2.1 Introduction

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (“Honda” henceforth) was founded by Soichiro Honda in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka prefecture, in September 1948 as a motorcycle production and sales company , with approximately 20 employees and a capital of JPY one million. Ever since the first motorcycle called “Dream D” rolled off the production line in 1949, the dream and spirit of the founder, Soichiro Honda, and the sense and judgment of his management partner, Takeo Fujisawa, fueled the company’s ambition to develop and sell new and high-performance products. As a result, within 3 years of establishment, Honda became Japan’s leading motorcycle production company; further, in 1958, 10 years after its establishment, it launched Super Cub, a long-lasting product. Honda grew rapidly to occupy the top spot in global motorcycle sales.

In 1959, Honda established a local corporation in the United States, taking the first step toward an overseas expansion that would later gain Honda the epithet of a “global company.” Soon after, in 1963, production and sales of (four-wheel) automobiles began, and its business expanded worldwide in three categories: motorcycles, automobiles, and general-purpose engines. Today, Honda boasts a total of 116 production bases in 41 countries, along with sales and development bases that return consolidated sales of 12 trillion yen. In 2019, Honda had approximately 220,000 employees and was already selling more than 30 million units worldwide in consolidated base.

Honda’s management philosophy, which has been inherited since its foundation, has supported its growth to be a global company. This chapter will describe in detail the company’s management philosophy, how it had propagated overseas and underwent change over time, and the efforts and translations involved in this propagation. The study in this chapter is based on the participant observation by one of the authors and the interviews conducted with ex-executives of Honda.

2.2 Honda’s Overseas Expansion

Honda began exporting motorcycles in 1952 and became Japan’s top manufacturer of motorcycles in 1955. Honda first participated in the world’s top motorcycle race (the Tourist Trophy or TT race) on the Isle of Man, England, in 1954 and hogged the front row (from the first to the fifth position) in 1961. Soichiro Honda’s dream of “aim for the world’s top technology” was realized at this point, and Honda’s global expansion began to accelerate. As mentioned above, Honda established a local corporation in Los Angeles in 1959, and in 1963, the first overseas production of motorcycles began in Belgium. Exports expanded to the United States and Canada between the 1960s and 1970s. Since then, Honda’s global production of motorcycles has made remarkable progress, partly because of an increase in demand in Asia, with a cumulative global production of 200 million units in 2008. The popular product Super Cub achieved global production volumes of 60 million units in the same year.

The production of four-wheeled vehicles also began in 1963. In 1967, the light-duty minicar N360, which became a great success, was launched. It became the top domestic minicar by production volume by 1968. In 1969, Honda began the overseas production of its first four-wheeled vehicle in Taiwan. In 1972, the company developed the low-pollution engine named Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion (CVCC), the world’s first engine to clear the Unites States’ Muskie Act, which imposed rigorous environmental standards. At this time, the “world’s best” standard was realized. Shifting focus to the Asian market, in 1975, Honda began producing automobiles in Indonesia. In 1982, the company, the first Japanese car manufacturer in the United States, began car production, and by 1989, “Accord” achieved the top passenger car sales by a model in the United States. In 2001, its cumulative production of automobiles in North America reached ten million units, and in 2003, it reached 50 million units worldwide. In more recent years, Honda has concentrated on the global development of hybrid vehicles, in consideration of global environmental problems and the need for compact vehicles destined for the Asian market. As a result, Honda strengthened its position as a global company.

The foresight of Takeo Fujisawa laid the foundation for Honda’s development as a global company. According to Fujisawa’s autobiography, the first overseas transactions were concluded when 300 engines were sold through a trading company in Taiwan. “The two-wheeled vehicle market starts with Asia” and “through a trading company,” but from the beginning, Fujisawa believed that “the distribution route is oneself” and “the main battlefield is the United States” (Fujisawa 1998: 174–176). This perspective of the market meant that it could be used without facing any limitations if it were a pipe (marketing channel) made in-house. However, if the channel was made by another firm, the company would be kicked out when it was full. Fujisawa was convinced that if demand could be generated in the United States, the world’s leading consumer market, a product had promise; if not, the product had no potential. This principle brought the company admirable success, and Honda was the first Japanese automobile company to produce in the United States and became a leading source of motivation for other Japanese companies based in the country.

