Organizational Nature, Structure, Products of Panasonic Corporation - Case Study Example

Panasonic Corporation Student’s Name University Affiliation Date Panasonic Corporation Introduction Organizations are formed with the purpose of achieving goals effectively. The important aspect of its formation is that people discover that they cannot achieve a specific goal individually. They would then find a way of forming a body that would represent their ideals and spearhead the achievement of their goals. This body would then be registered and come up with strategies to arrive at its target. Occasionally, they would have the members meet to discuss the prevailing issues and also review their objectives. Their challenges would be addressed and several remedies suggested. The life of the organization would depend on individual support and contribution. Those that contributed effectively to it would sustain the life of the organization, as they openly show concern for its growth and development. An organization that has members that only show loyalty without a shred of pro-activeness would only result in redundant development. Such organizations are destined to fail in their missions and never realise their vision. However, the current situation enables organizations to cater for times of challenges that might indicate slow growth. The growth can be something that they can identify either in good time, before it is realised by the outside community or one that the community points out. Either way, they problem will have to be addressed. One such organization is the Panasonic Corporation. The company, which changed its name at the early start of the century, has been one of the leading companies in the world involved with the production of electrical appliances. Its major competitors include Sony, Canon, Toshiba and Hitachi, also Japanese based. The reasons of having such an organization standing despite the vicissitudes of close to a century of existence are simple yet difficult to comply with. Some of the basic values are the same that are emphasized albeit ignored at the elementary education level. Panasonic is proof of the benefits of sticking to these values. This report discusses in detail the organizational nature, structure, products, its position in its line of trade and in its efforts to achieve its objectives, the current systemic arrangement of the organization and recommendations on how to better its services. History Formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited, the company has been existent for close to one hundred years (Indeed.com, n.d). It started operating at around the same time when the First World War ended. It bore this name up to October 2008, when it was unanimously agreed that the company should adopt the new and current title of Panasonic Corporation. From the previous name, the company was started by the Matsushita family, started by Konosuke Matshusita by selling lamp sockets and bicycles (Indeed.com, n.d). The business started to boom at the start of the Second World War, when companies and the nation at large was in need of electrical gadgetry. It would later specialize in the production of high-fidelity appliances and short frequency communication systems, applicable at home and in the field. The work ethic of the family was clearly demonstrated when the brother in law formed another company to work on the same products as Panasonic and one of its biggest competitors, Sanyo. However, a year after it changed its name to Panasonic, it bought Sanyo as one of its subsidiaries. Seeing that it also wanted to expand its market, Panasonic resorted to other countries and continents, one of the biggest markets being America (Indeed.com, n.d). In the US, it would ship its products under different brands such as Technics and Emerson. As a slight change to the material it produced, it would form cookers in Japan, another appliance that would later be sold internationally. Presently, the company has shifted to the production of digital electrical products as from 2006 and in line with the global agreement. A slight deviation from its products, it has also come up with home renovation services, a package that it never used to offer in the past but has been receiving widespread acknowledgement. It has bought several companies within and outside Japan, over 500 in number, all in the effort of increasing is market share and profit margin (Indeed.com, n.d). The strategies that it effectively uses are common among the other recognizable organizations. Despite the simplicity in its operations, it requires discipline to attain the level at which it has attained in the world market. Arrangement and Attainment of Objectives The slogan used by the company is ‘A Better Life, A Better Word’. It not only captures the vision of the company for itself and the world, but also represents the mission and intention to attain it. To achieve this goal, it has to ensure that its arrangement is in no way limiting. The arrangement at the start of the company is different from what it currently uses. In the past, the company would be run by members of the family, having a large percentage of the stock. The executive duties would be handled by the father, who oversaw all the other duties that significantly affected the performance of the company. This type of leadership was typical at the time in the East (Sako, 2006). However, as time passed, the management changed and so did the systemic arrangement of the corporation. It is also important to note that the management has changed with regard to the changed objectives. The initial objective was to provide the world with a better way of performing their daily activities and enhancing the experience of the communications systems. It would to this by expanding its market locally and globally. However, the objectives have changed ever since the world expressed its concerns for the ecological maintenance of the world. It would streamline all its routine activities to achieve ‘Green Transformation’ (Panasonic Newsroom Global, 2015). Its current vision, as relayed by the former president, Fumio Ohtsubo in a summit where he explained the new organization’s growth and strategy, is to be the number one Green Innovation Company in the Electronics Industry (Panasonic Newsroom Global, 2015). Japan has been cited as one of the countries that pollute its environment and affecting the global effects significantly. Panasonic has stood out as one to the companies geared to achieving the universal goal of remedying the situation that also faces some of the leading economies in the world. The organization chart indicated below shows the structural and systemic division with which it is geared toward achieving this vision. One can also see the Energy Systems Business Division having one unit that deals with the use of Solar Power as one of the green sources of energy. The Ecology Systems is also another division that would address the issue of Green Innovation. The variable goods produced indicate the diverse ways in which the company is likely to come up ways of achieving its goal and realizing its vision. The image below