Panasonic is a Japanese electronics company founded in 1918 by Konosuke Matsushita. It has over 330,000 employees worldwide and generates annual revenue of over $7.8 trillion. Konosuke Matsushita believed in a philosophy of "being a humble merchant" and focusing on customers, employees, and business basics. Under his leadership, Panasonic grew rapidly and became a global leader in consumer electronics through innovation and quality products. In recent years, Panasonic faced difficulties but a new president is focusing on green technology and restructuring to return the company to growth and profitability.

1. Panasonic
Matsushita Konosuke
And the Will to Overcome Any Obstacle
Zhenzhong Dong, Jessica McLain, Alfonso Sintjago,
Ji-Yun Kang, Huiwen Yang,

2. Type Public
Electronics
Industry Semiconductors
Home appliances
Founded March 13, 1918 (Osaka,Japan)
Founder Konosuke Matsushita
Revenue ¥7.846 trillion (2012)
Profit ¥773 billion (2012)
Employees 330,767 (March 31, 2012)
Subsidiaries Sanyo

3. Konosuke's Philosophy
In a single imperative: " Be a Humble Merchant."
Explanation:
1. Close to the customers
2. Encourage employees to change
3. Late 1960s, company's psyche:
A.keep your head down
B.focus on the business basics
C.waste no time on foolish publicity
D.be modest
4. national shops ( now Panasonic)

4. Konosuke's Age
Regional balance in Japan:
Consider highly about the
regional difference in Japan
Global Thrust:
Each affiliate companies had its
own global agenda.
The Glory Years,1950-
1984:
Product explode

5. Konosuke's Age Continued
Panasonic Information and Communications Systems Center (1992)
The Hard Years, 1985-1999
Humble philosophy did not adapt to this age.
The End of the Twentieth Century:
Reorganization of the company is inevitable.

6. Reforming Brand:
Panasonic Idea for Life
Major Problems:
Individual marketing team with
no coordination
Limited marketing budgets
Multiple product lines
Multiple brandlines
Multiple expression of the brand
A Declarative Statement:
A lifelong commitment to customers.

7. Matsushita Konosuke
"The God of Management"
November 27, 1894 – April 27, 1989

8. MK's Life and Family
The family’s economic fortunes
collapsed in 1899
His academic performance was only
average... KM admitted he was not a
good student
He worked 80 to 90 hours a week and
lived with the Godais in Senba for six
years in a bicycle store.
By 1913 the ten person family was
down to three: KM and two sisters
In 1915 Konosuke at age 20 married
Mumeno at age 19
KM at age ten with Mrs. Godai,
the bicycle shop owner’s wife (1905)

9. MK's Practical Education
"When he began working for
himself in 1917, he had 100 yen,
less than four years of formal
education, no connections to
important people, and a history of
family trauma" (Kindle, Loc 206)
"Most of those in Matsushita’s
position would have finished their
apprenticeship, hoping to
eventually become a master
themselves. KM chose a different
course." (Kindle, Loc 671)
"Yet within six months, he left the
company. Matsushita has offered a
number of different explanations as
to why he severed relations with his
Outside view of a reproduction of the house employer of seven years. To some
degree, the problem was the new
that served as both factory and home during job. The position was unfulfilling"
the early years of Matsushita Electric (Kindle, Loc 806)

10. Building Panasonic
"None of the five had the equivalent of a high school
education. None had any experience with a start-up
company. None was wealthy or had connections to
sources of finance. More basically, not one of them knew
how to manufacture an electrical socket." (Kindle, Loc
858)
"In early December, the wholesaler came to Matsushita
and suggested that he set aside the electric plug project
and make one thousand insulator plates. KM agreed to
do so without hesitation." (Kindle, Loc 907)
Matsushita Electric’s first product, an
attachment plug (1918)

11. Early Years
"At each shop, the sales reps left a few
samples, put one lit lamp on display, and
asked for no money. They told retailers that
MEI would accept payment only if the products
were sold and the stores were convinced that
their customers were satisfied" (Kindle, Loc
1140)
MEI went against the grain in all of these
areas, especially in advertising. In The
Matsushita Phenomenon, Rowland Gould put
it this way: “Matsushita promoted the brand
name ‘National’ into a household word through
The bullet-shaped bicycle lamp (1923) splashy advertising (Kindle, Loc 1219)

12. Rapid Growth and Expansion
1929 in response to the depression: "“Cut production by half
starting now, but don't dismiss any employees. We'll reduce
output not by laying off workers, but by having them only work
[in the factory for] half-days" (Kindle, Loc 1319)
The inexpensive “Super Iron” (1927) By the end of 1931, Matsushita Electric was no longer a small
enterprise. It manufactured more than two hundred different
kinds of products in four categories: wiring fixtures, radios,
lamps and dry batteries, and electrothermal devices (Kindle, Loc
1432)... As a result, employment nearly doubled, growing to 886
"By 1942, ten years after entering the business, Matsushita
Electric was the largest radio manufacturer in Japan, with 30
percent market share and a monthly volume of 30,000 units."
(Kindle, Loc 1414). The radio was developed in 3 months.
MK's Radio - 3 Months
Development (1931)