The basis for its overseas development was Honda’s management philosophy, together with the technology and innovation capacity that the company had shown since its inception.

2.3 The Management Philosophy of Honda

2.3.1 Creation of the Management Philosophy

The management philosophy of Honda had been articulated by Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa (managing director and senior vice president, who joined the company 1 year after its foundation) since its establishment in 1948, when Honda Motor Co., Ltd. began operations with approximately 20 employees. Based on what they preached to employees daily and the company newsletter “Honda Monthly Report,” which was later distributed as a printed document, their exemplary actions constituted the bulk of the company philosophy. They were discussed in 1956, 7 years after the company’s establishment; further, “Company Principles” and a “Management Policy” were officially established and announced. These principles greatly affected internal and external stakeholders, thus becoming a foundation for the company and a compass to guide its operations.

In line with the overseas expansion described above, in 1962, the “Company Principles” and “Management Policy” were translated into English. These principles have always been an indicator and action guide for domestic and foreign employees. Corrections and additions have been introduced periodically. However, even now, 63 years after the company’s establishment, these principles are considered the flesh and blood of Honda employees, the source of Honda’s DNA, and its life force.

Honda’s management philosophy has been called the “Honda philosophy” since its establishment and has been popular both within and outside the company.

2.3.2 Structure of Management Philosophy

The backbone of Honda’s management philosophy comprises the following three sets of principles (written and authorized in-house): “Fundamental Beliefs,” “Company Principles,” and “Management Policy.” Although these principles have not been formalized in the daily activities of Honda, they have resulted in management styles that have transmitted over time and constitute the “Honda Way.” They can be summarized as follows:

  1. 1.

    Our Fundamental Beliefs:

    1. (i)

      Respect for the individual

    2. (ii)

      The three joys:“The joy of buying,” “the joy of selling,” and “the joy of creating”

  2. 2.

    The Honda company principle

  3. 3.

    Honda management policies

  4. 4.

    The Honda Way

“Fundamental Beliefs” represent the Honda group’s lasting conviction and consist of the following two aspects: “respect for the individual” and the “three joys.”

“Respect for the individual” is evident everywhere in Honda. Human beings are essentially free individuals who think and create to realize their dreams and hopes. Respect for the individual is a philosophy in which joy is shared by respecting individuality, standing on an equal footing in any relationship, trusting, and having the ability to share such a value with each other. Respect for the individual in Honda consists of three elements: “initiative,” “equality,” and “trust.” “Initiative” refers to the freedom to express ideas freely, take independent actions, and generate results that are not tied to established concepts. “Equality” means respecting individual differences and giving equal opportunities to motivated persons, regardless of their attributes (nationality, gender, and academic background, among others). “Trust” means recognizing each other, compensating for individual shortages, and carrying out a role in good faith, that is, based on mutual trust.

The “three joysFootnote 1” are a representation of Honda’s wish to build a trusting relationship that transmits joy to everyone involved in its corporate activities; they are based on respect for the individual. The founder and all the employees have used these principles and have considered them as the basis for their work. In the words of Soichiro (Honda 2001: 215–216):

The first joy in creation is the joy given only to the engineer, as the Creator made all things of Heaven and Earth by His infinitely rich desire for creation, it is the irreplaceable joy of engineers to create products that contribute to a cultural society through their own ideas. Moreover, when the product is excellent and welcomed by society, the joy of the engineer is unequalled. As one of the engineers, I always strive to make such products.

The second joy is that of those who sell products. Our company is a manufacturer. Products made by our company are delivered to customers by the cooperation and efforts of agents and distributors. In this case, when the quality and performance of the product is excellent and the price is low, those who are willing to sell will be pleased. High-quality and low-priced goods are always welcomed. There is merit in selling well, and you are proud to handle the item and you have joy. Those who make products that are not pleasing to the seller are failures as manufacturers.

