Chapter 8 Chapter 7 Transforming into a Military Industry: Unstable Times and Difficult Production

The outbreak of the world economic crisis in 1929 was extremely destructive to the capitalist world. The economic crisis triggered a political crisis. In order to get rid of this crisis, the monopoly capitalists in various countries are constantly looking for a way out. Passing on the catastrophic consequences of this crisis. Under such circumstances, the Japanese government adopted a policy of strengthening domestic rule, actively expanding externally and passing on the crisis.The operation of an enterprise is not only a personal matter for the entrepreneur, but also related to the government's policies. The development of an enterprise requires the government to provide a peaceful and peaceful social environment.However, if the government launches an aggressive war in order to realize its own ambitions and pass on the crisis, the living environment for the enterprise will be very bad. If the enterprise wants to continue to develop, it must seriously consider the enterprise business strategy during the war.Matsushita Electric was forced to switch to military production during the war, fell into the sinful swamp of war, and became a "chaebol".

Following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on September 18, 1931, the Japanese army fired the first shot to invade China in an all-round way. As Konosuke Matsushita said, "Japan's industrial circles quickly took on the colors of wartime." Since the "September 18th" incident, affected by the adjustment of the Japanese government's wartime industrial policy, Japan's civilian industry has gradually been oppressed. Soon, most industrial manufacturers turned to military production directly or indirectly. From 1937 to 1938, in order to meet the needs of the full-scale war of aggression against China, Japan promulgated the "Three Wartime Laws", namely the "Temporary Fund Adjustment Law", "Law on Temporary Measures for Imported and Exported Commodities", and "National General Mobilization Law". Designed to strengthen state intervention in the economy and put it on a wartime trajectory.Among them, the "National General Mobilization Law" passed on March 24, 1938 is the core of Japan's wartime nationalist control legislation, which puts science and technology, culture and education, news reports, industry, transportation, finance and trade, etc. under the control of the government .Later, various control decrees were promulgated according to this law, bringing all aspects of national life into the scope of national control.

Since then, business owners have gradually lost their freedom of operation, and have been tied to the wheels of war.The government continues to arrange civilian production enterprises to switch to military production according to needs. The outbreak of the Pacific War led to a sharp increase in Japan's war expenditures, which were originally deficient in supplies. Subsequently, the Japanese government implemented a series of wartime economic policies, resulting in extremely deformed Japanese industrial structures. In the global economic depression, Matsushita Electric did not retreat or stagnate, but developed slowly in the cracks of war.Until 1927, Matsushita Electric's business was still expanding, and its profits were still rising. However, by the end of 1929, Matsushita Electric was not immune. Affected by the economic depression, on the one hand, product sales dropped sharply, only half of usual; On the other hand, there are more and more unsalable products piled up in the warehouse, and the company begins to get into trouble.

In the face of the Great Depression, the common practice of Japanese business circles was to lay off employees and reduce production, but this led to more labor disputes, and labor movements surged.In the face of internal and external troubles, Konosuke Matsushita is also thinking hard about countermeasures, worrying about the stability of the company: Will our employees make trouble?How to sell the piled up products?Will the new factory under construction become a stumbling block in the development of Panasonic... These problems weighed on his heart like a mountain, making him restless, and he, who was already weak, finally couldn't bear it and fell ill.After seeing the doctor, Konosuke Matsushita accepted the doctor's advice for recuperation, and temporarily handed over the management of the company's affairs to Toshio Iue and others.

Although in recuperation, Matsushita Konosuke was troubled by the company's affairs and was always worried.One day, Toshio Iue and the sales manager came to visit Konosuke Matsushita's sanatorium, and an ominous premonition enveloped his heart instantly. "General Manager," Toshio Iue spoke first, seeing his flustered expression, Konosuke Matsushita said, "Don't panic, Toshio, what's the matter, sit down and talk slowly." "General manager, the company is really unable to survive now. Sales are decreasing every day, and inventory is increasing every day. We have tried everything, but there is still no improvement. If this continues, the company may not be able to sustain it!" Afterwards, Izhi The year-old man handed over a report, which was full of numbers in red.

Konosuke Matsushita watched the report silently for a while. Although the company's situation was within his expectations, he did not expect it to be so serious. After a few minutes of silence, he said, "I want to hear your opinions first." Toshio Jingzhi said: "General manager, the current situation will last for a long time. After everyone's discussion, we want to reduce the output by half, and at the same time, in order to save expenses, we will lay off one-third of the staff. In this case, the factory will Maybe we can get through it.” "However, the labor movement is raging now. We must seek the understanding of the laid-off employees. This is a last resort. Moreover, after the factory's situation improves, we will invite them back to work. I don't know what the general manager thinks of this method?" added the sales manager.

