Visiting Toyota Motor East Japan (TMEJ)

Today together with prof. Tetsuo Abo and members of Japanese Multinational Enterprise Study Group we visited Toyota Motor East Japan (TMEJ). TMEJ is the 3^rd regional manufacturing subsidiary of the Toyota group in Japan (after Toyota HQ in Nagoya and Toyota Kyushu). Company was created in July 2012 as a result of merger of Kanto Auto Works Ltd, Central Motor Co. Ltd and Toyota Motor Tohoku Corporation. The decision to merge the companies and develop car manufacturing in Tohoku was taken after the Great Earthquake in 2011 as way to support rebuilding of local community and industry in the Tohoku region. The new company focussed on developing and manufacturing compact cars, engines and other components. Currently it produces 3 models: SIENTA, AQUA and CH-R in the near future it will be responsible for manufacturing JPN Taxi – a new model of taxi designed for the 2020 Olympics.

 

The production facilities are as always in the the case of Toyota - impressive. It is hard to imagine but each car on the line is produced to the concrete specifications of individual client who ordered it... The new keyword is karakuri or karakuri kaizen, these are incremental improvements made by the shop floor employees, which focus on improving flow of parts so that the employee do not have move or pay attention to these processes. These may include automatic slides, carts or feeders and other simple devices. Word karakuri originates from karakuri dolls, which are automatic puppets produced by Japanese artisans in the 18th century. 

In the afternoon of the same day we visited ITIM (Industrial Technology Institute of the Miyagi Prefectural Government). It is a regional government institution responsible for support and technological development of local companies. Institute is very well equipped in a number of advanced measuring equipment which is quite cheaply accessible to local companies and industry. It is also closely cooperating with Toyota in development of local suppliers for the automotive industry. Since 2016 Institute launched a training course in digital engineering focused on 3D printing.

(CASE STUDY) TSUBAJIN: CONTINUITY OF ARTEFACTS

When a company is in business for more than 250 years and is lucky enough not to experience destructive events like fires earthquakes or wars it accumulates a wealth of artefacts, stories and experience. As a result it becomes much more than just a simple business – it becomes a living gallery, museum or archive. In such a company managers play a role of ‘custodians’ of tradition and memory. Tsubajin is a perfect example of such a company.

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Pikos, A., & Olejniczak, T. (2017). Business History in Poland: Current State and Future Potential. Journal of Management and Business Administration, 25(3), 55-77.

Not exactly a Japan related article but it is crutial element of my current comparative studies.

Abstract

Purpose: This article explores the gap in the business history literature devoted to Central and Eastern Europe and discusses the potential of conducting business history research in Poland.

Methodology: This is an explorative and tentative study based on a recently developed database of 387 Polish companies which are more than 100 years old.

Findings: The article explores the reasons behind the lack of business history debate in the Polish academia and discusses its future potential. We argue that given the size of population and a unique historical context, the Polish sample is worth studying as it can provide valuable contributions to well established debates in the field of business history debates covering issues such as continuity,

longevity, and survival strategies.

Research limitations and implications: This is an explorative and tentative study and therefore has several limitations, including a limited scope of companies included in the database, sources of data, and poor quality of corporate archives.

Originality and value: This is the first article explicitly discussing the potential of conducting business history studies in the context of empirical data concerning Polish long-lived companies.

Keywords: business history, historiography, Poland, organizational longevity

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Visiting Funabashiya 200-year old confectionary store

Today together with prof. Goto we visited Funabashiya a confectionary store established in 1805 and located Kameido district in Tokyo. The store might not look very impressive on the outside but inside is a totally different experience...

Funabashiya is proudly displaying it’s store sign with the calligraphy of the company name written on wood by Eiji Yoshikawa a famous Japanese historical novelist. Store sign dates back to after the war when the store was completely burned down and had to be rebuild from rubbles. Funabashiya current logo has 4 hidden meanings: Japanese hiragana alphabet letter KU for their product ‘Kuzumochi’, Japanese katakana alphabet letter FU for their name ‘Funabashiya’; those two sigs together form a DNA symbol, which is placed in the rectangular shape resembling tortoise shell and representing Kameido district.

Funabashiya is famous for their traditional sweets called „kuzumochi” made from a plain wheat flour fermented for 450 days. After the fermentation process is over flour is cooked and shaped into simple cubes with unique quality of firmness, which are then served with sweet sugar syrup and roasted soy flour. The main point is that after 450 days of preparation, this products has to be sold within 2 days! Funabashiya is very serious about maintaining this unique feature as it relates to natural traditional from Edo period as well as the elusiveness of human experience and of life itself. 

Funabashiya is a great example of ‘continuity trough change’ and also that it is never too late to succeed in business. They have very interesting family wisdoms such as “Reputation of the store is more important than blood” meaning that successors should be selected based on ability and not traditionally Japanese oldest son system. Another family motto is “make it than you sell” meaning both that good quality products will sell itself, as well as that selling bad quality products is unethical and short-sighted. Interestingly enough today’s CEO re-interprets “making” not only as manufacturing good quality product but as providing a unique customer experience, developing employees and relationships with local community. As a result 200-year old family wisdom remains intact and continues to guide the company in the 21^st century. Also what is interesting company director general Ms. Sato’s hobby is research in the company culture and she has some impressive results. She might be one of the most talented self-taught business archivists and historians I have ever met!

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Despite limitations to their scale of operations resulting from the production technology, Funabashiya is currently experiencing a boom for their products resulting from increase in health awareness and gluten free nature of their product. They currently have 23 stores around Tokyo and are expanding into pharmaceutical supplement business and plan overseas expansion. Despite 200 years they seem to still have their best years ahead of them! Just listen how their CEO and 8th generation owner Mr Watanbe talks about his business (in Japanese).

Probably the best way to work...

Visiting Prof. Haruo Funabashi

  Today together with Mr. Yuji Fujimura from ‘100-year Management Society’ we visited professor Haruo Funabashi - a Japanese expert in centennial firms and the author of multiple books on Japanese corporate philosophy. We talked about the Poland’s centennial firm and the factors that influence survival of family business.

Visiting Shibusawa Eichi Memorial Foundation

Once again I have a chance to visit fascinating archives of Shibusawa Eichi Memorial Foundation. This time there is temporary exhibition about Shibusawa's trip to Paris Exposition which changed his life and ultimately changed Japan - this is a good topic for a case study about the power of studying abroad!