The third joy, that of the person who bought it, is what determines the value of the fairest product. They know best the value of the product; it is not the manufacturer or the dealer that gives the final judgment. The person who uses the product every day is one who buys it. The joy of saying “Oh, I’m glad I bought this item” is the crown of honor placed on the value of the product. […].

Three joys are our company motto. I do my best to make this happen. (December 1951)

“Company Principles” are at the core of the company’s management philosophy and articulate the purpose and reason of the Honda Group.

“Company Principles” were reworked in 1998, but their first version, introduced in 1956, had been used for 35 years during Soichiro’s life. In 1962, “Company Princeples” were translated into English as follows: “Maintaining an international viewpoint, we are dedicated to supplying products of the highest efficiencyFootnote 2 yet at a reasonable price for worldwide customer satisfaction.Footnote 3” This translation had been mainly used by foreign employees at home and abroad.

In 1991, “the highest efficiency” was changed to “excellent in quality” in English version of Company Principles. Next year, the version had been translated back into Japanese. In addition, in response to the wave of globalization, “international viewpoint” was changed to “global viewpoint,” and it assumed its present form in 1998:

Maintaining a global viewpoint, we are dedicated to supplying products of the highest quality yet at a reasonable price for worldwide customer satisfaction.Footnote 4

The wording of Honda’s principles, which are the basic guideline of the company, has changed to adapt to the changing times. This allowed the principles to be accepted by employees and related persons inside and outside of Japan. In addition, the original Japanese words were also changed.

Regarding the “Management Policy,” in the daily work, all people at Honda understand and share Honda’s fundamental belief and Company Principles by cherishing and practicing the ideas of “free spirit,” “challenging spirit,” and “faithfulness,” which have been considered the culture of Honda since its establishment:

∗ Proceed always with ambition and youthfulness.

∗ Respect sound theory, develop fresh ideas, and make the most effective use of time.

∗ Enjoy your work, and encourage open communications.

∗ Strive constantly for harmonious flow of work.

∗ Be ever mindful of the value of research and endeavor.Footnote 5

The “Honda Way,” which has not been officially documented, is based on the Fundamental Beliefs (respect for the individual and three joys), Company Principles, and Management Policy, which is the core of Honda’s management philosophy. As such, it covers the core of the company’s style (action guidelines and concrete measures).

The Honda Way comprises two parts: the first relates to action guidelines, such as:

  1. 1.

    Racing spirit.

  2. 2.

    Raise the torch with your own hands.

  3. 3.

    Three reality principles.

  4. 4.

    Do not fear failure.

  5. 5.

    Quality is created in the process.

  6. 6.

    Produce where there is demand.

  7. 7.

    Start small; grow large.

The second part relates to measures specifically related to daily work, such as:

  1. 1.

    All employees wear the same white uniform.

  2. 2.

    Call everyone “-san,” which means “Mr. or Ms.,” instead of using working titles, such as operator, manager, or director.

  3. 3.

    Everyone stays in large rooms, including officers.

  4. 4.

    All work together, regardless of academic achievement.

  5. 5.

    Discuss technology regardless rank or position freely.

  6. 6.

    Avoid executives favoritism in hiring.

These are just some aspects of the Honda Way, and many others have been implemented in factories around the world.

2.4 Diffusion of Honda’s Management Philosophy

2.4.1 Partial Revision Due to the Overseas Transmission of the Fundamental Beliefs

The abovementioned four pillars of the management philosophy were gradually introduced, but the original management philosophy was much simpler at the time of the company’s establishment, with only two elements: “Company Principles” and “Management Policy.” Acts demonstrating “respect for the individual” and the “three joys” have been rewarded by the founder since the establishment of the company and are valued among employees, but they did not express the same founding values of the Company Principles and Management Policy.

However, when the fourth president took office in 1990, 35 years had passed since the incorporation of “Company Principles” and “Management Policy” in the management philosophy. With the growing size of the company and the changing business environment, he suggested to discuss whether it is necessary to check and review. In 1991, full-fledged discussion, debate, and review began on a global scale, involving overseas employees.

As a result, the “respect for the individual” and the “three joys” were “Fundamental Beliefs” (foundations), which lie at the basis of all the new systems. Figure 2.1 shows the overall configuration of Honda’s management philosophy.