Konosuke Matsushita closed his eyes without saying a word. This moment was surprisingly quiet. Toshio Iue and the sales manager didn't know whether Konosuke Matsushita's body could bear it, and kept staring at him uneasily.After a while, Konosuke Matsushita opened his eyes and said resolutely: "I agree with part of your two proposals, the production volume will be reduced by half, but none of the employees can be laid off, and the salary can't be reduced, absolutely not!" "General manager, this is not acceptable. If this happens, the factory will be finished!" Toshio Iue and the sales manager said in unison.

"I haven't finished talking yet. After the production reduction, the half-day work system will be implemented. A meeting will be held to tell the employees the situation of the factory truthfully, so as to obtain their understanding and cooperation. Let all the employees and the sales department devote themselves to the sales work, reduce inventory, and first Overcome the difficulties, and then wait and see the changes." Konosuke Matsushita said firmly. "That's right!" Jing Zhi's eyes lit up, and he immediately understood the intention of his brother-in-law, and then said, "As long as the products can be sold, we can get the funds, and the factory can be saved from closing down."

"Yes, that's what it means." Konosuke Matsushita said, "We use this method to tide over the difficulties first. As for the loss of half a day's wages, in the long run, this is only a temporary loss and there is no problem. The most important thing is Let employees establish the concept of taking the factory as their home and co-existing and co-prosperity. Panasonic Electric is growing day by day. If the carefully selected employees are resigned, it will inevitably shake the foundation of Panasonic's operations. Layoffs and salary cuts may solve temporary problems, but In the long run, it will bring immeasurable losses to the business. So I insist that all employees must be hired as usual, and no one should be fired. Please pass on my opinion and lead the employees to work hard. We share the joys and sorrows and get through this together. Difficulty."

Originally, Toshio Jingzhi and the sales manager did not make the decision to lay off employees willingly, but only because of the situation.Now seeing that the boss not only does not lay off employees, but also cuts production without cutting wages, and his speech shows firm confidence in turning the situation around, the two of them swept away the depression when they came, and suddenly became excited.Toshio Iue said happily: "Brother-in-law, don't worry. We will definitely convey your wishes to the staff and act in full compliance with your wishes. Please rest assured of your illness and don't need to worry about it."

