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if japanese companies are so efficient why does <unk> transportation co. sometimes need a week just to tell its clients how soon it can ship goods from here to osaka |
why until last spring did the long-term credit bank of japan sometimes take several days to correct <unk> errors in its paper work for international transactions |
because the companies have lacked office computers considered standard equipment in the u.s. and western europe japanese corporations ' reputation as <unk> <unk> is only half right |
their factories may look like sets for a <unk> movie but their offices with rows of <unk> <unk> over <unk> and <unk> are more like scenes from a <unk> novel |
now the personal-computer revolution is finally reaching japan |
<unk> a freight company set up its own software subsidiary this year and is spending nearly a year 's profit to more than double the computer terminals at its main office |
in april the long-term credit bank linked its computers in tokyo with its three american offices |
overall pc sales in japan in the first half of N were N N higher than in the year-earlier period |
combined pc and <unk> use in japan will jump as much as N N annually over the next five years according to some analysts compared with about N N in the u.s. |
and with a labor shortage and intense competitive pressure to improve efficiency more and more japanese companies are concluding that they have no choice |
we have too many people in our home offices says <unk> <unk> the president of the japan management association |
productivity in japanese offices is relatively low |
with japanese companies in a wide range of industries from heavy industry to securities firms increasing their market share world-wide the prospect of an even more efficient japanese economic army may <unk> foreigners |
but it also offers opportunities americans are well poised to supply the weapons |
japan may be a tough market for outsiders to <unk> and the u.s. is <unk> behind japan in certain technologies |
but for now at least americans are far better at making pcs and the software that runs them |
after years of talking about selling in japan more and more u.s. companies are seriously pouring in |
apple computer inc. has doubled its staff here over the past year |
lotus development corp. has slashed the lag between u.s. and japan product <unk> to six months from three years |
<unk> inc. has a bigger share of the <unk> market in japan than at home |
but the japanese have to go a long way to catch up |
typical is one office of the ministry of international trade and industry 's machinery and information industries bureau the main bureaucracy overseeing the computer industry |
personal computer <unk> are lined up on nearly every desk and <unk> copies of nikkei computer crowd magazine <unk> |
but amid the two dozen bureaucrats and secretaries sits only one <unk> pc |
while american pc sales have averaged roughly N N annual growth since N and west european sales a <unk> N N japanese sales were flat for most of that time |
japanese office workers use pcs at half the rate of their european counterparts and one-third that of the americans |
moreover japanese offices tend to use computers less efficiently than american offices do |
in the u.s. pcs commonly perform many tasks and plug into a broad network |
in japan many desktop terminals are limited to one function and ca n't <unk> with other machines |
the market planning and sales promotion office of nomura securities co. for example has more than N computers for its N workers a respectable ratio |
but the machines are n't on employees ' desks they ring the <unk> of the large office |
some machines make charts for <unk> |
others analyze the data |
to transfer information from one to the other employees make <unk> and enter the data <unk> |
to <unk> charts to branch offices they use a fax machine |
meanwhile a woman sitting next to a new fujitsu terminal writes stock-market information on a chart with a pencil and adds it up with a hand <unk> |
in an efficient <unk> the same pc could perform all those tasks |
in the u.s. more than half the pc software sold is either for <unk> or for <unk> analysis according to lotus |
in japan those functions account for only about a third of the software market |
machines dedicated solely to word processing which have all but disappeared in the u.s. are still more common in japan than pcs |
in the u.s. <unk> of the office pcs are <unk> up to some sort of network |
in japan about N N are linked |
computers here are used for data gathering says roger j. <unk> who manages the <unk> group in <unk> & co. 's tokyo office |
some japanese operations such as <unk> rooms may be ahead of their american counterparts he says but basically there 's little analysis done on computers in japan |
of course simply buying computers does n't always solve problems and many american companies have <unk> by purchasing technology they did n't understand |
but healthy skepticism is only a small reason for japan 's pc lag |
various cultural and economic forces have <unk> demand |
because the japanese <unk> is so huge japan has no history of <unk> use and so <unk> <unk> especially among older workers remains a common <unk> |
i have no experience before with such sophisticated machinery says <unk> <unk> a <unk> executive vice president of japan air lines explaining his reluctance before accepting a terminal in his office this summer |
while most american employees have their own private space japanese <unk> usually share large common tables and rely heavily on old-fashioned personal contact |
top japanese executives often make decisions based on consensus and personal relationships rather than complex financial projections and fancy <unk> |
and japan 's management system makes it hard to impose a single integrated computer system <unk> |