Fig. 2.1
figure 1

Composition of Honda’s management philosophy

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2.4.2 Modification of Japanese Corporate Principles Owing to the Overseas Move

Expatriates and local employees with foreign experience, as well as overseas local executives and personnel, began stating that there appears to be a conflict between the Honda philosophy (management philosophy) taught by the Japanese and the philosophy that we read in English; there was no clear match. Therefore, “Corporate Principles,” which were translated into English in 1962, were translated back to Japanese. The English versions of “Corporate Principles” and “Management Policy” remained unchanged; however, it was decided to change the version that had been translated back into Japanese.

We already mentioned about the translational process of “Corporate Principles” in Sect. 2.3.2. Next, we will concern about the third element of Management Policy as follows.

In the latter part of “Love work and brighten your working atmosphere,” the expression shokuba wo akaruku suru (brighten your working atmosphere) elicited the opinion that “the Japanese can understand, but it is abstract and difficult to understand depending on the country and ethnicity.” Specifically, the second half of this part should be revised to communication wo taisetsu ni surukoto (encourage open communications).

As described above, the company’s management philosophy was translated into the language of the region (overseas) where it was propagated; further, it was decided to rewrite it to make it more specific. The wording was changed to perpetuate the company’s message.

2.5 The Propagation of the Management Philosophy

The same spirit animated Takeo Fujisawa and Soichiro Honda, the founders of Honda, and formed the basis of their management philosophy. On the 25th anniversary of the company’s founding, Fujisawa and Honda resigned from the position of president and vice president, respectively. The position of president was handed over to Kiyoshi Kawashima, who was nearly 20 years younger (at age 45) than them; this brought him into the public limelight. Fujisawa passed away at the end of 1988, and about 3 years later, Honda passed away in the summer of 1991.

Rare geniuses themselves, the presidents who succeeded Honda and Fujisawa adopted a method of running the company on a system that focused on turning young executives into “geniuses,” and the “Management Philosophy,” which was Honda’s DNA, lent great support to this system. In other words, the “Honda philosophy” was the company’s primary reference point.

Above all, those who learned directly from Honda and Fujisawa always consider “if Mr. Honda were alive” and “if Mr. Fujisawa were here.” The words and actions that constituted Honda’s management guided their actions and assisted them in working on human resources (HR) development. Not only have the HR department, which manages people, organizations, and business philosophy education, but also executives and managers made joint efforts to spread the company’s management philosophy.

Honda’s management philosophy was at the core of a keen effort carried out by the company to propagate and pass on its philosophy, developing it at the workplace through various measures, as described in the following subsections.

2.5.1 Honda Version of the Bible: Top Talks

Honda has a culture that is slightly different from that of traditional Japanese companies. For example, the traditional companies celebrate their 10th, 20th, and 30th anniversaries of business, but Honda held large commemorative events on its 15th, 25th, and 35th anniversaries. At these events, the traditional companies often distribute souvenirs, such as ballpoint pens and watches carrying the company name, as decided by their managers. However, in the case of Honda, the decision on “how to celebrate” has always been left to the employees, who propose their ideas.

For example, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the company, an employee project team created a Honda bible, which combines the main statements of successive managers such as Honda, Fujisawa, and Kawashima in a single volume containing more than 300 pages. The book was given the title Top Talks—Wisdom of Foresight and distributed to all 45,000 Honda employees. This volume is a handy book of reference for employees at work and at home and has been extensively used as a textbook for teaching the Honda philosophy; thus, it has become essential educational material not only for new employees but also for managerial supervisors (Fig. 2.2).

Fig. 2.2
figure 2

The book Top Talks (Japanese Edition)

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2.5.2 The Propagation of Honda’s Philosophy Through Education and Training

Education and training play a key role in transferring the management philosophy. Honda’s corporate philosophy training includes:1. Pre-employment education/employment training.2. Experience discussion training for mid-level employees.3. Learn through the life of the founder (“the origin” library course and “the origin” comic, among others). The propagation of the management philosophy is achieved through these and other educational training materials.

