![]() ![]() ![]() In his explanation of Japan's rise to industrial power, he suggests Japanese corporations have made the best of it, e.g., with productive retraining programs. For example, he points out that the credit (or blame) for the lifetime employment rights enjoyed by Japanese workers belongs to ""left-wing economic technicians"" who advised America's occupation forces. He does, though, speak out on many aspects of the ties that bind the US and Japan. Beyond some proforma tributes to his wife and a few remarks on breaking with tradition by declining to join the family business, Morita has little to say of a personal nature. He also developed a worldly-wise appreciation for marketing that has made him an articulate spokesman for free trade. In summary fashion, Morita reviews his life and interesting times, from a privileged boyhood as the 15th-generation heir to a sake-brewing finn near Nagoya through an extraordinarily successful career as a globe-trotting executive-Along the way, he served in Japan's WW II Navy (as a shore-based engineering officer), helped Sony achieve a leadership position in consumer electronics, and played a key role in changing the West's perception of Japan's industrial/commercial competence. ![]() Nonetheless, his experiences as a co-founder of Japan's transnational Sony Corp., strongly held opinions, and the vital issues he addresses make for a generally engrossing, if not quite coherent, narrative. Morita tries to cover far too much ground in this memoir-cum-commentary. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |