Not for Bread Alone: A Business Ethos, a Management Ethic

157 Pages·1984·3.8 MB·English

by  Konosuke Matsushita

FOR
A
Business
Ethos,
A
Management
Ethic
Konosuke Matsushita
The author is founder,
and presently executive
advisor, of Matsushita
Electric Industrial
Company, Ltd.
KONOSUKE MATSUSHITA was born in 1894. the
youngest of eight children of a farmer. Undeterred
by chronic illness and meager funds, he started his
business in a single rented room. He went on to
build one of the biggest and most respected
electrical appliance firms in the world.
This volume, containing his observations and
insights over the years, is testimony to the quality
of experience that has helped make Mr. Matsushita
the manager par excellence in Japanese, and world,
industry. He says: "Eighty years have passed since
I became an apprentice at the age of nine. 1 have
watched the world change, and through it all, I have
accumulated a great deal of experience. No matter
how chaotic the world may seem, I am convinced
that one can improve his management techniques
and make his business prosper."
His philosophy of business is idealistic, and it is
inspired by an alirlOst religious sense of mission. It
centers on people, on his earthy, realistic understand
ing of human nature. This combination gives his
comments on business a vital immediacy.
Not jor Bread Alone offers the serious business
man valuable hints, some of them so common
sensical as to be unorthodox, on conducting himself
and guiding his company to prosperity, as well as
maintaining personal balance and integrity in
the process.
PHP INSTITUTE, INe.
ISBN-4-569-21089-9 C0034 USS8.25
~1800E Printed in Japan
A Business Ethos, A Management Ethic
Konosuke Matsushita
PHP INSTITUTE, INC.
Kyoto, Tokyo, Japan
This book is based on selections from four books in Japanese
by Konosuke Matsushita published by PHP Institute, Inc.: Shobai
kokoroe-cho (1973), Keiei kokoroe-cho (1974), Ketsudan no keiei (1979),
and Keiei no kotsu koko nari to kizuita kachi wa hyakumanryo (1980).
Published by PHP Institute, Inc.
Head OffIce: 11 Kitanouchi-cho, Nishikujo, Minami-ku, 601 Kyoto, Japan
Tokyo Branch OffIce: Tokyo Konoike Bldg., 2-3-11 Kanda, Surugadai,
Chiyoda-ku, 101 Tokyo, Japan
Distributed by PHP Institute, Inc., and in Asia and Oceania by PHP
International (S) Pte. Ltd., 202 Bedok South Avenue 1, Singapore 1646,
Republic of Singapore.
Copyright © 1984 by PHP Institute, Inc.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions
thereof in any form without prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in Japan by Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.
Cover design by Minoru Imai
First Edition, June 1984
Second Impression, July 1984
ISBN4-569-21089-9
Not for Bread Alone
Contents
Acknowledgements 11
Preface 13
Introduction 17
PART ONE
Chapter One: HUMAN RESOURCES
1. An Objective Sense of Self 30
2. Trust Your Employees 31
3. A Priceless Opportunity 33
4. Everyone Is an Asset 34
5. For Bread and Values 36
6. On-the-Job Experience 37
Chapter Two: COLLECTIVE WISDOM
1. Tail Trails the Head 42
2. Bottom-up Communication 44
3. Bureaucratism Blocks Communication 45
4. Delegate Responsibility 47
5. Rewards of Good Rapport 48
6. An Honest Hand 49
7. Employees Need Dreams 50
8. Participatory Management 51
7
Contents
Chapter Three: CREATIVE MANAGEMENT
1. Complacency Deters Progress 56
2. The Creative Merchant 57
3. Incentives for Zero Defects 58
4. Intuition Makes Sense 60
5. The Independent Spirit 61
6. Losses Are for the Losers 63
7. Don't Rest on Your Laurels 64
8. Business Shapes Society 65
Chapter Four: SPIRIT OF SERVICE
1. The Unwritten Contract 68
2. Advertising Is Evangelizing 69
3. Service Comes First 70
4. "Hello" Service 71
5. Persuasion Pays Off 72
6. Good Quality, Good Price 74
7. Treasure Complaints 75
8. Loyal Subjects 76
