Abstract
News Analysis In August, Goro Watanabe became vice chairman of Mitsui Chemicals, a Japanese diversified chemical manufacturer with annual sales of $8 billion last year. In a related move, Hiroyuki Nakanishi became the new president following the retirement of Akio Sato. It sounded promising. In October 1998, at the autumn meeting of the Chemical Manufacturers Association in Washington, D.C., Watanabe strongly criticized the slow pace at which Japanese chemical firms were moving to improve their competitiveness. Perhaps he could now actively speed up things by joining a chemical firm whose restructuring progress had been far from outstanding. In his new position as senior executive of Mitsui Chemicals, could he force a faster restructuring? Apparently not. Meeting with this reporter in Tokyo, Watanabe explains that he still believes that Japanese management is moving too slowly: All executives of the Japanese chemical industry are smart enough to recognize the seriousness—they have now 'crisis consciousne...
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
