Nikon 2014 Annual Report Download - page 20

Close consultation between business units is essential
to well-balanced management resource allocation,
but no less so than careful, and occasionally bold,
decision making that considers short- through
long-term perspectives.
Tomohide Hamada
Senior Vice President and Director,
General Manager of Corporate Strategy Division
What is the role of the Corporate Strategy
Division?
Following a change from the in-house company system we had
for 15 years to a divisional organization system, we are now
prepared for structural reform. Our division has three roles to
fulfi ll to implement this reform as quickly as possible. First,
under this extensive reorganization, we are arranging the work
environment so that every unit will concentrate on carrying out
its particular function smoothly. Second, we ensure the proper
sharing of information between management and the business
units so that management strategies can be quickly put into
action. And third, as an important part of the Medium-Term
Management Plan, we are stimulating the launch of new
businesses by appropriately allocating management resources.
Allocating management resources between new and existing
businesses in a balanced way to benefi t the entire Company
should, of course, be carried out in consultation with each unit,
but, given both short-term and medium-to-long-term consider-
ations, deciding the amounts for individual businesses and
timing requires care and, occasionally, boldness.
BUSINESS STRATEGY
What is the basic outline behind your
fi nancial base as you set up an aggressive
investment strategy?
Considering the amount of time required for a new business to
turn a profi t, we need to make our business base leaner and
stronger, including in terms of cost competitiveness, so that our
established operations are solidly generating cash. With this in
place, we will be able to funnel much of the cash and reserves
from existing businesses into our longer-term areas. For M&A
funds, present and prospective cash reserves should be ade-
quate, but if necessary we can make use of such debt fi nancing
as bank loans.
What are your thoughts on Nikon’s branding
as you head forward?
We would like the technology, ideas, and solutions of Nikon to
continue to be regarded as the opportunity to give new value
to society and people. We also want to build the ideas of
innovation and fun into our brand based on our aspirations,
“Meeting needs. Exceeding expectations.”
To promote branding is more problematic with B-to-B
products than with cameras, which are readily available to
consumers. We think, for example, the strategy for us may
be to connect our businesses to one another, beginning with
cameras where the brand is already established, to microscopes,
and followed by semiconductor lithography systems and FPD
lithography systems.
Interviews with Key People on the Strategy Going Forward
Corporate Strategy Division
18 NIKON REPORT 2014