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and in a japanese corporate first nissan recently opened the first <unk> company <unk> for single employees at the suburban tokyo technical center |
we had lots of internal debate about this one concedes <unk> <unk> a senior public-relations official |
but in the end top management decided to follow the voice of the younger generation |
this corporate glasnost is a big reason nissan after years of making lackluster cars and <unk> profits has <unk> up its rigid ways and now is riding a string of hits ranging from the <unk> <unk> sedan and <unk> <unk> to the <unk> <unk> <unk> a <unk> sold only in japan |
the company 's turnaround is far from complete many crucial tests are just beginning |
but its surprising progress so far holds important <unk> for companies in trouble |
the big one a company 's culture ca n't be <unk> changed unless top management first admits that things have gone badly <unk> and then publicly leads the charge |
<unk> <unk> nissan 's executive vice president for finance helped set the tone in december N when the company was heading toward the first operating loss by a japanese auto maker since the nation 's postwar recovery |
this is a time of <unk> to discover what is wrong with us he said |
<unk> kume who took the helm as nissan 's president in june N added simply i am deeply disappointed |
no wonder |
nissan japan 's second-largest auto maker and the world 's <unk> was getting beat up not only by its bigger rival toyota motor corp. but also by honda motor co. the most successful japanese car company in the u.s. but a relative <unk> in japan |
nissan 's market share in japan had been dropping year by year since the beginning of the decade |
its u.s. sales sagged partly because of price increases due to the rising yen |
worst of all nissan was <unk> with management <unk> <unk> and corporate <unk> |
consider the experience of <unk> <unk> a <unk> designer of vehicle <unk> who joined nissan in N |
at that time tasks were assigned strictly on the basis of seniority |
the oldest designer got to work on the <unk> she recalls |
the next level down did doors |
if a new person got to work on part of the <unk> that was a big deal |
this system produced boring <unk> cars that consumers just were n't buying |
desperately hoping to spark sales nissan transferred N middle managers and plant workers to dealerships |
meanwhile president kume ordered everyone from top executives to <unk> designers to go town watching to visit <unk> parts of tokyo to try to gain <unk> into developing cars for <unk> |
some <unk> <unk> were downright comic |
one group of <unk> manufacturing men from the company 's <unk> plant outside tokyo was supposed to check out a trendy restaurant in the city |
but when they arrived at the door all were afraid to go in <unk> that they would be out of place |
other trips were more productive |
mr. kume himself visited honda 's headquarters in tokyo 's upscale <unk> district |
he liked the <unk> lobby display of honda 's cars and trucks so much that he had nissan 's gloomy lobby exhibit <unk> |
later nissan borrowed other honda practices including an engineering idea contest to promote <unk> |
one engineer developed a <unk> car that moves <unk> |
such sudden cultural shifts may come across as a bit forced but they seem to be genuine so much so in fact that some older employees have resisted |
nissan handled the <unk> in a typically japanese fashion they were n't fired but instead were neglected says <unk> <unk> the personnel manager at the nissan technical center |
despite the pain of adjusting the cultural revolution has begun to yield exciting cars |
a year ago the company completely revamped its <unk> sedan the $ N <unk> which competes against a broad range of upscale <unk> it replaced its <unk> <unk> body with <unk> <unk> lines |
since then nissan also has launched new versions of the $ N <unk> <unk> <unk> and <unk> sports car |
the <unk> <unk> costs as much as $ N and is <unk> off against the <unk> N which begins at $ N |
besides new <unk> the new <unk> have more powerful engines and more sophisticated suspension systems |
all three new models are <unk> their <unk> by wide margins |
in its home market nissan has grabbed attention with <unk> <unk> featuring <unk> odd enough to be <unk> |
one is the <unk> a tiny <unk> with a <unk> <unk> top and <unk> <unk> that give it a <unk> look |
nissan initially planned to sell just N <unk> but sales have passed N and there 's a one-year waiting list for the car |
then there 's the <unk> an <unk> delivery van with a <unk> body that inspired its name |
nissan helped develop a tokyo restaurant with both vehicles as its design theme |
the chairs are <unk> seats and a gift shop sells such items as alarm <unk> <unk> like the <unk> 's <unk> <unk> |
all these vehicles have sharply improved nissan 's morale and image but have n't done much for its market share |
nissan had N N of the japanese car market in N before beginning a <unk> <unk> slide that continued through last year |
strong sales so far this year are certain to turn the tide but even the N N market share that nissan expects in N will leave it far below its position at the beginning of the decade |
nissan concedes that it wo n't recoup all its market-share losses in japan until at least N and even that timetable might prove optimistic |
everyone else is going to catch up with nissan 's innovative designs says a. <unk> <unk> auto analyst at first boston japan ltd |
nissan 's pace of <unk> hits will slow he adds just as <unk> toyota <unk> its own batch of new cars |
likewise in the u.s. nissan has grabbed N N of the car market so far this year up from N N a year ago |
