KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND DIALECTICS

(That's when it hit me that there is no use to being in business if you
can't make a profit.” 18
To Mitarai, however, maintaining lifetime employment is as
important as earning a profit. He believes that lifetime employment,
combined with meritocracy, is still the most effective form of
employment in Japan. In the U.S., employees ((have more mobility and
job opportunities than Japanese workers do, as well as a social
infrastructure that allows them to move from job to job.” 19 That is not
the case in Japan, he contends, where employees are part of the family.
Founded by his uncle Takeshi Mitarai, a medical doctor, Canon still has
not forgotten the importance of providing job security as a way of
keeping employees hard-working and loyal.
Mitarai pledges a no lay-off policy even today, when Japan is in an
economic quagmire. He advocates lifetime employment on three
grounds:
First, lifetime employment creates an organization that shares a
common destiny. By not laying people off during bad times, we build a
trusting relationship. Second, it takes 10 to IS years to develop a patent,
which means that we need to create an environment that people feel
secure about their job and livelihood. It's different from seniority. The
fact that we have 73,000 patents is living proof that lifetime employment
works positively, not negatively. Third, there is the problem of
confidentiality. We have multiple layers of built-in security checks, but
the best way to keep secrets from leaking out is to inspire loyalty. 20
18
19
20
Nippon Keizai Shimbun-sha (2001), p. 34.
Holstein (2002), p. 52.
Interview with Fujio Mitari on January 24, 2002 at Palace Hotel in Tokyo.
HIROTAKA TAKEUCHI AND IKUJIRO NONAKA: KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND
DIALECTICS (0507; p. 31 )