Olympus 2013 Annual Report Download - page 15

26 OLYMPUS Annual Report 2013 27OLYMPUS Annual Report 2013
How will OLYMPUS prepare
for future growth?
my hope that Olympus will become a company that
demonstrates unrivaled strength in this fi eld.
Sasa From the perspective of existing business,
I think it is important that we prepare for the potential
appearance of innovations of the so-called disruptive
technology nature. While we of course also aim to create
such innovations ourselves, we are lacking certain
resources. For this reason, I believe it is crucial that we
establish a clear investment plan that contains both a
medium-term perspective and a long-term perspective.
Such an investment plan is not contained within the
medium-term vision, but I hope to make one in the future.
Moriyama I think that globally minded investors primarily
look at two types of change in companies. One is changes
in performance; the other is changes in managers or
management itself. Some investors will look at Olympus
and its endoscope business over the long term and come to
the conclusion that it is a worthy investment target no matter
what incidents may have occurred. Others will focus on past
management scandals and judge that the Company is not
a valuable investment even today. If the governance systems
for Olympus management truly have taken a change for the
better, I expect that potential investors of the latter type may
choose to invest in Olympus. One way in which investors
are able to detect such management changes is through
measures to step up IR and disclosure activities. It is often
the case for companies that display improvements in such
activities to also have undergone improvements in terms of
management. From this perspective, I think the Company’s
IR activities have improved greatly over the past year, with
the most signifi cant changes being seen just recently. The
Company conducts active disclosure, holds panels with its
senior management, and even offers tours of endoscope
factories. In light of these advancements, I believe Olympus
is rapidly becoming the leading company in the precision
equipment sector from the standpoint of disclosure. If the
Company continues these activities, developing them
globally while enhancing systems allowing for fl exible contact
with overseas investors, I am confi dent that Olympus will
come to be more highly evaluated as a global company.
Sasa Strengthening information disclosure and IR
activities, including those targeting overseas investors,
is a must if we are to recover the trust of the market.
Accordingly, we have advanced initiatives in this area over
the past year, and we will continue strengthening these
efforts into the future. Thank you for taking time out of
your busy schedules to join us today. I hope to draw on
your valuable input in management to drive the future
development of Olympus.
Opinions and Advice
Hari I can imagine Olympus presented a very
stressful environment for employees after the scandal.
Are you taking steps to address employees’ mental health?
Also, there is concern of a possible outfl ow of human
resources. What is the case on this front?
Sasa We have not noticed any particular outfl ow of human
resources. After the scandal, we came to feel the importance
of employee morale. This was especially true in light of the
restructuring in the Imaging Business and the pressures placed
on the Medical Business. With Chairman Yasuyuki Kimoto, I held
numerous meetings with employees, which we call town hall
meetings. We also spoke with overseas employees. For example,
town hall meetings were conducted at our U.S. operating sites in
Center Valley, Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts; Maple
Grove, Minnesota; and San Jose, California; as well as in
Vietnam, China, India, and other countries. We also held
meetings with a large number of employees in Tokyo. I feel that
the type of two-way communication practiced in these meetings
is incredibly important. It is easy to simply transmit messages to
employees. However, this type of one-sided communication
does not guarantee that our feelings will be fully communicated,
nor does it allow us to hear the voices of employees. While
we may not be able to implement drastic reforms based on
employee feedback, listening to the feelings of employees
helps us take the next step in the right direction, and I think
this is crucial. Going forward, I hope we can deliver more good
news to employees. Up until now, the primary focus of such
communication has been how we are fi xing areas in need
of improvement. In the future though, we will work to use
communication activities as opportunities to convey positive
information to our stakeholders, inside and outside of the
Company, to show them how Olympus is changing. I think this
type of communication will help to invigorate the Company.
Nakanomyo Looking at Apple Inc., I feel that the birth of this
company’s extraordinarily successful iPad was not so much
the result of its technological prowess as it was a testament
to Apple’s ability to latch onto the dissatisfaction users had
toward to the status quo for PCs. In this manner, what a
company needs to realize is explosive growth is not necessarily
technology. Even when it comes to endoscopes, I think
users have a number of needs that are not being met. Mr.
Moriyama and I have both had laparoscopic surgery, and we
understand that these are minimally invasive procedures.
However, the day before an endoscopic examination, I get
anxious nonetheless. For colonoscopies especially, I think
there is room for improvement, even with regard to the skill
levels of physicians. In other words, if you have any ideas for
realizing improvements in these areas, then I think you will
be able to create signifi cant value and clearly differentiate
Olympus from manufacturers in China and other areas. It is
The Creation of a New Olympus and Future Growth—Conversation with Analysts
In its medium-term vision, Olympus has defi ned the Medical Business, the Life Science
& Industrial Business, and the Imaging Business as core business domains.
In particular, the Medical Business will be a driver for future earnings expansion and
corporate growth. As such, we will work to further develop our operations centered
on the Medical Business by leveraging the Company’s strong technical prowess, which
is borne out of the optical and imaging technologies refi ned through our involvement
in the Life Science & Industrial Business and the Imaging Business. In this section, we
explain the measures and strategies we have formulated for each business to reinforce
the worldwide presence of the Group and expand its share of global markets.