Development of Invisible Values
Development of Invisible Values: Sustainable Growth
Within HORIBA management, "Invisible Values (assets that do not appear in the financial statements)" are very important. Of course, the status of the fruit (earnings) and the trunk, leaves and branches (the balance sheet), which are visible values, is important.
However, we believe that the essence of management is to grow strong thick roots (invisible values such as human resources, technologies, customers, organizational structures, and brands) in rich soil (the corporate culture).
We do not believe that management emphasis on the maximization of short-term earnings and neglecting to invest in invisible values will attain sustainable growth or increase corporate value.
The Most Important Invisible Value: Human Resources
As HORIBA is an R&D oriented company whose source of competitive dominance is its technology capabilities, continuing to create original ideas and processes is its lifeline, but new ideas and creations are produced by individuals. Therefore, when every single employee understands HORIBA's corporate culture expressed in company mottos such as "Joy and Fun," "Open and Fair," and "a Venture Spirit," and assimilates it into their individual "Omoi" (see note below.).
When employees implement this culture their achievement becomes the foundation for new corporate value. In addition, it is essential that employees communicate externally and express their own country's customs and values, culture, and history. And it is also desirable that they become human resources with the ability to understand an international way of thinking, so they may properly accept foreign cultures.
For an organizational framework to support these objectives, we have created global training and exchange programs to foster core human resources that can play an active role. Moreover, we have adopted a unique personnel management and performance evaluation system. We evaluate "people who have undertaken a challenge and failed" higher than "people who have not undertaken a challenge and not failed." Therefore, a person who accepts challenges can obtain a higher evaluation than a person who avoids challenges.
We call this personnel management and performance evaluation system a "positively weighted evaluation system," and our employees at HORIBA have responded positively to this system of evaluation.
What HORIBA's management emphasizes is the promotion of business that is focused primarily on the unique corporate culture symbolized in the company motto "Joy and Fun." We believe this enables us to maintain a corporate entity where human resources, a key part of our invisible values, can display their power to the maximum.
Note: In Japanese, "Omoi" means emotional feelings, passion, thoughts, enthusiasm, desires, aspirations, ambitions, commitment, missions, and objectives.