Mitsubishi 2006 Annual Report Download - page 45

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MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION ANNUAL REPORT 2006 43 MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION ANNUAL REPORT 2006
The Business Ethics Committee was established in June
2004 as an advisory body to the Board of Directors to
help rebuild trust in MMC. Made up only of external
experts, the committee advises the Board of Directors
from the standpoint of establishing compliance.
Another role of the committee is to provide guidance
and advice to the CSR Promotion Office, which pro-
motes business ethics and corporate culture reforms
as well as quality audits.
As chairman of the Business Ethics Committee, I
realize that MMC is taking numerous initiatives to put
compliance, safety and customers first, as part of a
sincere effort to ensure the continued existence of the
company. Together with other committee members, I
will continue to check and provide guidance on these
initiatives from the standpoints of an independent ob-
server and in terms of social norms, with the aim of
restoring public trust in MMC.
Two years have passed since the first meeting of the
Business Ethics Committee was held in July 2004. At
the 26 meetings held so far, the committee has raised
questions and offered candid opinions on each and every
report received from the company. The committee has
also promoted and kept a watchful eye over reforms
aimed at strengthening compliance through visits to
plants and other actions. I feel that the series of reso-
lute measures implemented by the current management
team underscores their determination to reform and
revitalize MMC. They have squarely addressed past recall
issues that triggered a loss of customer confidence.
MMC notified the authorities of all recall issues where
necessary and reopened its investigation into the cause
of the recall issues. Based on the findings, MMC made
a clean break with the past by holding those responsible
accountable for their actions. Concrete measures to pre-
vent any future recurrence and to revitalize MMC have
been announced and are being implemented.
I believe that MMC is making steady strides toward
revitalization.
Despite this progress, MMC cannot foster a compliance-
oriented mindset throughout the company and win back
public trust overnight. To me, compliance means that
companies must work earnestly to satisfy the expecta-
tions and requests of society in addition to obeying laws
and regulations. As an automaker, this means that MMC
must practice compliance by not only supplying safe,
high-performance vehicles to the public, but also by
winning back the confidence of society as a trustworthy
automaker through its business activities. In other words,
I believe that MMC must win recognition as a good cor-
porate citizen to be permitted to co-exist in society.
Ensuring compliance will help to foster a trustworthy
brand image, a key source of competitiveness, which
will in turn drive forward the revitalization process.
The credibility of MMC can only be rebuilt through
the sincere efforts of each and every corporate officer
and employee. This sincerity lies at the heart of compli-
ance and must be achieved through hard work and per-
sonnel development. Recently, I’ve called upon
employees at manufacturing sites to add “Sincerity” to
their watchwords of “Orderliness, Tidiness, Cleanliness,
Neatness and Discipline.” I hope that this message will
help to make compliance a more familiar concept.
I congratulate MMC on restoring operating profit-
ability in fiscal year 2005, the first fiscal year of the
Mitsubishi Motors Revitalization Plan. In fiscal year
2006, a crucial year for the company, I hope that all
employees will continue to make a concerted effort to
keep the “Compliance First” principle foremost in mind,
based on a correct understanding of current circum-
stances. The Business Ethics Committee will continue
to actively offer guidance and advice to MMC from an
independent perspective.
September 2006
Noboru Matsuda
Message From the Business Ethics Committee Chairman
Compliance
Chairman
Business Ethics Committee
Noboru Matsuda