Introduction about Mirai Industry
Mirai Industry is an electric installation equipment manufacturer which is located in Japan. Its main products are electric installation devices, plumbing equipments, and gas engine generation facilities. It has about 18,000 kinds of products and the great part of them have patents. It was once a small manufacturer, but now its products occupy the greatest part of market share.
But it is more famous for its employee welfare policy: mandatory retirement at the age of 70, no layoff, 140 holidays a year, overseas travel for all employees every 5 years, no night overtime, 3 years of maternity leave, 19 days off at the year-end holidays, 10 days off on golden week, 10 days of summer vacation, and the highest salary in the local area.
At this point of time, you may wonder how they can do everything for employees. But, Akio Yamada, who is the CEO of Mirai Industry, makes the dream come true. And it is based on his human-oriented philosophy.
Akio Yamada’s main philosophy, “Employees are not machines.”
Yamada wrote in his book, “About employees, I believe in the theory that human nature is fundamentally good.” For example, when he tells an employee to do a certain task, he does not think that the employee will cheat him about it. He absolutely believes that all employees are good-natured.
He also emphasizes employee’s autonomy. He thought regulations will block employee’s creativity and motivation. And he believes that CEO’s role is to make a good working environment, where every worker can make the most of his or her ability. So, He abolished useless regulations (Uniforms, norms, and time cards are not needed to the Mirai’s employees). Also he provided wonderful welfare policy to the employees.
You may wonder how the company handles the cost for welfare policy. He covered the welfare cost by saving. He have always concentrated on how reduce unnecessary cost. For example, he doesn’t turn on every light in his office. There’s no air-conditioner but he wears only a running shirt and a short pants. He also hasn’t his own car, even if he is CEO of the company. He uses the company’s small truck. Like many a mickle make a muckle, He encourages his employees to reduce minor costs by his saving behaviors, and gives them major benefits.
His employee-oriented philosophy leads successful results
It was once a small manufacturer, and people predicted it couldn’t compete with major companies, like Toshiba and Mitshita Industry. But now its products occupy 70 percent of market share and it has yielded a good profit since it was founded. It is the result of Akio Yamada’s different approach to the employees. He absolutely believes them, and motivates them to work themselves. So they can show 100 percent of their ability, think creatively, and make differentiated products against the other companies.
Someone said his management is nonsense academically. Yes, his philosophy may be against the economy theories which we believed till now. And of course, Akio Yamada didn’t know about economy theories. (He only graduated high school). But he realized the method of his own business management philosophy by himself. I think it is hard to say that his management is wrong academically, and I believe that he made innovative business management theory, especially in Human resource management. So, let’s think harder about it. Who knows? We may make a new theory which makes employees happier and also makes company a lot of profit at the same time, by this case study. And I hope it will help the managers who are hard to manage their employees.
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