the decision by a
jury including additional opinions on the decision. If the case turned
out to be guilty, the punishments are some social volunteer's activities
for some days, presentation of report of refection for the criminal,
and the attendance to some number of Teen-agers Court judges as a jury
members,etc.
The rate of repeating crimes for such new court systems has reduced very
much. The reason for the decrease in number of criminals seems to be
obvious.Those who commit some criminals are now in the position to judge
They can learn all difficulties and importance of making decision on any
of such crimes even though they look only small and trifling matters.
Another important point is that all such court records will be eliminated
if the criminals finish all punishments decided by the court.
I was most impressed with the scene of jury room. The argument and debate
they were making was very impressive and sounded superior. I wonder if
such level of discussion would be possible even by some adult people in
Japan. I imagine that Japanese society is a kind of behind to American
society in this respect.
1998/3/28
Tadashi HAYASE
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