Japan Press Weekly

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2011 December 21 - 2012 January 5 [ECONOMY]

‘Profit before safety’ management promoted by JAL chair Inamori (Part 2)

His business philosophy emphasizes how best to exploit workers.

A corporation consists of capital and labor. However, no “worker” exists in Inamori’s corporate philosophy because he thinks that all employees play a role in “managing” the company. In order to pursue as much profit as possible, he instills managerial awareness into workers.

He created an “amoeba” management method by subdividing organizations into small units. Each unit sets its own profit target and competes with other “amoeba” units.

A Kyocera employee said, “In doing so, everyone gains the feeling of being a corporate manager.” Inamori believes that the change in the way of thinking in small groups will further cultivate employees’ managerial awareness.

Self-annihilation for the sake of the corporation

He uses his peculiar philosophy to foster “human resources” who see things in the same way as their CEO does so that all employees devote themselves entirely to corporate development without question.

Kyocera’s corporate credo is to pursue the happiness of employees in both psychological and material terms. The real meaning is this: Think of your job as a calling; make efforts so as to become fond of the job; further dedicate yourself to that job; and soon after, all sorts of complaints will disappear. In other words: don’t complain, be patient, and your life will go better.

While calling for happiness in both psychological and material terms, what he means is a strict selfless devotion to the company. A Kyocera worker said, “I feel so stressed” as he is forced to work intensively for long hours.

Inamori has had, since he was still a rank-and-file employee of an insulator industry, the mind set of a corporate manager. He also played a role in strike breaking. When a union was about to go on a wage-hike strike, he called on other union members to stay in the factory, saying that the strike will only cause Matsushita Electronics (currently Panasonic) trouble and that he did not want to cut production. Together with some followers, he stayed overnight at the company in order to foil the strike.

Inamori denies any fundamental right of workers by saying that to shorten working hours will ruin humans by promoting laziness. Therefore, at Kyocera Corporation, both labor and management have adopted a system under which workers cannot claim their basic rights as workers.

In 1974, Inamori decided on a freeze on a wage hike, and the Kyocera union pulled out of its trade union affiliation, Zensen, which was resisting the freeze decision. Then, a Kyocera labor-management constitution was established stating that Kyocera’s labor and management are coaxial and that they cooperate with each other to open up Kyocera’s future and share all joys and sorrows with one another based upon the same philosophy.

The union in its November 2011 convention decided on a course of action calling for the union’s overall cooperation for the pursuit of profit while making cost-reduction efforts and increasing productivity in order to improve Kyocera’s international competitiveness.

Defend skilled workers

Proficient skills are essential to make products of high value; corporations should maintain the employment of experienced workers not only to maintain but also to enhance the international competitiveness of Japanese industries. In addition, a system is required in which veteran workers can pass on their skills to younger workers. These are also what Inamori calls for.

If he really feels this way, he should retract the dismissals of JAL’s 165 skilled pilots and experienced cabin attendants and should immediately reinstate them to their former positions. Skilled workers, an important source of corporate competitive power, are essential to safe air transport.

(End)