Nikon Case Study

Management is the process of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling resources within a company to achieve organizational goals and economic well-being. With that being said, there are numerous theories regarding behavioural management as well as classical management approaches that can be considered as to which would predominate a Japanese business such as Nikon. Japanese business such as Nikon tend to make decisions by ‘consensus’, focus on the problem at hand, constantly increase effectiveness and focus, prioritize security and productivity, and open up to organizational change. A company such as Nikon could be expected to follow the guidelines of a bureaucratic organization their power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity

Being a part of the Japanese culture, Nikon has access to some of the most resourceful people in the world, Japan’s high scores in Hofstede’s uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and masculinity provide the fundamental tendencies to be meticulous planners and insightful in every step they take. Long range planning has become more prevalent in Japanese culture and therefore should be expected in a company such as Nikon. Japan’s high score in long-term orientation suggests that Nikon would benefit from the use of strategic plans, as they set out long term goals to accomplish using tactical plans. Additionally, Japan’s uncertainty avoidance score would have Nikon using tools such as forecasting, to predict future outcomes and be prepared. The use of forecasting as a tool allows Nikon to create contingency plans in order to have alternate courses of action should things go in any direction that is unexpected, again, this is a result of the Japanese culture and its intolerance to uncertainty and ambiguity. Goals are another integral part in Nikon’s management system, they keep the business well organized and aid in reducing uncertainty. For example, as a part of their business objectives, Nikon has specifically laid out three goals geared towards the future of their company; competency, succession planning, and global performance and development.

Although different, Henry’s can recognize just as well the importance of planning when it comes to operational success. Since Canada scores low on time orientation, they are considered a short-term orientation society. Henry’s would use operational plans to carry out business objectives as they describe what needs to be done in the short term and in response to different situations. These types of plans increase immediate efficiency and spur productivity in the moment, which is why it is appealing to a company like Henry’s. This method of thinking will also bleed into how Henry’s would set up goals and objectives, they have the short term in mind and want to accomplish tasks that will improve the company more immediately than Nikon would want to have happen in