13. WWII and Recovery
In May of 1933, Matsushita reorganized
the firm by product. into 4 divisions
(radios, batteries, wiring implements,
and heating appliances).
In February 1932, an export department
was established—possibly the first of its
kind for an electrical manufacturer in
Japan
As early as 1938, Matsushita Electric
manufactured a few products for the
military (ships, bayonets, etc...)
The years after WWII were difficult. Not
until 1950 were both KM and the firm KM explaining the The first issue of the PHP
allowed to operate freely again. division system (1933) journal (1947)
"The man who went into the war a citizen of Japan came out more of an internationalist. The man who wished
to serve society as a means to grow his firm became more concerned with the condition of humankind as an end
in itself." (Kindle, Loc 2125)

14. Leadership Credo
Explaining ideas from his book,
Thoughts on Man (1972)

15. Transformational Leadership
Exceptional form of influence that moves followers to
accomplish more than what is usually expected of them.
His inquisitiveness, challenging the status quo, his vision, and his ability to inspire his
employees were far from the norm among corporate heads in the 1930s and ‘40s."
Quadrupling sales in five years by 1961 is a goal set not out of greed for fame or profit,
but as a means of fulfilling the duty manufacturers have to society.
By 1970 MEI was probably the most efficient large enterprise in all of Japan. More
efficient than Sony, Honda and mighty Toyota.
"KM helped convince us that infinite possibilities really did exist"
- Shinya, head designer at MEI

16. Servant Leadership
Helping followers grow and succeed, Behaving ethically,
and Creating value for community
- First to employ a division system giving each division significant amount of
authority and independence
- Passion for education : Sales training institute (1934), factory worker training
facility (1936), MIGM (1979)
- Gave Japanese workers time to enjoy life, MEI was the first well-known
Japanese company to change to five-day work week while keeping the same
wages
- Raise employee wage levels so that they would exceed those in Europe and
be compatible with incomes in North America.
- KM believed that mission of a manufacturer should be to overcome poverty, to
relieve society as a whole from misery.

17. Authentic Leadership
Sense of purpose, strong values, self-discipline
- Leadership by example.
- Tried to find meaning to his life and his past sufferings.
- PHP (Peace Happiness through Prosperity) Institute
○ Human beings are by nature basically good and responsible.
○ The human race has demonstrated a capacity for growing and
progressing both materially and spiritually
○ Human beings have the power of choice
○ We have the capacity to bring material and intellectual resources to
bear on the difficult problems facing the world.
○ Solving difficult problems requires above all an open mind and the
willingness to learn.

18. Ethical Leadership
Respect others, Builds community, Manifest honesty,
shows justice
- Decisions were made with input from
many employees and implemented only
after everyone has had a say
- KM's wealth came from his stock not his
salary
- Shifting manufacturing employees to
sales instead of layoffs during depression
- Often bowed to junior store clerks and
other employees. KM was courteous
KM at the signing ceremony which founded
regardless of rank and status.
the Matsushita Electric Labor Union (1946)

19. Global Leadership
Cross cultural experience
- His very first trip to NY in 1951(57 years old) one-
month trip became three months (movies, haircut...)
- Next trip to Europe
- Learned that sending its own employees abroad
was necessary to transfer the company’s culture...
Building global business
- Joint venture with N.V Philips, a Dutch Company Matsushita leaves Japan for his first U.S. visit (1951)
- Sales company established in the U.S
- Under the brand names of National and Panasonic,
millions of VCRs, radios, shavers, TVs, and more
were purchased by citizens of dozens of countries
- Compared to nearly every other company in and out
of Japan, Matsushita Electric’s growth starting in the
1950s was explosive. Only two other firms saw equal
success: Honda and Sony.(Kindle, Loc 2354)
KM signing a joint-venture agreement
with Philips Electronics (1952)

20. Cultural Implications
Individual level
- Personal life, romance
- Very visible, unlike other Japanese leaders
Corporate level
- Daily ritual of morning assemblies
- Divisional structure, delegating
- Respect for employees
National level
- Role of the government: Zaibatsu
Global Level
- Cultural experiences in NY, joint venture with Konosuke Matsushita with his wife Mumeno
Philips, sales company establishes in US. at Arashiyama in Kyoto (1941)