"Don't be busy, I still have something to say." Matsushita Konosuke said again, "Regarding sales, you must not lower the price. Doing so will reduce the reputation of the company and cause endless harm. Matsushita is an influential company in Japan. Panasonic is the best quality electrical appliance, not a junk product. We must adopt sincere promotion methods and provide customers with thoughtful and perfect services." When Matsushita Konosuke said this, he coughed violently, his face flushed, and he waved his hands repeatedly. "We understand, please rest assured that we will be able to do well." Said Toshio Iue. Toshio Iue and the sales manager agreed with Konosuke Matsushita’s opinion. After returning to the factory, they held a meeting to convey the meaning of the general manager to all employees. Konosuke Matsushita’s risky move brought about the unity of the whole factory—unity and concentricity Working together, all employees worked hard, working in the factory for half a day, and selling around for half a day. In a short time, Panasonic employees, whether they were senior executives or front-line workers, became salesmen. "Hi, I'm an employee of Panasonic, and this is an iron we manufacture with absolute reliability." "Hi, I'm an employee of Panasonic. Do you want to see Panasonic?" The employees of Panasonic all went out and went door-to-door to sell products to customers. However, in the face of the economic downturn, people often say: "In this situation, they are either fired or their salaries are cut. They can't even eat enough. Where did they get the spare money to buy electrical appliances?" "Actually, the situation is not always as you said. You see, Panasonic has neither laid off employees nor cut wages. We still get full wages for the first half of the day." "What, how can there be such a good thing in the world?" Hearing this kind of statement, everyone didn't believe it. "Yes, that's the fact. As long as we all cheer up and buy more products, we can stimulate production, and bad things like unemployment and salary cuts won't happen." Panasonic employees can say In this case, not only because of this policy, but also because Konosuke Matsushita usually attaches great importance to the education of employees.Thanks to his unremitting efforts, most of Panasonic's employees have good qualities and have a deep understanding of the boss's business philosophy. Therefore, when they face such questions, they can certainly convince people. Although the customers were persuaded by Panasonic's employees, they were really cash-strapped, and they would ask, "Can I have a discount? The prices of other brands of electrical appliances have been reduced!" Konosuke Matsushita is worthy of being the "God of Management". He expected customers to make such a request, and explained to everyone the reason why Konosuke Matsushita would not lower the price in his instructions. Therefore, employees can also say the same when dealing with such requests. He said: "Our products are all priced on the basis of cost and reasonable profit. They are absolutely genuine and do not contain moisture. However, please consider our position. If we sell them at a reduced price, you can buy them back at a satisfactory price. But we can’t recover the cost. In this way, the production will be affected, and then we will be in a vicious circle of layoffs and salary cuts like now. So please understand that we can’t lower the price. However, we also Thinking of your inconvenience. Therefore, after you purchase our products, we will provide high-quality services, on-site debugging, after-sales assistance and maintenance, and even free replacement of small parts. You can calculate that this is cheaper than buying reduced-price products It’s much more cost-effective to pay a few dollars.” When customers hear such reasonable words, most of them will be persuaded by the employees of Panasonic. Through the efforts of all staff, Panasonic's inventory decreased rapidly.All the products piled up in the warehouse were sold.Not only that, the Panasonic factory must immediately resume full production and work desperately to meet the growing market demand for Panasonic.In this world's largest economic crisis in history, Matsushita Electric hit the highest sales in history and created a miracle. However, the dark clouds of war are quietly hanging over Japan at this moment.Japan entered the Second World War as a fascist ally, and accordingly, the Japanese government implemented a series of wartime economic policies.As a Japanese, Konosuke Matsushita also actively participated in the war launched by the Japanese government.He considers himself a member of the Yamato nation, and considers himself a qualified and even excellent member. He has to join, and even has to do his best to join. Under the background at that time, it was impossible for us to ask Konosuke Matsushita to stand up against the government. Now that the government has called on the people to turn to the army, Konosuke Matsushita's response to the production of military supplies is quite timely. On October 4, 1937, Konosuke Matsushita announced the policy of transferring Matsushita Electric to the military supply industry at a routine meeting, and appointed a very important candidate: "The businesses that Matsushita Electric has always operated are general livelihood industries. In view of the urgency of the situation, in any case, from now on, it is necessary to shift to the industrial aspect necessary for the current situation. I think there is only one way for Panasonic Electric to go now, and I have appointed the executive manager Toshio Iue to undertake this work. I I come to work at the dry battery company for the time being, and personally take care of various important businesses. I hope that all colleagues will recognize what day it is today, whether it is private or public, and always pray with the spirit of unremitting efforts and dedication!" It can be seen that Konosuke Matsushita attached great importance to the transfer to the military supply industry. In order to adapt to the changes in market demand brought about by the war, he sent his most capable assistant and most trusted cadre Toshio Iue to take care of the matter. It can be seen from this The importance he attaches to this matter. From the perspective of entrepreneurs, from the perspective of business activities themselves, this is justifiable and quite normal. It is a kind of alert and positive performance to quickly change business strategies according to the situation.But for Matsushita Konosuke, apart from this kind of helplessness, deep in his heart he is still actively involved.It shows that he is not only a visionary entrepreneur, but also has the color of national fantasy. After formulating an industrial policy and dispatching full-time leaders, Matsushita Electric quickly invested in the production of military supplies. In early 1938, Metal Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Co., Ltd., began to accept orders from the Ministry of the Army. The products were simple metal parts for machine gun bullets.Later, several subsidiary companies of Matsushita Electric, under the orders of the army and the sea, manufactured military batteries, military radio transceivers, large sirens, and electronic components such as electronic tubes, resistors, and capacitors.From this aspect, Matsushita Electric's contribution to Japan's war of aggression is outstanding. Konosuke Matsushita's business strategies in the state of war, some are to actively adapt to the new situation and actively cooperate, while others are passively responding to the military requirements and the production of military supplies.As the war progressed, the government began to designate