Omron 2009 Annual Report Download - page 23

The “Global Bubble” Has Burst
—— What do you view as the fundamental essence
of the current economic crisis?
Mr. Sakuta I believe the “global bubble” has burst.
You could even go so far as to say that one of our val-
ues has crumbled. I think many companies are starting
to ask themselves, “Why does this company exist?
What’s our purpose?” I believe that is the first step in
the process of adjustment or normalization. As a mat-
ter of fact, all kinds of bubbles arose one after another.
I think the current economic crisis is the result of eco-
nomic activities and values that place too much
emphasis on money gone too far.
Mr. Toyama All economies experience bubbles and
bubble bursts at certain intervals. The situation has
now progressed to an adjustment stage, but I don’t
think this will be the last time a bubble like this occurs.
At the same time, the occurrence of bubbles is irreg-
ular and not cyclical, and can happen in any type of
economic system. For example, Japan’s massive eco-
nomic bubble in the 1980s occurred despite a very
closely regulated, financial industry that was so con-
trolled under the convoy-fleet system that it could have
been called economic socialism. The conditions are
very different this time, since the bubble arose from
a system in the United States that could be described
as laissez-faire. The real world we live in is too com-
plex for academics to come up with economic theories
to prevent bubbles.
Check the Company’s “Common Sense”
—— The current economic environment has led to
much discussion about outside directors. What do
you consider to be the primary role of outside direc-
tors?
Mr.Toyama A company is an organic entity.Companies
are driven by a collection of stakeholders, or strictly
speaking, a group of stakeholders with slightly differ-
ent interests. The important thing to note is that there
must not be an entity in that organization that has
absolute power and that is not monitored by any indi-
vidual or group. It is essential for the health of a
company to have a mutual oversight and control work-
ing among stakeholders. Outside directors play a role
in providing such oversight and control. At the same
time, the position of the outside director is not absolute,
as it is monitored by the General Meeting of Shareholders
and the capital markets. I think the outside director is
one of the pieces that create that check mechanism.
—— What do you expect of an outside director?
Mr. Sakuta No company purposely acts against
accepted common sense. Nevertheless, companies
tend to be made up of individuals with similar values.
At Omron, the outside directors provide external per-
spectives to ensure the common sense of the
Company does not go against the common sense of
society at large. We have not had an instance so far
where the values of the internal directors were at odds
with those of the outside directors. In practice, our
outside directors offer a fresh perspective during dis-
cussions of our business activities and objectives.
On-site Capabilities Cannot be Improved at the
Worksite Alone
—— You have said that on-site capabilities are
important. What are you doing to increase the
Company’s on-site capabilities?
Mr. Sakuta I always tell our employees to make their
jobs more interesting. The Company has a wide range
of people involved in production, development, sales,
planning, and other operations, and each person has
their own understanding of their assignment. I think the
starting point for raising our on-site capabilities is for
each employee to focus on the specific issues at their
own worksite and try to think of solutions. At the same
time, raising our on-site capabilities is not done only at
the worksite. It’s important to approach it from a posi-
tion that is one step above the ground level as well.
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