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Why Japanese companies do so many different things

davidoks.blog

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Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#351

Post by jdw64 »

rjzzleep wrote: post #307
jodacola wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It makes me wonder(i'm korean): how would a Westerner react if they saw me romanticizing the Mondragon cooperatives in Spain? They’d probably find it strange and out of touch with reality. Quite the opposite - for me, anyway. FWIW, as a Westerner, I find the Mondragon Corporation to be fascinating and something I've read a lot about because there's no way we've figured out the ideal sort of setup for a business (or…

Wait, how can you as a Korean say these things as if you're different, given that Korean companies are essentially the same?

Korean companies are no different, but the author only singled out 'Japan.'

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#352

Post by jinjin2 »

amunozo wrote: post #28
jodacola wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It makes me wonder(i'm korean): how would a Westerner react if they saw me romanticizing the Mondragon cooperatives in Spain? They’d probably find it strange and out of touch with reality. Quite the opposite - for me, anyway. FWIW, as a Westerner, I find the Mondragon Corporation to be fascinating and something I've read a lot about because there's no way we've figured out the ideal sort of setup for a business (or…

Same thing, being Spanish the Basque Cooperatives movement is fascinating. Do you have any recommended read about it?

There is a really interesting article that goes into the origin and modern development of the Mondragon Cooperative here: https://open.substack.com/pub/ellegriffin/p/mondragon-as-the...

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#353

Post by simianwords »

thfuran wrote: post #333
oefrha wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Failed businesses also tend to provide lower returns on capital, and that’s totally backed up by data. Doesn’t mean the “purpose” of those companies was to provide lower returns on capital.

The purpose of a system is what it does.

This is mostly a meaningless statement that can be used in any situation

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#354

Post by znpy »

btw we have an american company that's doing a lot of different things: Amazon.

dumb example: it does computer chips (graviton cpus), it does backpacks and stationary (stuff under the "amazon basics" brand), it does editorial work (amazon self-publishing), it does satellite communications. oh and cloud computing and more and more stuff.

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#355

Post by kdheiwns »

socalgal2 wrote: post #319
andrewmutz wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Japanese and American companies have different purposes. In Japan the corporation primarily provides stable income and employment for society, and secondarily returns on capital invested. In America, corporations primarily provide returns on capital invested and secondarily provide stable income and employment. This shows up in the data too. Japanese corporations are less likely to go out of business but provide wors…

If you see how Japanese CEOs live, they live a far more deprived life on the backs of their employees than any billionary CEO in the USA. Japanese companies are centered around treating most employees like indentured servants in a sweatshop so the few bosses can have giant expense accounts, vacation houses, company cars, etc.

Japanese CEOs have a Toyota Crown in their garage and spend each Friday night at a kyabakura/hostess bar with a few employees. They take a trip to Hawaii twice a year.

American CEOs are on the board of 8 companies but spend 5 minutes a year combined at the offices of those companies. They spend their weekends at private islands off the coast of the US Virgin Islands with other billionaires. They fire employees who ask for health care benefits or a day off. They actively endorse political candidates who went to the same private island with them and who will lengthen working hours, reduce benefits, and make it easier to fire employees. They want global surveillance to track anyone who's ever even considered saying anything bad about them. When it's possible to inject ads directly into our brains, those CEOs will force their employees to do it.

As an American who's been in Japan for a very long time and worked at Japanese companies, Japanese companies don't pay big bucks, but there are fewer deranged ultra rich people within them.

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#356

Post by greazy »

jdw64 wrote: post #7

It’s always fascinating to see how Westerners idealize Japan on platforms like HN. It makes me wonder(i'm korean): how would a Westerner react if they saw me romanticizing the Mondragon cooperatives in Spain? They’d probably find it strange and out of touch with reality. This essay on Japan's corporate diversification and physical tacit knowledge is an interesting read. However, as an East Asian, my assessment is tha…

Besides your point but I learned about Mondragon on hacker news!

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41438060

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#357

Post by jdw64 »

CarlitosHighway wrote: post #325
jdw64 wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When U.S. giants like Walmart or Amazon squeeze their suppliers, the natural consequence is cost-cutting and a drop in quality control. But for regional companies in Japan and Korea, regional mobility is incredibly difficult. In Japan, for instance, even politics is often "hereditary," and there is a strong overarching tendency for people and businesses to stay rooted in one specific region (while many do migrate to…

Thank you for your posts, which 100% match my experiences with Japan and Westerners not being able to see through the "Tatemae".

If you are from the West, navigating East Asian culture can be exceptionally grueling. At a fundamental level, our societies tend to be inherently exclusive toward different races.

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#358

Post by greazy »

codazoda wrote: post #277

Here’s a weird aside… I like to create little businesses. Most of them are unsuccessful. I tried to get a bit of business liability insurance, including E&O for this, but it’s proven to be somewhat difficult: I do too many things. I design and sell 3D printed plastic parts, write books, publish a blog, and publish software. I’ve tried this like three times (it’s time consuming). Last time I decided to stick with just…

As someone who dreams up many types of businesses (yet rarely go through with any), thanks got sharing your blog.

Reading it now, great read!

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#359

Post by thelastgallon »

Others big coops (that I know of!):

Amul is controlled by 3.6 million milk producers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amul

U.S. energy-producing cooperatives are consumer-owned, not-for-profit utilities providing power to over 42 million Americans across 56% of the nation's landmass. These entities consist of local distribution systems, generation and transmission (G&T) cooperatives, and agriculture-focused energy co-op.

The nation’s 900 electric cooperatives (co-ops) power the homes of more than 42 million Americans across 47 states: https://www.energy.gov/cmei/success-stories/articles/eere-su...

I wonder what it unique about electricity that this model is widely adopted in a predominantly anti-worker country in the world. Is it because farmers are the biggest votebank? And mostly rich, powerful, have all the political connections?

Re: Why Japanese companies do so many different things

#360

Post by thelastgallon »

thelastgallon wrote: post #359

Others big coops (that I know of!): Amul is controlled by 3.6 million milk producers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amul U.S. energy-producing cooperatives are consumer-owned, not-for-profit utilities providing power to over 42 million Americans across 56% of the nation's landmass. These entities consist of local distribution systems, generation and transmission (G&T) cooperatives, and agriculture-focused energy co-o…

I almost forgot to mention Mumbai Dabbawala Association delivering food with clockwork precision since 1890, long before any of these web[1.0,2.0,3.0] 'tech' existed.

Mumbai Dabbawala Association is a 125-year-old, cooperative-style logistics system that delivers approximately 200,000 home-cooked meals daily to office workers across the city.

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