21. MK Politics
Founded the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management (MIGM) in 1979, where administrators,
part-time instructors, and students run the institute. Students are taught to develop in them five qualities: (1) a
sincere belief that real determination can overcome nearly any obstacle, (2) a spirit of independence in
thought and action, (3) a willingness to learn from all one’s experiences, (4) an ability to break away from old
stereotypes and traditional thinking, and (5) a capacity to cooperate and collaborate with others.
After graduation, most alumni keep in close contact with the school. They generate projects for students. They
help each other in their election campaigns. And they hope—at least some of them do—to change the nature
of Japanese politics.(Kindle, Loc 3026) As of mid-1993, 130 students had graduated from MIGM. In the July
1993 national elections, twenty-three MIGM alumni ran for seats for the national Diet, the equivalent of the U.
S. Congress.(Kindle, Loc 245)
The Matsushita Institute of Government and Management

22. MK The Philanthropist
Establishment of the Japan Prize in 1983. The award “is intended to honor scientists, of whatever
nationality, whose research has made a substantial contribution to the attainment of a greater degree
of prosperity for mankind.”
His philanthropies accelerated as he aged. From 73 to 77 he donated over $21 million. During the next
ten years, the gifts grew to $78 million. In ‘88 and ‘89, his charities totaled $276 million. (Kindle, Loc
2905)
At the second Japan Prize award ceremony (1986)

23. MK The Author
He rarely attended the symphony or went on
long vacations.
The institute also published around four
hundred books per year
Hundreds of titles were also offered on video.
PHP(Peace and Happiness through
Prosperity), has for some time had a larger
circulation than any other monthly publication
in Japan
Matsushita’s first book dates to 1953, his last Speaking to supporters of the PHP Institute (1965)
to 1990. In total, forty-six manuscripts bear his
name.
He listened to their advice, even agonized
over it but ultimately, he published his ideas
anyway
His perspective on government and
management could be radical
Virtually none of his publications refers to his
childhood.
Guiding Emperor Showa on the grounds of
the Asuka Preservation Foundation (1979)

24. Difficulties
Product homogeneity
Price competition
Economies of scale
Unwilling to cut off profit
losing department
Limited by their own
specifications "Second straight year, with an estimated total
loss of more ¥1.5 trillion, or around $19 billion,
over the two fiscal years." - WSJ

25. Recent Changes: 2012 President,
Kazuhiro Tsuga
"Since the foundation of our company in 1918, we have been carrying out all of
our activities following our management philosophy which commits us to making
a contribution through our business operations to improving the lives of people
around the world, and to the further progress of society. Always making "people"
central to our activities and thereby focusing on "people's lives," we have been
moving forward together with our customers. And now, looking to 2018, the
100th anniversary of our founding, we are working under a grand vision of
becoming a Green Innovation Company where we can integrate our
environmental contribution and our business growth. As global environmental
issues are becoming the biggest common challenge that the global community
faces, starting with people's lives, we aim to take the lead in bringing about a
green revolution, and create a society in which people's lives are enriched in a
sustainable manner. We believe that this is the approach we should take to put
into practice our management philosophy in today's world."
Kazuhiro Tsuga,
Presidents Message
Corporate activities are based on an unchanging management objective,
established by the founder Konosuke Matsushita, stipulating that the company
must contribute to society through its business as a public entity.

26. Leadership Styles - Staying focused
on the Customer, MK's mission
Mr. Tsuga joined Panasonic in 1979. His first
Transformational Leader: Giving subordinates
project was working on an electronic version of
clear instruction about his expectations and what
the Chinese board game Go.
needs to be done for changes to be made in the
For the next 29 years, he was in research and organization.
development, building up a portfolio of patents
but developing little management experience. In Directive Leadership/Achievement Oriented
1986, he earned a master’s degree in computer
path Goal theory: Give subordinates instructions
science from the University of California, Santa
Barbara. about their task, including:
● goal to become the No. 1 Green •what is expected of them,
Innovation Company in the electronics •how it is to be done,
industry by 2018, the 100th anniversary of •the timeline for when it should be completed
its foundation.
● a bold leader "We will offer better living which provides people
● making tough decisions to turn company around the world with a sense of security, comfort
around. and joy in a sustainable way.Our most pressing
● preaches survival through tough love. priority must be to return the basics and thoroughly
pursue customer value. Panasonic's DNA is to
● Main goal is to restructure and “build
focus on its customers."
products that will sell around the globe”

27. References
Inagaki, T; Osawa, J (Oct 31, 2012). Panasonic Stock Tumbles. New York, NY: The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204712904578089962887027962.html
Kelly, T (Nov. 8 2012). A New Style of Leadership at Panasonic. New York, NY: The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/09/technology/09iht-panasonic09.html
Kotter, J.P (2010). Matsushita Leadership. New York, NY: The Free Press
Weston, M. (1999). Giants of Japan: The lives of Japan's greatest men and women. New York, NY:
Kodansha America