Customer Reviews

Made In Japan Akio Morita and Sony

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In today's global economy, this book is a must-read for anyone looking for an insight into Eastern management philosophy. Akio Morita needs no introduction. A legend in his lifetime, he founded Sony, one of the most powerful and respected multinational corporations in the world.

This book is an autobiography of Akio Morita and it goes hand in hand with the story of growth and expansion of Sony as well as post World War II Japan. This is a story of young Japanese who dreamt of a great company and went on to establish one with his exceptional vision and intuitive ability. Many of us know the anecdote of how Sony's marketing team was not convinced of the viability of the idea of a device, which can play music when you play Golf and ignoring them Akio asked his Engineers to go ahead. Yes, we know that device by the name of Walkman.

The book starts with the Post World War II Japan, wounded psychologically and physically by the one of the biggest tragedies mankind has ever faced. The problems of rehabilitation, unemployment and recession, then reconstruction, the weakening of 'Zaibatsu' (the family owned Conglomerates) and strengthening of democratic style of management in companies, which helped many more Japanese corporations to come up, is explained beautifully.

Akio talks of the Japanese society and culture. The conservative and strong family-oriented culture reminds of the common Asian heritage we share with Japanese Society. This is really appreciable that such society can grow so advanced scientifically and technologically that it has not only challenged the countries traditionally considered powerhouse of industrial revolution but also taken a lead in many industries.

This book talks of the initial days of Sony in US market, initial problems and numerous complicated lawsuits it had to face. Then, finally being successful in creating a strong brand "Sony" in the US market.

This book tells of Akio as a person and family man. He proves that to have a successful career, you do not need to sacrifice family life. He says at one place that he thought of Sony as one of the children he has to raise. He comes across as a diehard believer in simple living and high thinking. He wittingly tells the difference between a rich man and a wealthy man to a European lady who refers him a better jeweler's shop for his wife. Akio believed in deep-rooted Japanese philosophy of "mottainai", which emphasizes on being skilled and efficient in using resources economically. It is wonderful to know how Japan is so successful despite being a nation with little natural resources. May be that is the reason for inventing smallest and at the same time powerful devices.

This book is a door to understanding Japanese management philosophy and work ethics. Akio in his lifetime made sure that he gets chance to address each new batch of fresh recruits into Sony on the company philosophy and tell what is expected out of them. He created a company culture of `employment for life-time' which he believed helps getting total loyalty of employees.

Akio was from the generation of Japanese entrepreneurs who not only created value and wealth for his company but was able to make `MADE IN JAPAN' brand famous across the world. This book tells how.

"Made in Japan" gives us insight in to Japanese working ethos, their dedication and vision. It is a story of SONY, a company that is world leader in many electronic and IT products, told in simple manner by creator of SONY Mr Akio Morita. Coming from him, one has to believe every word of it. It is fascinating to read and travel along, as the story progress, with a small seedling's growth in to a big corporate giant that SONY today is. No brashness, no adoption of unfair means, no showing off its economic strength. It is a plain simple story of a dreamer who dared to dream and succeeded. An interesting reading.

Inspite being deeply insightful of management technique it is written in a very fluid and story like manner that makes it a joy to read. Also provides insight into the culture of the Japanese people and the impact it has had on the way in which they do business. Wonderful!

Exhilarating. Reveals the mystery behind the corporation that made others run for competition. Also reveals a lot about Japan its people and the real issues facing Japanese society. If biased by anti-Japanse campgains then surely this book will help to understand the real Japanese Management.

Hi everyone, I have just completed this book and found it not only an interesting one but a necessarry one to be read by any preson who is thinking to become a sucessful manager. This book is the journy of Akio Morita and SONY together.

Here Mr. Akio Morita not only talks about himself and SONY, but gives you sum nut-crackers about management also. once you understand the meaning of having fate with your emplees, getting new ideas and evaluating them, taking compitition and respecting compititors, building a brand, most importance of quality control, and ofcourse inspiring your coligues to go ahead, you come to know that you have just finished half of management training in one book. that's why I said it's a must read for managers.

after reading this if you think on it you will find a positive change in your attitude and views.

An objective approach toward creating a winning company. A company, through a visionary leader, that focuses on its main resource: Its people. Akio Morita shows us that before being a good speaker, a leader must be a listener. A clear and easy book to read which brings us an other vision of doing business: Consensus, respect and risk taking.

I cant say enough about Akio's book it is nothing less than stupendous! I couldn't agree more with his business philosophy, strategies and wisdom. In my 15 plus years of owning a business I have used many references. Though it's a bit worn from so much use, Akio's book has been by my side for over 7 years now and I still refer to it often. I've read it and re-read it many times. His wisdom is unsurpassed!

John

Honolulu/Japan Businessman

I wavered awhile between three stars and two stars, because a company and entrepreneur as brilliant as Sony and Akio Morita seem to deserve at least three. However, in the end, the book's errors just piled too high. It opens well, with the story of Sony's founding and rise from leaking offices in a half-wrecked department store just after World War II, to becoming one of the world's great companies. This is a fascinating and inspiring story, and Morita tells it with flair.