Chapter Five: SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
1. The Public Eye 80
2. The Businessman's Right to Proftt 81
3. Mind Your Business 82
4. No Compromise 83
5. Fair Competition for Progress 85
6. Survival of the Competent 86
7. Two Sides of Affluence 87
8. An Era for Political Concern 89
Chapter Six: CHALLENGE AND GROWTH
1. Trouble Is a Good Teacher 92
2. Living on a Tightrope 93
3. Recession Academy 94
8
Contents
4. Pitfalls of Deficit Financing 95
5. Give Yourself Leeway 96
6. Earthquake Shakeup 98
7. Events of an Uneventful Day 99
Chapter Seven: THE IDEAL MANAGER
1. The Million-Dollar Knack 102
2. Food for Thought 104
3. Confidence with Humility~~~105
4. No Security Is Foolproof---106
5. The General Decides~~~107
6. Final Responsibility 108
7. A Lifetime Occupation 109
8. Umbrella in the Rain 110
PART TWO
1. No Such Thing as Failure 115
2. Vagaries of Fate 118
3. All or Nothing on a Bicycle Lamp 120
4. Better Safe than Bankrupt 123
5. Demand Forecast as a Well-Hedged Bet 125
6. Ill-Fated Partnership 127
7. Clear the Warehouses! 129
8. The Customer Comes First~~~132
9. Growth in Striving for a Goal~~~135
10. The Devil's Gate 138
11. Divide and Succeed 141
12. Toward Spiritual Affluence---143
13. Two Wheels in the Balance~~~146
14. Price tag on the Intangible 149
15. Five-Day Workweek 152
16. The Fault May Be Yours---155
17. New Man at the Helm 159
18. Leaders of Tomorrow 162
9
Acknowledgements
THIS volume could not have been completed without the
cooperation of many people who contributed their valuable
time and skillful work to its preparation. The fust draft trans
lation was done by Eisaku Onishi, former deputy director of
the Overseas Operations Divisions of Matsushita Electric, who
served for many years as my official interpreter, and it was
edited by Erika Young. The fust draft was checked and the
fmal stages of the translation process were supervised by
Tsutomu Kano, Director of the Center for Social Sciences
Communication. The fmal editing of the book was under
taken by veteran editor Patricia Murray, presently on leave
from the Center for Social Sciences Communication, who did
a most admirable job of polishing the translation into a
smooth, readable style. I am deeply grateful to these four
people, and to Kiyoko Kizaki, Lynne E. Riggs, and Manabu
Takechi, also on the staff of the CSSC, for their dedicated
efforts in producing this book. I would also like to thank
Katsuhiko Eguchi, with whom I have worked closely for many
years, for writing the introduction.
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Preface
EIGHTY years have passed smce I left my hometown and
became an apprentice at the age of nine. Throughout these
years my life has centered around business. I have watched the
world change profoundly and rapidly, and through it all, have
accumulated a great deal of experience in the fIeld of business.
My experiences have convinced me that no matter how con
fusing or chaotic the world may become, one can always
improve his management techniques and make his business
prosper. The present age is called a time of "upheaval" or of
"transition," and very complex problems continue to plague
business and management, but I believe there are an unlimited
number of ways for coping with those problems. In order to
identify the right method and know the proper timing for
dealing with particular problems, a person must gain a fIrm
grasp of the essentials of business and the secrets of successful
management, and he must devote himself wholeheartedly to
his work. If he is truly sincere and conscientious, he will sur
vive recession or any other diffICulty that may come his way,
and make trying times into the building blocks for new growth.
It goes without saying that the management of business is
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