Sixty-three years have already passed since the establishment of Honda, which has been regarded as “a postwar young company” or “the last automobile company.” The presidents up to the sixth generation have received the founder’s influence by Honda and Fujisawa, regardless of their standing in the company. General employees and several management supervisors had also been directly trained by the founders and had been made extensive use of this knowledge. However, the current president, who belongs to the seventh generation, joined the company after Honda and Fujisawa retired.

Concerning the personnel, general affairs department, and the executives, “there will be no employees who receive the founder’s award due to time problems,” and “it is predicted that business and personnel will expand 1.5 times by 2020 with further expansion mainly in emerging countries.” The interviews carried out in this study indicate that Honda is currently considering the following interventions:

  • First, a training to embed further the Honda philosophy through on-the-job trainings (OJTs) and off-the-job trainings (OFFJTs).

  • Second, the information transmission of Honda Now (e.g., at each site).

  • Third, the propagation of the Honda philosophy. The company is trying to convey the Honda philosophy in the most personal way to each employee by providing various courses and using different media.

2.5.3 The Practice of the Management Philosophy

How is Honda’s management philosophy practiced in the field? One of the Honda ways is the “three reality principles,” that is, “we go to the actual place where things happen; we learn about the actual situation; and we are realistic.Footnote 6” This spirit is passed on to every department—research and development, production, sales, and personnel—and there is hardly anything in the company’s philosophy that is ignored.

Further, the practice of the philosophy is reflected in the personnel evaluation items. In other words, personnel evaluation (personnel appraisal and work evaluation) represents an important factor in employees’ wage management (reward, promotion, and bonus) and treatment management (appointment, promotion, and accreditation). In addition, items such as “the person’s effort and attitude, achievement (results), and increased ability” and “Honda philosophy’s level of practice” are considered essential elements (competency) in any evaluation.

Although the evaluation items vary depending on the country, business document, industry, and job type, typical competency items are as follows:

  1. 1.

    Respect for the individual

  2. 2.

    Fairness and equality

  3. 3.

    Mutual trust

  4. 4.

    Vision

  5. 5.

    Challenge

  6. 6.

    Youth

  7. 7.

    Three reality principles

  8. 8.

    Customer-first principle

  9. 9.

    Speed

  10. 10.

    Honesty.

In this way, the philosophy is incorporated into more specific personnel policies and correctly implemented (Fig. 2.3).

Fig. 2.3
figure 3

“Employee award” scene (1970); the left person was Mr. Kawashima, the president

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2.5.4 Propagation to Overseas Employees and Overseas Offices

Concerning the transfer of the management philosophy and education to overseas employees, Honda is currently training instructors at the six regional headquarters worldwide (six poles: Japan, North America, South America, Europe, China, and Asia-Oceania) on the Honda philosophy propagation and promoting education and trainingFootnote 7 (for instance, instructors from the Japanese headquarters visit Africa). Each overseas office (plant, sales base, and regional head office, among others) is developed according to its specific situation because the context varies according to the country, type of industry, and employee’s growth condition. We will show the case of education and training at the Honda of America Mfg. (hereafter HAM) below.

HAM, which is the first production base in America for Japanese auto companies, has paid attention to penetrating and practicing of its management philosophy to employees since first manufacturing of motorcycle at 1984. It is not imposing Japanese ways of thinking and doing on overseas employees but communicating and discussing each other by convincing and satisfactory ways. For example, Honda’s symbolic dress code of “white uniform” (in the factory) has been introduced by sufficient explanation and conversation with employees. A Japanese manager explained “our work face to the risk of one’s life like a work of doctors and nurses. Their uniforms are commonly white to show dirt. High quality products cannot be produced in the dirty and messy space. So, white uniform is symbolic expression of our will to produce high quality products and to be committed to customer satisfaction. White uniform is the symbol of our intent on the creation of high quality products and the commitment to customer satisfaction. It is also the symbol of our pride of corporate mission.” By hearing this explanation, overseas employees fully understood the meaning of “white uniform” in Honda, and they accepted the manager’s proposal of this dress code.