Then, unfortunately, the downward spiral begins. Morita consistently takes his experience at Sony and assumes that every other Japanese company operates the same way, which is a fantastically wrong assertion (as the last thirteen years of Japan's seemingly endless recession have shown). He also frequently takes good basic management techniques, like trusting employees and giving them creative leeway, and tries to brand them as somehow uniquely "Japanese".

Then there are all the claims which are simply out-and-out false, such as Japan supposedly having the world's best construction technology. (It actually has perhaps the worst in the industrial world, as the Kobe earthquake unfortunately demonstrated.) Or how Japan is supposedly a nation fanatically devoted to not wasting anything. (Yet it only recently discovered the concept of "second-hand goods", instead of throwing nearly-new furniture and clothing away. Plus, Japanese garbage trucks groan under the weight of the world's worst overpackaging.)

Reading between the lines, a person can see the roots of so many of the problems that Japan faces today. For example, Morita spends a good deal of words attacking the excess of lawyers in the United States. While this can, of course, sometimes be a serious problem, it also gives U.S. consumers a way to protect themselves. Japan's consumers, on the other hand, without an accessible court system, are almost completely at the mercy of bureaucrats and executives. Complaints about dangerous products or chemicals in drinking water are simply ignored, because they lack any threat of legal action. In another example, Morita praises the "trust" and agreements without contracts that exist among Japanese corporations. In reality, this "trust" is a death pact, as bankrupt inefficient companies are propped up by their buddies, instead of letting them fall and create openings for fresh and innovative entrepreneurs.

Other than the glimpses into Sony's history and corporate culture, this book is only interesting as a museum piece - yet another in the flood of "Japan is going to take over" books that came out in the Eighties. Although, of course, considering all the "Internet companies are going to take over" books that came out in the Nineties, not even this is a uniquely "Japanese" phenomenon.

PS: Anyone wanting a healthy reality check about the current state of Japan should read "Dogs and Demons" by Alex Kerr.

It's a fascinating book - a must for anyone interested in the intersection of business and technology. And anyone who has valued the innovative design of Sony products will be interested in hearing their research/development/marketing stories. For example, there are detailed descriptions of the development of the home video recorder and the compact disc. As a creative force, Morita will be missed.

Ever since I have known about management or have been involved in any kind of management activities at work, my management style has been a footprint of the American way of managing things. One of the primary reasons for this is the fact that I have always worked with American clients. However, having said that I am a very emotional person at heart and I always put people before anything else, which is actually something that goes against the American way of managing things. This might be the striking reason why I enjoyed "Made in Japan" so much.

Before reading "Made in Japan" I used to feel that I am a little out of place at times, when it comes to People management because I have always put my heart before my head. However it seems there is a management style which agrees to it and it is the Japanese way of managing. Akio Morita has in this book spoken at length about the distinctions between the American or the Western style of management and the Japanese way of management. While in the western world "processes" play an absolute role and then people are aligned along these processes, in the Japanese world "people" play the central role and processes are aligned based on the kind of resources at hand. We might debate this at length, but it will not deny the fact that we have had more than a handful of successful companies from Japan.

Before Akio, gets into the management distinctions, he narrates the evolution of SONY from the burned down departmental shop affected by the bombings of World War-2. The kind of hardships he and Masaru Ibuka had to go through to get the company in action is an example of the dedication that the Japanese people are known for. Let me quote an example, in the days just after the second world war, SONY did not have proper resources to even separate the chemicals they were using for their research, so they had to use a frying pan to separate chemicals. It was through these hardships that SONY set its foot in the industrial market of Japan.

Through their amazing hard work and innovation skills, SONY played a crucial role in putting Japan back on the world map after the destruction's it faced post the world war. The next major step for SONY was international expansion. Given that they specialized in technology, USA was a natural market for them but to setup in USA, they had to go through a lot of political barriers given the background of the war between the two countries and also the fact that Japan itself had a market which was literally closed for exports. Akio through his diplomatic skills made sure these obstacles were surpassed and SONY spread its wings to USA and eventually to Europe.

One of the other striking things that I learned from this book was the complexities of foreign trade and the role cultural differences play in international trade. This book also talks to length about the impact of exchange rate rules on international trade and also the impact of regional trade laws.

Akio, as an individual was in some ways similar to Steve Jobs or vice-versa. I found it striking that when Akio was asked what prompted him to develop the tape-recorder when nobody had even heard of one, he said "People do not know what they want, we as technical people know it" Also he was of the firm belief that there is no need of middle men when trying to sell something to a customer and so he pioneered setting up SONY retail stores, again an attribute that Steve championed all his life. They say "Great minds think alike", this justified it.

I am very thankful to my best friend's father who recommended this book to me. Unlike books from other CEO's which focus primarily on management within their organizations, this book covers a broad spectrum of topics which one has to consider when setting up a new business and specially when planning to expand globally.