certain enterprises to produce military products.Among Matsushita Electric Corporation, by the end of the war, there were several such designated manufacturers, such as: Matsushita Shipbuilding Company, Matsushita Aviation Industry Company, Matsushita Radio Communication Machinery Manufacturing Company, Matsushita Metal Company, Matsushita Dry Battery Company, etc. Panasonic continued to receive orders from the military, gradually expanded its production scope, and gradually expanded its products from simple to complex, from parts to complete machines. It also undertook and transformed many factories received by the military.During World War II, Matsushita Electric Corporation's intentional or unintentional support to the Japanese military played a very significant and huge role.What Konosuke Matsushita has done to contribute to this aggressive and unjust war is deplorable. As the war progressed, the unjust war of Japanese fascist aggression gradually fell into a predicament. The Japanese army deeply felt the lack of ships, so they planned to build wooden ships. In 1942, the Japanese military decided to manufacture 250-300-ton wooden ships for emergency needs.This task, the military handed over to Matsushita Electric Corporation.Konosuke Matsushita thought it was a matter of course to serve the country, so he agreed. After Konosuke Matsushita determined the wooden ship standard with the military, he decided to build the ship according to the Ford assembly line operation method. The shipbuilding project was divided into eight procedures, and each procedure had a clear division of labor and a time limit.Obviously, at that time, everyone was driven by the so-called national interests and national interests. The labor enthusiasm was close to fanaticism, and the work efficiency was quite high. In this way, six months later, the first 250-ton military wooden boat was launched. Because of the continuous operation, in fact, a wooden boat was launched every month. This efficiency caused a sensation. Government officials, military leaders, etc. Come to see the launch of the first military wooden boat. Due to the outstanding performance in shipbuilding, the Japanese military took a fancy to the strength of Konosuke Matsushita and his company, and asked him to build aircraft. Konosuke Matsushita has no experience in the manufacture of aircraft, as in the manufacture of military wooden ships, and Matsushita Electric Corporation has no involvement in the manufacture of parts in this area.However, with a passion, Konosuke Matsushita agreed. At this time, the Japanese soldiers have reached the point of madness.While there is little hope of winning the war, struggle is inevitable. After accepting the task of building aircraft assigned by the Japanese military, Konosuke Matsushita invested 30 million yuan in 1944 to establish "Panasonic Aviation Industry Company". The company is responsible.The main material of the fuselage is aluminum, but because the United States blocks Japan's maritime trade, Japan's imports and exports are controlled.Reluctantly, Konosuke Matsushita held a high-level meeting of the company to discuss. At the meeting, someone proposed to make an airplane with wood. Konosuke Matsushita passed this proposal. Using the craft of gluing materials, it can also reach the standard hardness. Therefore, with enthusiasm, persistence and fine operation, Finally in the spring of 1945 the first aircraft was produced.The test flight results met the expected standards.However, at this time, the outcome of the war was already clear, and everyone felt sad when they were happy for the wooden plane to go to the sky. By the time the third plane took to the sky, the death knell of Japanese militarism had sounded. At the request of the Japanese military, Konosuke Matsushita, under the control of nationalism, patriotism, youthful vigor and show-off psychology, successively undertook the manufacturing business of wooden boats and airplanes, relying on Panasonic's excellent technology, advanced management and Good quality of staff, built 50 ships and 3 planes in two years.What Panasonic has accomplished with no technology, no equipment, and a tight schedule is astounding. However, before these aircraft ships went to the sea, Japan had already announced its unconditional surrender, and these things instantly became a pile of waste products. The 40 million funds invested in 50 wooden boats and 3 aircraft were all invested in loans in the name of Konosuke Matsushita, and the Japanese military and government were unable to pay. Therefore, he had to repay the debt with principal and interest alone. ; and the wooden boats and airplanes he built were not only not used on the battlefield of "serving the country", but also did not really go to the sea, and of course he did not receive a penny for the goods. The wars that urged him to build airplanes and wooden boats Madmen, either died on the battlefield or went to court, no one cared about Konosuke Matsushita at this time. Such a situation caused Konosuke Matsushita to suffer a great blow, and the loss was heavy.The loss this time can be said to be the most serious loss in Konosuke Matsushita's life, so that he felt weak in the years after the war. In fact, Konosuke Matsushita's loss in this matter is far from economic. The so-called "sluggishness" contains a considerable proportion of psychological factors.In other words, this failure is a failure of Konosuke Matsushita's philosophy and personality.This point, Matsushita admitted in the future review. During the war, Konosuke Matsushita devoted himself to serving the country with all his strength and regardless of conditions. Therefore, he responded to the needs of the government and the military.Konosuke Matsushita later thought that it was enough for his company to do well in the past dry batteries, capacitors, resistors, wireless communication equipment, telephones, etc., and there was no need to forcefully do those jobs that were beyond its capabilities. If we can do this, we won't fail, and we won't suffer such a huge loss.He said several times in his memories: "In fact, I don't need to do these two things. Although it is said to serve the country, I don't have to take the risk of doing it, because I already had a lot of work to serve the country at that time." "I suddenly realized, No matter what big things you do, it is of course right to serve the country and society. Panasonic Electric has already received many orders for military supplies. In fact, there is no need to make wooden boats and airplanes that are completely amateurish. Dedicating to the country can also serve the country with propellers, and there are many other orders for military electrical appliances.” Now let’s look at the words of Konosuke Matsushita. We feel that in these introspections and reviews, Konosuke Matsushita has repeatedly emphasized that "he is already serving the country, so there is no need to forcefully take on the task." This shows that he believes that "serving the country" is Right, but the wrong thing is that you shouldn't be building ships and planes.In the late 1950s, Konosuke Matsushita still looked at things this way, which is really narrow-minded.In fact, the failure of Konosuke Matsushita did not lie in "reluctantly accepting the task", but in the so-called "serving the country".His "serving the country" is essentially a narrow nationalism rather than internationalism. Konosuke Matsushita can think and operate from the standpoint of "human beings" on many issues, but he only stands on the standpoint of "Japanese" on this issue. Compared with those anti-war entrepreneurs with a sense of justice and human consciousness, the thoughts and behaviors of Konosuke Matsushita are somewhat eclipsed.