Independent operator no foreigner to native ways

The former French president, Mr Charles de Gaulle, once sneered at managers in Japanese companies, calling them "transistor salesmen". Decades later the same companies transformed themselves into world empires dominating the car and electrical goods industries.

At the centre of the business culture which helped them get there was the belief that management and major decision-making should be kept in Japanese hands.

Mr Fergus Madigan, president of Mitsubishi Electric Ireland, says this is no longer how things are done.

His recent appointment to the European board of the company, makes him its first non-Japanese member and gives him further insight into the culture of Japanese conglomerates. And this one has sales equal to five times the GNP of the Republic of Ireland.

He says he has no difficulty with the peculiarities of Japanese business practice, even if he is what the Japanese call a gaijin, meaning outsider or foreigner.

"I don't need to adapt to Japanese business culture, they adapt to western culture, while at the same time staying faithful to their own ways."

He says the western image of Japanese business people is not accurate. "I find they love to enjoy themselves, once they've had a few glasses of sake, they are out to have a good time."

While he says he is not sure why he was appointed to the European board, the impressive sales figures of Mitsubishi Electric Ireland is one likely factor.

The company accounts for 35 per cent of all video recorders sold in the Republic, 30 per cent of all televisions and 35 per cent of all airconditioning units.

According to Mr Madigan such success results from the "bond of trust" between him and his Japanese bosses. "The Japanese have a word, keritsu, which describes the autonomy given to the heads of their various national divisions."

The lack of any Japanese executives on the Irish board is solid evidence of this principle being implemented, he says.

Mr Madigan says he runs the company with "complete territorial control", using the business principles which Mitsubishi worldwide is associated with.

Although a regular visitor to Japan, he doesn't generally join Japanese executives on their evenings doing the rounds of bars and clubs of Tokyo, where a lot of their business is done.

He notices several differences between Irish and Japanese business behaviour. Most of them centre on how much caution is necessary when making a decision. "They take a long time to make decisions, whereas Irish people move much quicker."

He says the constant refrain of Japanese executives when asked to make a decision is: "I must talk to my people first."

He adds that while this is not his style, it does mean decisions are thoroughly examined.

Another dominant feature of Japanese commercial life, he notices, is a terrible fear of failure.

The recent television pictures of the weeping president of Yamaichi bank, Mr Shohei Nozawa, apologising to the bank's investors is likely to have "astounded" Japanese executives, says Mr Madigan. "They are a very proud race of people and do not like admitting any failings."

And yes, he says, they are tough and determined in Mitsubishi, possibly a throwback to the company's 19th-century founder, Yataro Iwasaki, a samuri warrior.

However, Mr Madigan's recent elevation suggests he has come up to expectations in the large family that is Mitsubishi. Indeed, it is a very extended family.

Broken up by the US after Japan lost the second World War, Mitsubishi consists of several corporations, linked by name, but operating independently.

Mitsubishi Electric is one of the largest and its development in Ireland has been charted from the beginning by Mr Madigan.

After leaving a management position with Jefferson Smurfit, he set up the company in 1981. At that stage he had to operate out of his own livingroom.

The initial problem was establishing the brand-name in the public mind - people used to pronounce it "Mitzi Bushi" or "Mr Bushi" and the company's now famous three-diamond symbol did not catch on at first.

"My philosophy then, as it is now, was that once you get your marketing right, the rest comes easily," he says. The other important factor in achieving market dominance, he adds, is to select the best dealers, who have to be given maximum technical and marketing support.

With a qualification in marketing from the College of Commerce, Rathmines, he realised early on that with a Japanese product, it is essential to give it some kind of Irish dimension. This was achieved by enlisting the services of sporting figures such as Jack Charlton.

The funding provided by the Mitsubishi Electric Foundation to community, sporting and educational bodies in the State, has also helped the company to build roots here.

Among the bodies to benefit have been the Dublin Institute of Technology, the Tree Council, the Medieval Trust and Cothu, the business council for the arts.

Mitsubishi Electric has set up similar funding initiatives in all markets where it has a presence. This has sometimes led company representatives into strange positions, he notes.

A prestigious Rotary club in California was once startled when a Mitsubishi representative introduced a homeless person to their luncheon meeting in order to educate them about local social problems.

"We realise that if you take from the community you must give something back," Mr Madigan says.

The task now facing Mitsubishi in Ireland is to consolidate its position and Mr Madigan points out that continued growth does not solely benefit the company.

Mitsubishi sources its video tapes from the small Sligo company, Saehan Media.

Mr Madigan does not fear developments in technology but he knows they will challenge everyone in the electrical goods industry.

As far as Mitsubishi Electric is concerned, the word digital dominates every working hour.

"With analogue technology on the way out, the battle is on to be first out of the blocks when digital television really takes off.

"We also must look forward to the development of interactive television, which will mean instead of being told what programme or movie is on, people will choose for themselves and even decide what storyline or ending they want."

This world of three-inch deep television screens, tiny video recorders and mobile computers is where much of Mr Madigan's energies are already directed, particularly at European board level.

Considering he has no immediate plans to retire he may yet be called upon to market some of the products being developed by the parent company in Japan at present, among them a whole "biomimetic system", which involves the imitation of human behaviour by machines and robots.

He believes that the buying habits of Irish consumers are changing. "Years ago everyone competed on price, but with the improvements in the economy, there is more demand for quality by customers."

His aim is to meet that, but he has one other thing on his mind.

As far as manufacturing in the Republic is concerned, Mr Madigan says it is a "burning ambition" to open an operation here, possibly a software centre.

"It would be nice after having worked for 16 years in Mitsubishi Electric in Ireland, to be able to bring something as big as that back into Ireland."