Management Hall of Fame
Most Respected Management Gurus

Konosuke Matsushita
Matsushita - Japan Industrial Giant (1894-1989)

• "Big things and Little things are my job. Middle level management can be delegated." (Konosuke Matsushita)
• " The mission of a manufacturer should be to overcome poverty, to relieve society as a whole from misery and bring it wealth." (Konosuke Matsushita)

Key Work

• 1918 Starts Matsushita Electric Appliance Factory.
• 1929 Formulates the "basic management objective."
• 1933 Introduces the "five guiding principles."
• 1935 Matsushita Electric Appliance renamed Matsushita Electric Industrial Company (MEI).
• 1946 Founds the Peace and Happiness through Prosperity (PHP) Institute.
• 1950 Returns to the company.
• 1961 Becomes chairman of MEI.
• 1965 Introduces five-day workweek.
• 1973 Steps down as chairman.

Konosuke Matsushita founded one of Japan's greatest corporations, Matsushita Electric Industrial. Yet he is remembered for much more than the creation of an electrical goods empire. At MEI Matsushita implemented management practices that were far ahead of their time. He abandoned the conventional centralized management structure. He drew up a corporate creed and identified corporate values. He pioneered advertising in the press and competed both on price and quality.
Matsushita's philosophy can best be summed up by the "basic management objective" he formulated in 1929. "Recognizing our responsibilities as industrialists, we will devote ourselves to the progress and development of society and the well-being of people through our business activities, thereby enhancing the quality of life throughout the world." It was something Matsushita did to great effect.

Books & References:

• Gould, Rowland. The Matsushita phenomenon . Tokyo: Diamond Sha, 1970.
• Matsushita, Konosuke. Quest for Prosperity - Quest for Prosperity: The Life of a Japanese Industrialist . Tokyo: PHP Institute, 1988.

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