Such cases are found in all over the workplace in Honda. For one example, they don’t use such a discriminatory expression as “employer vs. employee,” but they call each other “associate” from workers to the top management. In addition, there are no private rooms for top management such as president’s office or executive rooms, because the shared room called “Ōbeya” in Japanese grows to know each other so well and stimulates their communication. And there are no exclusive parking spaces for execs; everyone is available to park at convenient parking spaces with first-come-first-served basis. As mentioned above, there are a lot of ways of practice for realizing Honda’s management philosophy.

HAM, which is founded with 64 starting members, has rapidly expanded on the number of factories and its productivity and employment. At the time, its leading product “Accord” became the best seller car beating US big three cars. Considering such a context, the second president of HAM became acutely aware of writing textbooks and using them through education to penetrate Honda’s management philosophy to every member of the company. In October 1985, he published English-Japanese textbook The Honda Way (see Fig. 2.4). The contents of the textbook consist of the following six sections: Company Principle, Management Policies, Honda Philosophy, About Organization, In the Factory, Business Meeting, and Information Exchange. This book has been used by many Honda’s associates in both of America and Japan.

Fig. 2.4
figure 4

The Honda Way study guide (HAM , 1985)

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Seven years after publishing the book, the Honda philosophy was changed by initiative of the Japan headquarter. Then, whole-company-scale education and training in HAM had been conducted from 1992 to 1993. Its methods of instruction are not only a classroom lecture but also a workshop with discussion in a meeting room on the Honda philosophy and the Honda Way. Groups for discussion consisted of about ten people with diversified attributes: Japanese, Americans, top managers, middle managers, males, and females. Many American top managers told the Honda Way that they were instructed intensively at the early HAM—motor cycle factory—days to young employees. Japanese top manages told their experiences in Japan including their own tough with Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa, and American associates shared their experiences. Young American associates, who had just joined, asked freely many questions to senior American associates and Japanese associates. As a result, they were very rich and fruitful workshops. These workshops were held quite many times and all of these were audio-recorded. The important and useful parts of the recorded audio materials were edited, and finally they were recompiled as the voice teaching material of the Honda Way (HAM version), which consisted of six audio cassettes, totally 6 h (see Fig. 2.5). One author (Kosugi), who had been in HAM from 1992 to 1995, involved in promoting education and training of the management philosophy. The author also joined the discussion on the Company Principles with American associates including the general manager of the HAM factory. The word “international viewpoint” in the Company Principles, which we mentioned in Sect. 2.3.2, was discussed in those days. Parts of those discussions are left in the voice teaching materials.

Fig. 2.5
figure 5

The voice teaching material of the Honda Way (HAM version)

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Activities for penetration and practice of management philosophy of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. also conducted outside of Japan and the United States. We mention a case of Asian Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (hereafter ASH).Footnote 8 ASH, which was the regional headquarter covering businesses in ASEAN countries, played an initiative role to instruct Honda’s management philosophy to its associates (employees). ASH collected many international associates who can work actively in the field from Honda’s business hubs for production, sales, services, R&D, and so on. Most of such associates are cosmopolitan having fluent English ability. They also have much pride because most of them have their education in foreign countries and/or are MBA holders. The top management of AHM thought that the more influential to others and other countries they are, the more intensive instruction of management philosophy of Honda Motor is necessary and important. Then, Japanese associates, who were under the tutelage of Soichiro Honda and/or Takeo Fujisawa, with fluent English and/or Thai abilities and Thai top managers with fluent English and/or Japanese abilities play a central role in making educational materials such as Thai version of Top Talks and conducting education of “Honda philosophy.” They had spent much time for the education by changing instructors appropriately. One of the authors (Kosugi) experienced such educations in practice when he worked at ASH from 1995 to 1998.

2.6 Conclusions

As described above, while respecting the founder’s philosophy, Honda has modified the wording of its principles in a way that matches the present circumstances. The management philosophy being put into practice and incorporated into daily action guidelines and concrete personnel measures needs to be clear. Interpretation and reinterpretation of the philosophy by people in the field are essential for its realization. Through on-site interpretation and practice, the philosophy will become stronger and accelerate the development of the whole company and the realization of people’s dreams, thus reflecting the dynamism of ideas.

