Nikon 2014 Annual Report Download - page 21

In your overall view of the Nikon Group, what
do you see as important for achieving the
goals of the Medium-Term Management Plan?
Making the Medium-Term Plan a reality means more than
merely having the business units get along with one another.
We must have a collective effort to make the plan work. If we
simply decided the content of the Medium-Term Plan and left
it to the business units to carry out, there would be no need for
a Corporate Strategy Division. Our job is to work together with
the business units on various challenging issues. There are
instances when, for the sake of the entire Company, we have
to request a business unit to simply scale back investment or
to make other sacrifi ces. We must exhibit unswerving leadership
in carefully explaining to the unit the background and aim of
this decision as well as the reason why such a move may be
essential for the medium-to-long-term growth of the Nikon
Group as a whole.
We have also made it known that we are ready to engage in
M&A or business alliances or use corporate venture capital to
quickly start up new businesses. In this business environment
of rapid change, we may come up with a great technology or
idea, and we must also immediately determine how to effectively
utilize it. We have made use of the expertise of a third party
to accelerate the growth of a business. In developing new
businesses, our divisions gather information and make decisions
together with the relevant department. In this process, the
Corporate Strategy Division further develops its knowledge and
ability to make judgments. Thus if a gap emerges between what
a business unit and management decide is of value, we would
want to be in a position to present an objective and appropriate
resolution for both sides.
How do you view the initial fi scal year, ending
March 2015, of the Medium-Term
Management Plan?
Through changes from this reorganization brought about by
our command structure and business process transformation,
we are working to make the fi scal year ending March 2015 a
year in which every employee can feel Nikon moving further
toward steady growth. We will also take on the challenge of
providing the accurate guidance required to implement the
Medium-Term Plan.
As an engineer, I have spent a considerable amount of
time designing control devices used for lithography systems.
Designing control devices and managing have some common
elements, I believe. For example, a control device can be made
more precise through the use of feedback from data obtained
after operating the device. In a similar way, the disparity
between budgeted fi gures and those that subsequently show
up on the balance sheet and statement of income can be used
as feedback when preparing the budget for the following year.
Adjusting control after obtaining results, however, gives rise to
a time lag, so in our most recent control devices the concept
of “feed forward” has been introduced. Feed forward is a way
to optimize commands to the control device before the results
come out, so it can be used to make the device even more
precise and productive. It is a great method, but its success
requires not only knowing the device inside out but also fully
understanding the conditions that may affect the device,
including the entire production line. I am now looking into how
to apply the feed forward method to management to determine
if it can accurately lead us to the position Nikon needs to reach.
Such success, as I mentioned, would require thorough knowledge
of each business unit. If utilizing this engineering experience
could assist in managing more accurately, I believe our business
activity could speed up and we may be able to seize more
business opportunities.
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NIKON REPORT 2014