Omron College Essay Example

1. Improving Productivity in the Manufacturing Industry: Meeting the Automation Challenge (1933-1960) 2.

Enhancing Lifestyles in Japan: Facing the Challenge of the Cybernation Revolution (1960-1970) 3. Creating a New Kind of Interaction Between People and Machines: Meeting the Needs of the Advanced Information Age (1970-present) Development and growth of Omron: “At work for a better life, a better world for all”- is the motto of Omron Electric. All its values and principles stem from here. Omron believed that society rewards innovation and business excellence with profits and thus they believe in investing more in the society for more rewards.

It believed that innovation cycles lead to major breakthroughs in scientific knowledge which influence society and work as a force for social transformation. They applied the SINIC (Seed-Innovation to Need-Impetus cycle) model to identify the new product lifecycle. It considered industrialization, mechanisation and automation as the major pillars for the company’s growth. Omron success was based on its core principles that is delivering to the society and meeting the needs of individuals and organisations. Omron produced a wide variety of products globally. Few major ones are shown in the product timeline below.

Fig: Omron’s principles Omron’s motto “At work for a better life, a better world for all” reflects that Omron believes that contributing to the society is its primary motive which will in turn result in rewards from the society. Omron’s principles were deep rooted in each of its business divisions and the employees. Also these principles were seen in the following major activities  Global vendor management It believed synchronization is the most important factor in manufacturing and therefore they made their functions transparent and united with its

customers.

Also in the year 2002-2007 Omron’s profitability grew rapidly and they moved on to China based manufacturing. Setbacks after venturing into the Chinese markets  Inability to live up to Omron’s DNA In the quest to venture into new markets Omron ignored its underlying principles of creating solutions for the needs of the society. As a result it faced a few problems in China. Omron lacked on the part of customizing solutions for Chinese markets and instead tried selling the same Japanese products in China. They didn’t focus on creating new businesses and innovations.

On venturing into new markets (China in this case) the first requirement is to study the local needs of the masses in that region. But they failed to do so. External Environment: It identifies the environmental opportunities and threats on the industry and the macro environment. Threats:  Japanese Bubble Economy in 1991 In early 1990s the Japanese stock markets soared high resulting in large real estate investments, but when the bubble was at its peak the investors were unable to pay back the loans which resulted in economic slowdown and slow growth in almost all the industries.

It can use its brand name to invest brand name capital in new areas, make new acquisitions and product innovations. Working to eliminate weakness  Omron should develop a proper marketing plan to understand the Chinese market and then use its strengths to work on it. It should understand that its core competency lies in its principles and philosophy. Therefore, align these principles to meet the needs of the society. Corporate-level Strategy: Corporate Motto -"At work for a better life, a better world for all" Corporate Core Value-"Working

for the benefit of society"

Currently Omron corporate strategy is Value Generation 2020 or VG 2020 aims at achieving growth by generating value for all of our stakeholders. Owing to the intensely competitive global market and many business opportunities it has considered approaching the strategy with two primary motives, "Globe Perspective" and the "Earth Perspective. " Globe perspective: to pursue global growth opportunities for the existing business fields. Earth perspective: to meet social needs relating to the sustainability of our planet. VG 2020 addresses the following three aspects:

Strengthening existing business Business expansion in emerging markets Creating, fostering, and reinforcing new business 6. Business-level Strategy: Since Omron is into 5 different businesses it is clear that its business strategy is not same as its corporate strategy. Each business pursues its own strategy which is derived from the corporate strategy. Industrial Automation Business (IAB): Aims at improving productivity and quality through factory automation. Electronic Components Business (ECB): Aims at smoothening interfaces between people and machines to achieve ubiquitous computing.

Social systems Industrial automation Healthcare Automotive electronics Electronic components Fig: Enterprise value creation 8. Recommendations: Omron should consider the following action plan to enhance its presence globally and improve its business performance  For longer sustenance and profitability in China Omron should analyse the local needs of Chinese market by conducting a proper market research and based on the results of the research develop/ modify/ innovate products to meet the consumer needs. In a highly volatile and dynamic world economy Omron should move into noncore diversification so that it can adapt itself with the changes in the external environment and still maintain its profitability, at the same time keeping in mind

that the core business is its strength.