Omron 2009 Annual Report Download - page 94

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Seed
Innovation
Need
Impetus
Cyclic Evolution
Society
Technology
Science
Innovation
Need
Seed
Progress-
oriented
motivation
Impetus
SINIC DIAGRAM
Seed-Innovation to Need-Impetus Cyclic Evolution
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Omron’s Management Compass—SINIC Theory
What is SINIC Theory?
The SINIC theory grew from the idea that in order to manage a
business by anticipating social needs, it is necessary to pre-
dict future society. Based on this theory, Omron has been able
to continually make social proposals marked by foresight.
The SINIC theory is a future prediction method that Omron
founder Kazuma Tateisi developed and presented at the
International Future Research Conference in 1970. Announced
in the midst of Japan’s rapid-paced economic growth, before
PCs and the Internet even existed, this theory drew a highly
accurate picture of society up to the middle of the 21st centu-
ry, including the appearance of the Information Society.
SINIC stands for Seed-Innovation to Need-Impetus Cyclic
Evolution. According to the SINIC theory, science, technology,
and society share a cyclical relationship, mutually impacting
and influencing each other in two distinct ways. In one direction,
scientific breakthroughs yield new technologies that help soci-
ety to advance. In the other direction, social needs spur on
technological development and expectations for new scientif-
ic advancement. Thus, both of these factors affect each other
in a cyclical manner, propelling further social evolution.
The Future Envisioned by Omron’s Founder
According to the SINIC theory, the world established an
Industrialized Society upon the foundation of a conventional
Agricultural Society in the 14th century. The SINIC theory
divides this Industrialized Society into five phases: first, there
was a shift from a Handicraft Society to an Industrialization
Society; then, 1870 saw the advent of a Mechanization Society;
an Automation Society developed in the 20th century; and from
the end of the 20th century until the dawn of the 21st century
was an Information Society. According to the SINIC theory,
the Optimization Society will follow the Information Society,
the final phase of the Industrialized Society, in 2005, which
will subsequently shift to the Autonomous Society in 2025.
Presently, Japan is about to enter that Optimization Society.
While the Industrialized Society generated material wealth,
it also left behind many negative factors. These included
increasing energy and resource depletion, growing industrial
waste, food shortages, as well as problems related to human
rights and ethics among many others. In the Optimization
Society, it is predicted that these negative effects will be
redressed and people will shift from the values of the
Industrialized Society, as typified by the pursuit of efficiency
and productivity, to values in which psychological abundance is
sought and the quality and true joy of life become increasingly
important. With its unique technologies, Omron is well
positioned to help the Optimization Society create a complete
balance and harmonious relationship between individuals and
society, between humans and the environment, and between
people and machines.
Omron in the Optimization Society
In the Information Society, knowledge information could only be
exchanged as numerical data in the form of ONs and OFFs or
1s and 0s. The Optimization Society will see further progress in
technologies that support and extract knowledge and sensi-
tivity, with the result that aspects such as natural language
and human knowledge and sensitivity will be directly
exchanged, expressed, and acted on. In other words, tech-
nologies that automate parts of our human intellect and sen-
sations will form the foundation for future development.
In the Optimization Society, people and machines will find an
ideal level of harmony. Instead of pursuing productivity and
efficiency, people will then place more emphasis on finding
new ways to live their lives and searching for self-fulfillment.
When this happens, it is predicted that people will begin to
place their priority on more fundamental desires, such as the
desire to be healthy and live a long life, the desire for a com-
fortable life, the quest of lifelong learning, and the wish to
enjoy leisure time.
In order to further advance the fields of safety/security,
healthcare, and environmental preservation, Omron is also plac-
ing its priority on activities that bring technologies ever closer to
people and fulfill these fundamental desires, while maintain-
ing an optimal balance between individuals and society,
between humans and the environment, and between people
and machines.