besides a computer processing the japanese language needs a huge memory and much processing capability while the screen and printer need far better definition to <unk> accurately the <unk> <unk> |
until recently much of the necessary technology has been unavailable or at least <unk> |
some analysts estimate the average pc costs about N N more in japan than the u.s. |
but the complex language is n't the only reason |
for the past decade nec corp. has owned more than half the japanese pc market and ruled it with <unk> power |
with little competition the computer industry here is inefficient |
the u.s. market too is dominated by a giant international business machines corp |
but early on ibm offered its basic design to anybody wanting to copy it |
dozens of small companies did swiftly establishing a standard operating system |
that <unk> competition and growth allows users to change and mix brands easily and increases software firms ' incentive to write packages because they can be sold to users of virtually any computer |
if a record industry lacked a common standard sony cd owners could listen to a sony version of <unk> 's like a <unk> but not one made for a <unk> player |
that is the state of japan 's computer industry |
nec wo n't release its code and every one of the dozen or so makers has its own <unk> operating system all <unk> with each other |
ibm established its standard to try to stop falling behind <unk> apple computer but nec was ahead from the start and did n't need to <unk> in competitive allies |
meanwhile the big players have n't tried to copy the nec standard |
corporate pride as well as the close ties common among japanese manufacturers help explain why |
most rivals have a working relationship with nec often through <unk> of technology the japan personal computer software association noted recently |
they hesitate to market <unk> machines nec <unk> of such machines and marketing one would jeopardize their relationship |
the result according to many analysts is higher prices and less innovation |
while tens of thousands of software packages using the ibm standard are available in the u.s. they say only about N are written for nec |
a year ago japan 's fair trade commission warned nec about possible violations of <unk> laws for discouraging retailers from discounting |
in japan software is four to five years behind the u.s. because hardware is four to five years behind because nec is enjoying a monopoly complains <unk> <unk> the president of <unk> corp. one of japan 's leading <unk> publishing and software companies |
there are no price wars no competition |
an nec spokeswoman <unk> that prices are higher in japan because customers put a greater emphasis on quality and service than they do in the u.s. |
she adds that some technological advances trail those in the u.s. because the japanese still import basic operating systems from american companies |
but the market is changing |
the government is funding several projects to push pc use |
over the next three years public schools will get N million pcs a <unk> increase from current levels |
in the private sector practically every major company is setting explicit goals to increase employees ' exposure to computers |
toyota motor corp. 's sales offices in japan have <unk> the computers per employee that its own u.s. offices do over the next five years it is aiming for rough parity |
within a year <unk> corp. a major cosmetics company plans to eliminate N <unk> jobs by putting on a central computer network some work such as credit reports currently performed in N separate offices |
by increasing the number of pcs it uses from N to N <unk> <unk> electronics co. of <unk> hopes not only to make certain tasks easier but also to transform the way the company is run |
managers have long been those who <unk> their subordinates so orders would be properly acted on a spokesman says |
but new managers will have to be <unk> and <unk> and for that purpose it is necessary to create an environment where information from both inside and outside the company can be reached easily and also shared |
meanwhile more computer makers now are competing for the new business |
<unk> <unk> corp. a <unk> to the industry fought off a legal challenge and started selling nec <unk> last year |
it has won about N N of the retail pc market |
sony corp. which temporarily dropped out of the pc business three years ago started selling its work station in N and quickly became the leading japanese company in that market |
in a country where <unk> room is scarce laptop machines will take a large portion of the industry 's future growth |
toshiba corp. <unk> open that sector this summer with a <unk> machine that <unk> for less than N yen under $ N one of the smallest cheapest pcs available in the country |
fujitsu ltd. is <unk> the most expensive promotion campaign in its history including a <unk> <unk> at tokyo <unk> for its sophisticated <unk> fm towns machine which it <unk> for everything from <unk> the family <unk> to practicing <unk> bar <unk> |
many of the companies are even dropping their traditional independence and trying to band together to create some sort of standard |
two years ago most of the smaller makers joined under the microsoft corp. <unk> to adopt a version of the american ibm at standard |
that has n't generated much sales but this summer microsoft rallied all the major nec competitors to make their new machines compatible with the ibm <unk> standard |
a healthy <unk> japanese market could also make it far easier for japanese companies to sell overseas where their share is still minimal |
but it could also help american companies which also are starting to try to open the market |
as with many other goods the american share of japan 's pc market is far below that in the rest of the world |
u.s. makers have under N N share compared with half the market in europe and N N at home |
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