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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Top Management Interview | | | | | | | | | | Globalization, Compliance and the Pursuit of "Quality First" | | | | | | | | | | Kanji Tanimoto, Professor of Hitotsubashi University discusses these key issues from the viewpoint of corporate social responsibility with Tetsuro Toyoda, President. | | | | | | | | | | Tanimoto That's the point isn't it. Today's debate over CSR not only covers issues such as shareholder dividends, compensation system and retained earnings, but also extends to consideration of the impact that business activities has on the environment and society. Ultimately stakeholders for corporate activities are not simply limited to customers, shareholders and employees, but also include potential shareholders, students as possible newcomers in the future and local communities. It is vitally important to conduct business honestly, keeping the existence and interests of these various stakeholders in mind. However, most Japanese companies that rapidly expanded their business globally are facing issues regarding how they can control their business activities and the impact of overseas subsidiaries and suppliers on local societies and environments. Toyoda Exactly. One of our core businesses, our materials handling equipment business has expanded rapidly on a global scale since 2000 when we acquired BT Industries of Sweden, the leading warehouse equipment supplier. Today, overseas sales account for 43% of our group sales, and approximately half of our approximately 30,000 employees do not speak Japanese. We can no longer operate on the basis of the Japanese commonality as before. | | | | | | Contribute to Society through Our Honest Work in Business, Keeping in Mind Our Responsibilities Tanimoto I would like to start by asking your views on CSR, or corporate social responsibility. Toyoda Our basic thinking is that we should contribute to society through our honest work in business. Corporate activities inevitably affect the world around us in various ways, and corporate responsibilities differ according to how we affect the world. Therefore, it is vital that we keep in mind our responsibilities as we go about our work. Supplying high quality products and services while steadfastly fulfilling these responsibilities is our basic philosophy. By ensuring we achieve this, we can generate proits that enable us to enhance dividends to shareholders, increase customer satisfaction, and provide beneits to employees while giving due consideration to the environment and society. I believe we must keep developing this kind of virtuous circle. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | How Can We Manage Overseas Subsidiaries and Suppliers as Business Expands Globally? Tanimoto Globalized business generates new social responsibilities different from the business operations based in Japan. For example, with regard to new social responsibilities, how do your overseas subsidiaries deal with the issue of employing members | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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