Ghosn and Japanese Management: From Star Entrepreneurs to Escaping with Resentment
On January 8, 2020, as the United States and Iran were threatening each other,NissanCarlos, former chairman of the automotive industry·GhosnHe held his first press conference since fleeing in his hometown Lebanon. Although the heat of the press conference was overshadowed by major power politics, for Japan and the global automotive industry, Ghosn's legendary escape from the end of the year to the beginning of the year and subsequent changes were a very important event.
At the end of December 2019, the Japanese archipelago, immersed in the atmosphere of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, was shocked by a quick report: Carlos Ghosn, former chairman of Nissan Motor Company during his bail period, had fled Japan and arrived in Lebanon! 13 months ago in November 2018, the Tokyo District Prosecutors Office's Special Search Department (hereinafter referred to as the Tokyo Special Search Department) suddenly arrested Ghosn, who had just returned to Tokyo Narita Airport from overseas, on the grounds of violating the Financial Products Trading Act, which also caused a sensation. This time, Ghosn took the risk of fleeing, and the dramatic process and complex background once again attracted world attention.
How could a foreign business genius who was once well-known in Japan become a suspect pursued by the Red Notice? In the 20 years from taking office at Nissan in 1999 to being relieved of his important position in 2019, we can see the process of Ghosn's transformation from a Japanese style management reformer (contributor) to a dissenter (conflict maker).
Ghosn was born in Brazil and grew up in Lebanon. After studying abroad in France, he attended the renowned É cole Polytechnique and É cole Nationale Sup é rieure de Mines in Paris, and obtained a doctoral degree. After graduating, Ghosn worked as a business manager in various regions including Europe, the United States, and South America, and is fluent in five languages: French, Arabic, English, Portuguese, and Spanish. His professional talent and rich cross-cultural experience give him a rare advantage as a senior manager in the era of globalization. Recently, he has become the Vice President of Renault in France.
In 1999, Renault provided financial support to Nissan (one of Japan's three major car companies), which was on the brink of operational crisis, and appointed Ghosn as Nissan's CEO. When I first arrived in Japan, the entire Nissan company and Japanese society did not have any hope for this foreigner who did not understand Japanese. However, on the one hand, Ghosn went deep into the scene and various departments to investigate and identify the crux of the problem, and immediately made bold reforms; On the one hand, we strive to learn Japanese language and culture, actively communicate with company employees and various sectors of Japanese society. In 2003, three years later, a miracle occurred: Nissan's marketing profit margin increased from 1.4% to 11%; The domestic market share has rebounded to over 20%; The total annual profit has broken the historical record and turned losses into profits for three consecutive years; I have paid off a huge interest bearing debt of over 20 billion US dollars! The magnificent V-shaped reply has brought Nissan back to the ranks of Japan's three major automobile manufacturing companies. In 2005, Ghosn concurrently served as the President of Nissan and Renault. After Nissan merged with Mitsubishi Motors in 2016, the Nissan Renault Mitsubishi alliance, which he promoted and chaired, became the fourth largest automotive production group in the world.
The enormous success made Ghosn a star entrepreneur who has shaken Japan and even the world. The Japanese government has awarded him various certificates and medals to recognize his outstanding contributions to the reform of Japanese corporate management. Waseda University and Law and Politics University have conferred upon him an honorary doctoral degree, while internationally renowned universities such as Tsinghua University's School of Management have invited him to serve as a consultant. Many important companies in multiple countries have also competed to hire him as a director or even chairman. At that time, Ghosn frequently appeared in newspapers, magazines, radio stations, comics, and textbooks, and could be said to have overshadowed all other CEOs of car companies of his time.
Ghosn's success also brought a new trend to the reform of Japanese corporate management. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was popular worldwide to learn Japanese style business management. However, after the 1990s, the IT revolution and economic globalization accelerated technological progress and talent mobility, causing Japanese style management, which was known for its lifelong employment, seniority pay system, collective decision-making, mutual assistance within the group, and loyalty to the enterprise, to lose its former charm. The economic downturn after the bursting of the foam in the Japanese asset market also forced the Japanese economic community to calm down and reflect on themselves and modestly learn from European and American management. As the most influential European and American executive in large Japanese corporations at that time, Ghosn's series of management reforms were widely recognized, especially in the following areas, which received positive evaluations.
(1) There is a clear development vision and an efficient decision-making and implementation system. Based on the CEO's personal investigation and investigation, quickly determine the development direction and goals, and identify key issues and countermeasures. Efficient decision-making and decisive implementation.
(2) More than the vast majority of Japanese corporate leaders, they value the interests of investors (shareholders), financial indicators, and stock prices. Starting from boldly reducing costs (marketing costs, labor costs, component costs, etc.), significantly improving the return on investment of enterprises.
(3) Compared to education, seniority, and work diligence, which are commonly valued by Japanese companies, abilities and achievements are more important. Introducing English as the company's internal lingua franca, boldly utilizing capable and creative young people, outstanding professionals who have switched jobs from other companies, and foreigners who can promote the company's globalization, and rewarding them based on their achievements.
(4) Unlike most Japanese corporate leaders who rise step by step from ordinary employees to the top of the company and act low-key, professional manager Ghosn actively participates in various external communication activities of the company, maximizing the public relations role of the company's top leaders.
