The purpose of this research is to verify the management method based on the concept of Service Profit Chain (SPC) advocated by Heskett et al.(1994, 1997). The proposed hypothesis is “The permeation of the management philosophy is the tool that makes Customer Satisfaction (CS) and Employee Satisfaction (ES) to be compatible”. However, the management method based on SPC is a chain of causality, and the primary factors in this chain of causality, especially the primary factor that links CS and ES, were not known to us. In order to verify the hypothesis, I have applied SPC as the management method in actual management. As a result, it became clear that deep permeation of the management philosophy is a factor in making CS and ES compatible. An interesting discovery is that the CS is being determined almost entirely by human interactions. I discuss the point at issue from five different viewpoints and fmally state the solution.

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This study examines 417 non-financial publicly listed firms in Taiwan, fmding that the firm value is positively related to both “excess control” of controlling shareholders and the firm's disclosure transparency. The results suggest disclosure requirements and the incentive of shareholders could enhance the firm value by mitigating agency problems. However, the study finds that only firms with superior disclosure and greater excess control of shareholders could outperform their industry peers. Firms with inferior disclosure and weaker excess control of shareholders thus performed the worst. The implication is that the incentive of large shareholders and disclosure requirements are complementary mechanisms, both necessary to assure good corporate governance.

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The purpose of this study was to review previous studies about workplace learning to give a theoretical basis for the future study.Because workplace learning is an interdisciplinary research topic, prevent and previous works in this field have investigated each issue on the discipline basis, e.g., economics, management studies, psychology, and sociology.
The author defines workplace learning by the way they view learning and where they draw the boundaries of the workplace.They view learning as reflection through experiences or participation in communities.Reviewing the related studies, the author found that classified into four types:(1)“workplace experience approach, ”(2)“workplace participation approach, ”(3)“cross-boundary participation approach, ” and (4)“cross-boundary experience approach”. Almost all previous works appeared to belong to the “workplace experience approach”, despite the fact that workplace learning in its own form and limitation of learning chances takes place beyond the boundaries of the workplace. This must be taken into consideration in future studies, which will have to increasingly adopt the“cross-boundary experience approach”. We will fmd new conceptions of adult learning through proceeding with studies of “crossboundary experience approach”.

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The purpose of this paper is to reveal the conditions for maintenance and development of economies of agglomeration in Japanese industrial districts.The existing theory of industrial districts in Japan has focused on the supplier-side logic and insists that a necessary condition for small-scale manufacturers (suppliers) to enjoy economies of agglomeration is the existence of local markets for special skills within the industrial district. On the other hand, it has been unconcerned with the purchaser-side logic. To shed light on the purchaser-side logic, we interviewed large retail firms in the role of purchasers for industrial districts and 21 smallscale firms located in Tokyo's Ota Ward and Joto area having the role of supplier. These interviews clearly showed the importance of business practices called “Kouza” and “Chouai”. Large enterprises on the purchaser side deal only with kouza-holding firms (direct suppliers) and chouai-saki which coordinate sub-suppliers.Assuming these business practices, for purchasers the presence within the industrial district of firms holding kouza becomes a necessary condition of enjoying economies of agglomeration. In conclusion, this paper proposes a new model of industrial districts combining supplier-side and purchaser-side logic.

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An analysis of corporate brands and consumer evaluations of quality was performed to characterize the market positioning of the five main companies in the cup noodle market. Among the five main companies, Nisshin Food Products Co., Ltd.with the highest consumer evaluation of 3.8 points (with 5 being the perfect score) has had many hot sellers, and is categorized as a “multi-brand type.”With second-place ranking by consumers, and products considered to represent a “Japanese style, ”Toyo Suisan Kaisha, Ltd.is categorized as a“Japanese-style specialization type.”The consumer evaluation of quality of products of Myojo Foods Co., Ltd., took third place, while consumers indicated satisfaction with value for price. It is considered a “price satisfaction type.”The consumer evaluation of Sanyo Shokuhin Co., Ltd.put it in fourth place.It is categorized as a “mono-brand type”because it raised company brand value by adding the “Sapporo Ichiban”brand to all products.The consumer evaluation of Ace Cook Co., Ltd.was the lowest of the five companies, but it received a good evaluation.Large-size cup noodles were marketed on the package design, and it is categorized as a “package design specialization type”because quantity was emphasized over quality.

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This presentation analyzes the rapid growth of Japanese industrial investment in China over the past 25 years, and the ways it was shaped by Chinese industrial policy. It highlights the role of Japanese corporations in expanding ties with the PRC, and points out the ways they successfully expanded market share in key sectors. Significantly, the Japanese companies avoided major technology transfer in the early years of interaction. However, under Chinese government pressure, the Japanese moved to share more manufacturing knowledge by the beginning of the 21st century.
The presentation first chronicles the early years of Japanese investment following China's economic reforms of the early 1980s. It focuses on key sectors such as consumer electronics, information technologies, and automobiles. It indicates that in most of these areas Japanese companies had greater bargaining power than did the Chinese, and therefore succeeded in gaining market access while sharing little knowledge with potential competitors. By the mid-1990s, the strength of the PRC economy and Chinese political imperatives dictated Japanese companies would have to play a role transferring knowledge. Major companies such as Toyota, Toshiba, Honda, and others moved to build research and development centers, and train Chinese engineers and scientists. Japanese market share grew, but at the price of some key technology transfers.
The presentation, based on case study archival fieldwork and interviews done in both Japan and China, concludes that Japan has belatedly begun to follow the path of other nations that early on traded technology transfer for market access. However, Japanese corporate protectionism likely remains strong enough to safeguard the most vital knowledge while still expanding companies' roles in the PRC economy.

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