Mr. Hisao Suzuki and Mr. Takuo Kawasaki practiced the Honda philosophy at the global sites, and Hisao Suzuki, who is at the forefront of development, spoke about the experience of working at the Research and Development Center with Soichiro Honda as followsFootnote 9:

Soichiro’s way of working at the Research & Development Center was always on site, and I had never seen him sitting at the president’s desk (the president’s office is always open, too. Anyone could drop in. There is no secretary). At the research & development center, he went to the drawing site, the machine room for making parts, the sheet metal site, the site for assembling engines and prototypes, the test room, the design room, and the model room all the time. So, while looking at things, he decided to do things with people on site, “Let’s go, let’s do it this way.” At Honda, this is called “Three Reality Principle,” and it has become the most important code of conduct. Seeing the actual thing on site, know the reality, immediately make a decision on site, and decide what to do next.

Because the president decides with the person on site, the organization hierarchy has been flattened. Middle positions have become unnecessary because the work is outsourced. The fewer the organizational levels, the more transparent and open the communication.

Originally decided on site, some things are impossible to decide. This is homework; the time limit is always the next morning. The next morning, would bring the question of “what’s up with the president?” Therefore, there had to be an answer. Soichiro’s real power is that even if he had a lot of homework every day, he still came up with the answers the next morning. A person with homework would come with just one answer, but Soichiro could not help giving dozens of answers. Soichiro, who did this every day, was really a superman!

Soichiro turned in his driving license at the age of 80, but he actually drove a product developed just before his death on the R & D center and evaluated it. When he found something he did not like, he said, “Now, improve here and get better” and he did not leave. For Honda, speed is important on both straight stretches and corners. I believe that the creation of this speed was the source of development. Given such a background, I think that Honda considered it a race.

Additionally, Takuo Kawasaki, who led production at several plants, stated:

Three Rs are important with respect to the individual. That is:

  • Respect

  • Reliability

  • Responsibility

for each other. Human beings are things that grow, and have ambitions and wisdom. Improvement is born from there. Human lives are valuable only when doing value-added work. To do so, the opportunities must be equal and the assessments must be fair and clear. This is because it leads to the desire for further improvement.

In the Three Reality Principle (site principle), first, the worksite is the open space for all workers. Second, the product is built on site. It can only be built on site. Third, because the site is alive, we must understand that it changes every day. Further, in the factory, we make things (products/equipment) and people highly visible. For this purpose, safety is especially important with 5S (Seiri, Seiton, Seiketsu, Seisou, Shitsuke), that is, “sorting, tidying, cleaning, hygiene, ad discipline.” In other words, we have to make it safe and efficient, but to do so, we have to make the problems manifest and resolved quickly, making them visible to everyone. For the actualization of the problem, the Three Reality Principle must be thoroughly followed, and “Why, why, why...” must be repeated. As such, Honda has created a “five principles sheet” that is effective in solving problems.

At production sites, work standards are created based on process quality control slips, but this time, the administrator tries to use it. If you cannot follow work standards, it means failure. Further, repeat training based on this work standard. After that, it is necessary to verify repeatedly whether good products can be produced efficiently and smoothly based on the work standard. Are other decisions properly followed? It is necessary to follow-up and check. In addition, is it necessary for the boss to see the work on site continuously himself, and to verify and follow whether it is unreasonable or difficult? In other words, it is important to develop quality across the company. We believe that quality is our greatest sales force. Since we are professionals in manufacturing, we need to ensure quality assurance. It is important for you to be conscious of the customer and think from the customer’s point of view, which is different from yours. Even if it is one part per million (1PPM) for the producer, it is 100% for the customer, that is, it is an irreplaceable single piece.

In these words, the interpretation of the Honda philosophy is remarkably clear and emphasizes the commitment to the work, attachment to the company, and love and respect for the company’s founder. This is the realization of the management philosophy by each employee. In addition, it seems connected to the realization of an individual’s dream and has become a force that supports action. In this way, the management philosophy will be reinforced by being transmitted and emulated.