However, everything has two sides. While the Ghosn style reforms have received a lot of praise, doubts from the Japanese corporate management community have also been incessant. The main criticisms include the following points:
(1) Prioritize the interests of shareholders (especially major shareholders) and disregard the rights of company employees. Meanwhile, Nissan's social contribution in employment is far inferior to its competitors in the industry. At the beginning of Ghosn's tenure, in order to reduce labor costs, Ironface laid off one seventh of Nissan's employees (more than 20000 people), shocking the traditional Japanese industry with lifelong employment. According to the financial reports of listed companies, from March 2000 to March 2018, among the three major domestic automobile manufacturing companies in Japan, Toyota's employee numbers increased from 211000 to 369000, and Honda's increased from 110000 to 215000, both showing significant growth. In contrast, Nissan's workforce increased from 136397 to 138910, an increase of only 2513 people. Former Toyota President Shuo Okuda once commented on Ghosn's reforms as follows: Layoffs during difficult times are not considered a great business talent, it's just that Japanese entrepreneurs don't have the heart to do so.
(2) Power is too centralized. With the increasing prestige of Ghosn, a dictatorship system gradually formed within Nissan, and important departments such as finance were appointed based on personal connections, resulting in a weakening of the company's internal regulatory system.
(3) In Japan, where collective cooperation is highly valued and achievements are attributed to the entire enterprise, the high actual remuneration of Ghosn himself is very prominent. Financial reports indicate that Ghosn's publicly announced annual salary in recent years has exceeded $10 million, which is more than three times the annual salary of the president of Toyota, a leading Japanese company in the industry. However, in Ghosn's view, compared to the annual salary of CEOs of major peer companies in the United States and Europe (which can reach around $30 million), his contributions should be rewarded more. Therefore, in addition to the publicly disclosed annual salary mentioned above, Nissan has agreed to provide him with a huge compensation in the form of future payments (nearly $90 million accumulated between 2010 and 2018). At the same time, Ghosn also holds a significant proportion of Nissan stock, with annual dividends similar to his publicly announced annual salary. In addition, Ghosn also used the company's business needs as a pretext to have Nissan purchase luxury homes and cars for him in Japan, Europe, South America, the Middle East, and other places, mixing public and private ownership.
（4）戈恩同时兼任雷诺、日产的董事长等若干要职，他对雷诺和日产的忠诚心之差异让土生土长的老日产人以及日本政府的产业主管部门对戈恩难以放心。作为日产的最大股东，至2018年，雷诺已从日产获得分红利益6000多亿日元（近60亿美元），超过了当初（1999年）雷诺对日产的出资额（本金）。而且在2001年3月-2018年3月期间，雷诺所持的日产股票带来的投资利益（股价增值）也已经成为该公司同期的主要利益来源（约占63%）。可以说，戈恩超期待地完成了雷诺委托他的重任。更引人关注的是，相关资料显示，作为雷诺大股东的法国政府近年有意增资雷诺，欲借戈恩之力间接扩大对日产的影响力、助力法国经济。这一动向引起了日产管理层对日产究竟是姓“日”还是姓“法”的焦虑，也引起日本政府（经济产业省）的戒备和不安。这一点被认为可能是导致2018年11月戈恩突然被捕的深层原因。
纵观戈恩执掌日产20年的历程，上述正反两面的评价一直存在。但是在初期，戈恩不仅对日产的Ⅴ字形回复作出了不可否定的重大贡献，而且把欧美的企业管理模式和手法导入日本大型企业，为日式经营的改革提供了一个值得参考的成功样本。因此，在很长一段时间，对戈恩的评价显然是褒大于贬。但是随着戈恩名声上升、居功自傲，其经营管理中的问题点逐步趋于严重或者被舆论放大。与此同时，日式管理在改革的同时也逐步恢复了自信。因此，在戈恩统治日产的后期，不知不觉中他已众叛亲离，最后居然被自己提拔的高管（新总裁）举报，落得个被专管大案要案的东京特搜部逮捕、保释、再逮捕、再保释、不法逃离的意外结局。
值得指出的是，不少日本法律界专业人士公开指出：尽管日本检方（东京特搜部）以违反金融商品交易法、违反企业规章（假公济私）等罪名逮捕了戈恩，如果对照欧美企业高管的行为规范和欧美相关法律，凭目前披露的“罪证”尚很难断定戈恩有罪。但是，在日本式企业文化和社会舆论的土壤上形成的日本法律，很容易把“自私自利”的戈恩关进牢房。
20年前，戈恩意气风发踏上东瀛岛，经历了不一般的成功和辉煌。但是20年后，却满怀怨恨逃离。从一个国际著名企业家沦为国际通缉犯，既是他个人的悲剧，也是日产和日本的悲剧。正在努力探索经济振兴之路的日本，目前最缺的不是技术，也不是资金，而是有全球视野、敢于挑战的企业家。为此，近年日本政府逐步放宽大门，欢迎外国投资者、经营管理人员、专业人才到日本创业创新。在这样一个时代背景下发生的戈恩事件，其负面影响不可低估。如何防微杜渐，避免这类悲剧再发？日本在跨国企业管治、异文化交流沟通、立法、司法等相关领域，均面临许多有待改善的课题。
信息来源：21世纪经济报道
Editor He Yang of this website/Organizing
