No.18   November 1, 2000   Problems of Japanese Companies in East and Southeast Asia   Shingo KONOMOTO        NRI provides a corporate vitality diagnosis service for Japanese companies operating in East and Southeast Asia. Our findings show that many Japanese companies manage their subsidiaries in a top-down, bureaucratic way and that, while these subsidiaries tend to foster a spirit of achievement whereby the organization responds faithfully to orders from above, they do not breed initiative.    If the Japanese managers of these subsidiaries want their decisions to mean something, the first thing they need to do is to understand the corporate culture better and find out exactly what their local staff members think. Our findings indicate that the subsidiaries of Japanese companies in East and Southeast Asia would increase their organizational vitality substantially if they addressed the following four issues: (1) the need to choose heads of departments or sections carefully; (2) the need to ensure that the wealth of information that circulates at the shop floor level reaches senior management; (3) the need to select and train potential senior managers carefully; and (4) the need to increase the vitality of veteran middle managers. Unless companies can improve the vitality of their subsidiaries in this way, any competition strategies they have will prove ineffective. Contents I "Corporate Vitality Diagnosis Program" 1 Strategic Vitality, Organizational Vitality and Leadership 2 Quantifying Corporate Culture II Characteristics of Japanese Subsidiaries in East and Southeast Asia 1 Top-Down, Bureaucratic Style of Management 2 Hard Taskmaster Managers III The Corporate Culture of Japanese Subsidiaries in China 1 Local Staff in Search of a Quick Return 2 Negative Correlation Between Vitality and Command of Japanese 3 Leadership Clearly Reflected in Performance 4 Middle Management Tends to Be Passive 5 Value of Employees with Experience in Working for a Foreign Company IV Issues Facing Japanese Subsidiaries in East and Southeast Asia 1 Selecting Leaders (Including Senior Managers) 2 Need for Bottom-Up Flow of Information 3 A System for Training Future Senior Managers 4 Increasing the Vitality of Veteran Middle Managers V Understanding Corporate Culture and the Feelings of Local Staff GO to PDF