but even that brings nissan only to the share it had in N and leaves the company behind its high of N N in N and N |
why |
so far nissan 's <unk> successes are mostly specialized vehicles with limited sales potential |
in compact and <unk> cars the bread-and-butter sales <unk> for japanese auto makers nissan still trails toyota and honda |
nissan hopes that that will start to change this fall with its new version of the stanza compact sedan |
the stanza has been a <unk> compared with honda 's <unk> successful accord and toyota 's <unk> |
but this year honda has revamped the accord and made it a midsized car |
nissan instead has kept its new stanza a bit smaller than that and cut the base price N N at $ N stanza prices start $ N below the predecessor model yet have a <unk> engine |
accord prices start at $ N |
nissan 's risk is that its <unk> strategy might get lost amid the highly publicized rebates being offered by detroit 's big three |
but on a new car a <unk> does n't work well because it <unk> the vehicle 's image contends thomas d. <unk> executive vice president of nissan 's u.s. sales arm |
even if the new stanza succeeds nissan will remain behind in the <unk> segment where its <unk> does n't measure up to the honda civic and toyota <unk> |
nissan will introduce a completely revamped <unk> next fall |
at the opposite end of the market nissan <unk> its luxury infiniti division on nov. N three years after honda <unk> japanese luxury cars and two months after toyota 's lexus went on sale |
nissan started advertising infiniti fully eight months before the cars hit american <unk> |
the ads featured <unk> rocks and <unk> <unk> almost anything but the cars themselves |
the ads have generated some <unk> but also plenty of attention because they are so unlike any other u.s. auto advertising |
on the other hand nissan 's sales goals for infiniti are modest compared with toyota 's targets for lexus |
nissan will build only about N of the $ N infiniti <unk> <unk> each month sending about N of them to the u.s. and keeping the rest for sale in japan |
toyota wants to sell about N lexus <unk> <unk> next year in the u.s. alone |
when i saw the lexus sales projections i got worried <unk> <unk> <unk> who led the infiniti development team |
but on reflection mr. <unk> says he concluded that nissan is being prudent in following its <unk> strategy instead of simply copying lexus |
infiniti is nissan 's big business move for the <unk> century and we 're in no hurry to generate large profits right away mr. <unk> says |
despite plans to add two new infiniti models next year bringing the total to four infiniti wo n't show profits for at least five years he adds |
these days nissan can afford that strategy even though profits are n't exactly robust |
nissan had record net income of N billion yen $ N million in the fiscal year ended last march N a remarkable recovery from the N billion yen of two years earlier when the company lost money on operations |
nissan has increased earnings more than market share by cutting costs and by taking advantage of a general surge in japanese car sales |
but nissan expects to earn only N billion yen in the current fiscal year a modest increase of N N |
the big reason for all its cost-cutting nissan remains less efficient than toyota |
in its last fiscal year nissan 's profit represented just N N of sales compared with N N at toyota |
to help close the gap nissan recently established a <unk> cost-cutting committee |
nissan is the world 's only auto maker currently building vehicles in all three of the world 's key economic <unk> the u.s. japan and europe |
that gives it an <unk> strategic advantage at least until its rivals catch up but also plenty of <unk> headaches |
for example nissan 's u.s. operations include N separate subsidiaries for manufacturing sales design research etc. that report separately back to japan |
and in july nissan 's tennessee manufacturing plant beat back a united auto workers organizing effort with aggressive tactics that have left some workers bitter |
we are in a <unk> phase from being a japanese company to becoming an international company based in japan says mr. <unk> the executive vice president |
he promises that nissan will soon establish a holding company overseeing all u.s. operations just as it 's doing in europe |
perhaps the biggest challenge however will be to prevent a return to its former corporate <unk> as its recovery continues |
already personnel officials are talking about the need for a phase two <unk> effort of some sort |
we are still only half way through the turnaround of this company and there are many more things to do president kume says |
he adds however that the momentum we have generated is <unk> |
as expected warner <unk> records said it agreed to form a <unk> and <unk> joint venture with former mca records chairman irving azoff |
warner said it will provide financing for the venture but did n't disclose terms |
mr. azoff has n't named the company yet but any records it produces will be distributed by warner |
warner is part of warner communications inc. which is in the process of being acquired by time warner inc |
mr. azoff resigned as head of mca records a unit of mca inc. in september and had been discussing a joint venture with both warner and mca |
in a statement yesterday mr. azoff said he chose warner the largest record company because their standing in the entertainment industry is second to none |
president bush and soviet leader mikhail gorbachev will hold an informal meeting in early december a move that should give both leaders a political boost at home |
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