Our Unchanging Management Philosophy and Global Panasonic

This year, we celebrate the ninetieth anniversary of our founding.
Since our founding in 1918, we have received tremendous support from numerous people and the patronage of our customers, and we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you.
Our founder Konosuke Matsushita believed that "Matsushita Electric was something entrusted to us by society."

This view of our corporate social responsibility has informed our management approach throughout our history, and in this auspicious year that marks a major turning point for the company, we would like to look back over our corporate social responsibility in the past, and explain about our social responsibility for the future.

So in one respect a business endeavor, whether it is a one-person business or a huge corporation, can be seen as belonging to the people or person who conceived it and wanted to pursue the idea. On another level, however, that enterprise exists because of and for the sake of sustaining society. Its justification is in part to advance and elevate culture. From that perspective, a business or enterprise of any sort is, without question, a public entity.

The social responsibility of an enterprise can be conceived in any number of ways, but whatever the approach, the fundamental element is its contribution to society through the work that it is set up to do.

The mission of enterprises that manufacture and supply goods, on the other hand, is to gear production to demand by developing superior products that will be truly useful to people; to manufacture them as efficiently as possible; and supply the necessary volume at a reasonable price.

Insofar as an enterprise is a public entity that carries on its work within a social context, it is essential that the company or firm create a harmonious place within the community where it is located and maintain a balanced relationship with the environment.

When a business of some kind moves in, it occupies a large amount of land, and it employs numerous people. That company must be ready to make some commitments - a promise to become a genuine part of the local community and the environment, to maintain harmony with both, and to make a signification contribution to the life of the community.

A business has to expand and develop all the time, but the prosperity that results can not be enjoyed solely by the company itself - it must be shared with society. Even if a company prospers while thinking only of itself, this situation will never last. True prosperity comes only with co-prosperity and coexistence.

Our founder tried to "start anew every day," and created a number of innovative activities that were ahead of their time. One of these was the introduction of the five-day workweek system announced in 1960. At that time, there were very few companies on the five-day workweek system, and there were even many within the company who questioned the workability of this system. To raise awareness and motivate the employees, the founder said, "Implementing the five-day workweek system at a time when the country is facing difficult economic conditions will not be easy. Let's do all we can to make our management even more rational than that of any U.S. corporation." Over the next five years the company rolled out a campaign to double productivity, and eventually, the company was strong enough to support a fiveday workweek, and the system was implemented.

Panasonic adopted CO₂ emission reduction as a key management index, and to fulfill its public promise, all business activities were reviewed. We adopted this index because, just as Panasonic introduced the five-day workweek system ahead of most other companies more than forty years ago, we also wanted to address can create a company that reduces CO₂ while continuing to grow.

The phrase "a company is a public entity of society" was first used in July 1946. It was used at the first sales manager conference after the war.

"Production, sales, and profits are vital. However, these represent only the first step. What is even more important is to commit to the ethos and management philosophy of Matsushita Electric. If we do, our customers will feel this through our products. In this way, we will develop a trust that goes beyond our products and extends to the National brand."

The founder believed that it is important to build a company that could reform itself quickly in accordance with its management philosophy in the event that, for example, a defective product was produced. This would raise confidence among consumers and raise the brand image, effectively embedding the management philosophy in the brand.

In October of this year, the company changed its name to Panasonic Corporation and merged the National brand into the Panasonic brand. Konosuke Matsushita treasured the ideas of "a company as a public entity of society," "customer comes first," and "start anew every day," but an "open mind" is an important state that underlies these. If the founder considered the current situation of the company and the acceleration of globalization with an "open mind," he would undoubtedly agree with the decision to change the name.

Even if the name changes, the company management philosophy will never change in any future age. Precisely because we are living in an age of rapid and dramatic change, employees must refer often to our founding spirit and practice the management philosophy in their individual jobs without resting on the laurels of the past 90 years.

It is now the 21st century, and we believe that we need to take a global view in our corporate social responsibility as well. This concept is also contained in our brand slogan, "Panasonic ideas for life." Panasonic generates ideas for life...today and tomorrow. Through innovative thinking, we are committed to enriching people's lives around the world. This is our brand promise that we make to all our customers throughout the world. We will continue to work hard under the Panasonic brand to contribute to the preservation of the global environment and the development of society and fulfill our corporate social responsibility in the 21st century.