indicates the organization’s chart, aligned with its centennial vision. (Panasonic.com, 2015) Management, Culture, Effectiveness and Strategies The current management of the corporation is headed a board of executives. The chairman is Shusaku Nagae and his vice, Masayuki Matsushita (Panasonic.com, 2015). The president is Kazuhiro Tsuga and Yoshihiko Yamada and Kazunori Takami as the executive vice presidents. Along with the other managers in various divisions, the unified intention is to enhance the society and expand the company locally (as headed by one of the vice president) and internationally (as led by the other vice president) (Panasonic.com, 2015). The headquarters of the company is in Kadoma, Osaka Japan. The managers are subject to review based on the company terms and regulations and in accordance with the founding family of the company. The management has managed to diversity its employees to a total of slightly over 270,000 (Panasonic.com, 2015). In the long list of the managers affiliated to the company, they have maintained some philosophies that have enabled it to rise to the top in its line of operation. However, the central philosophy that the company still holds to date is the one formulated by the founder, Konosuke Matsushita. It states, “Recognizing our responsibilities as industrialists, we will devote ourselves to the progress and development of society and well-being of people through our business activities, thereby enhancing the quality of life throughout the world.” (Panasonic.com, 2015). The philosophy centers on the responsibility of the organization to itself and the community. It defines the role of industrialists to oneself and to others. It formulates the basis of the culture that runs in the organization (Indeed.com, n.d). The leaders have a duty to the customers and the employees in realizing the goal of Konosuke Matsushita. It also in agreement with the current objective of the company, which gears it to venture into eco-business. It is also the reason for the formation of the Ecological Systems Division. The value that the company puts into the individual effort has managed to attract, develop and retain majority of its employees locally and internationally. The other value that adds to the principle culture and that which bolsters the effectiveness of the company is the mantra ‘A Better Life, A Better World’. It encompasses the mission of the organization to boost itself to achieve its daily objectives to not only itself, but also to the world. The effectiveness is further achieved by the frequency of change of the management, suited to perform particular tasks at given stages of the company. Each department has a set of managers, with targets for each term. Additionally, some of their roles overlap making their roles easier to monitor, while nurturing the spirit of teamwork. The value that they have for teamwork is envisioned in the company creed. It states that the value of the company can only be achieved through the combined effort and cooperation of each employee (Panasonic.com, 2015). This form of unity has enabled them to perform their duties with dedication, diligence and integrity. They also affirm the agreed notion that the organization is only as good as its workers. The better the relationship between the management and the employees, the more the satisfaction that each derives from their duties (Cook, 2008). It also upholds seven principles that assist in the maintenance of its business philosophy. These are contribution to society, fairness and honesty, cooperation and team spirit, untiring effort for improvement, courtesy and humility, adaptability and finally gratitude (Panasonic.com, 2015). A simple cross-check of these values shows how the values are no different from what instructors emphasize in school. While stating them might be easy, staying true to them proves to be the daunting task. Only by abiding by these values do they live the slogan of the corporation, of bettering life and the world. Recommendations The number of companies bought by Panasonic is at a staggering 530. The employees that is has is over 270,000. They have managed to change the world by advancing the way in which people understand and use technology. This has been their primary product for years. However, now they need to look at the social aspect as well. They should start a means of reaching out to the people with not only technology in mind by other subject areas as well (Cook, 2008). For instance, the corporation recently started working on the home renovation package. This is one step in the right direction. They should start expanding this program by reaching out to the children at a younger age with the role of empowerment through information (Lee, 2010). At the college level, they should encourage the stretching of one’s capabilities by engaging in research in not only technology but in ecological innovativeness, to align with the new vision (Culpan, 2014). Finally, they should increase their programs in Africa. For years now countries have stressed that Africa is the future. China has already started forming bonds with different countries. It has been paramount to the development. Panasonic should develop more projects in Africa. It will discover that in the country where there is so much to explore, it will find a hoard of ideas touching on ecological advancement. In this way, it will achieve its goals while striking a rapport with the members of the continent. In spite of the open opportunities in Africa, it should expect a number of challenges. However, it is destined to defeat these difficulties by the strong work ethic it has demonstrated over the years. This approach will change the company in ways that it is yet to comprehend. References Cook, S. (2008). The essential guide to employee engagement: Better business performance through staff satisfaction. London: Kogan Page. Culpan, R. (2014). Open innovation through strategic alliances: Approaches for product, technology, and business model creation. Indeed.com,. (n.d). What's the company culture at Panasonic? - Panasonic Jobs | Indeed.com. Retrieved 26 August 2015, from http://www.indeed.com/forum/cmp/Panasonic/s-company-culture-at-Panasonic/t11026 Lee, G. (2010). Business process management of Japanese and Korean companies. New Jersey: World Scientific. Panasonic.com,. (2015). Philosophy & Business - Our Company - About Us - Panasonic Global. Retrieved 26 August 2015, from http://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/management/philosophy.html Panasonic.com,. (2015). Senior Management - Corporate Profile - About Us - Panasonic. Retrieved 26 August 2015, from http://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/profile/executives.html Panasonic Newsroom Global,. (2015). Panasonic Announces New Group Organization and Growth Strategy | Panasonic Newsroom Global. Retrieved 26 August 2015, from http://news.panasonic.com/global/topics/2011/7234.html Sako, M. (2006). Shifting boundaries of the firm: Japanese company-Japanese labour. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 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