Kazuki Hamada - Böcker

This book deals with the systems of cost reduction that originated in Japan. These are mostly new systems that did not exist in western practices before they were utilized in Japan. The book also presents the Japanese ways of carrying out the globally popular cost reduction practices.(1) It describes the strategic cost management conducted by top management through alliances between companies and/or between government and industry.(2) It shows the functional cost reduction systems along the various phases of the product life cycle, as follows: R&D → Product development → Manufacturing → Administration and indirect operations(3) It conducts some humanistic or behavioral aspects of Japanese cost reduction systems.

The authors focus on the problem of sustainability from the standpoint of corporate management in this book. They propose that "sustainability management not only earns profits, but also fulfills social responsibilities while considering the environment, people, and society, and enables management to continue to have the potential to survive in the future". In that sense, it is also related to the Sustainability Development Goals. To fulfil this aim, the authors focus on how companies should implement sustainability management through considering both the theoretical aspects and practical aspects of actual companies.From a theoretical perspective, the authors consider the construction of a business model that achieves both economic and social value, the implementation method of governance control, and the performance evaluation method. From a practical perspective, the current state of sustainability management in Japanese companies is analysed by focusing on the cases of two manufacturing companies and two service companies. In addition, since cooperation with other companies and other organizations is necessary for implementation, the authors explore the ideal form of cooperation between companies and cooperation between the private sector and local governments.

This book provides critical information on a wide selection of cases and theories that detail reforms and innovations in Japanese companies, in their decade-long struggle to recover from the 1991 bubble burst. It examines the Japanese concept of business value, business restructuring, organizational redesign and new business models.The book is unique in that the technique and models described are all originally developed in Japan. It will serve as a useful reference source for companies looking for ways to rejuvenate their businesses.

With increased competition among business groups, companies need to enhance the value of their business and effectively manage individual firms. This book explores and elucidates business group and inter-firm management in Japanese environments, both theoretically and practically through case studies, survey research and other methodologies. In considering the concept of the “Keiretsu” in Japan, as well as other management methods employed by Japanese companies, this book provides extensive coverage on uniquely Japanese management methods. Examples are the application of evaluation system, execution of M&A, utilization of segment information, management of inter-firm relations, and organizational learning. The analyses, hypotheses and conclusions presented in this book will be useful for business practitioners and scholars.