This study examines the management strategy of assembly manufacturer in the presence of highly competitive core module component manufacturer in modular industry.

 In recent years, modularization of products, division of labor in industrial structure and cost competition can be observed in various industries. Prior studies have argued that in such industries, assembly manufacturers seek to differentiate their products through the strategies: pursuing economies of scale, specializing in a niche, presenting a new concept or value to customers.

 However, if highly competitive core module component manufacturer is in such industries, the strategy and management of assembly manufacturers are severely constrained. Even if other component manufacturers exist, many assembly manufacturers are forced to procure components from a specific component manufacturer for the performance and function of their end products. Since core module component has a significant impact on the final products, assembly manufacturers are no longer able to differentiate their products.

 This study proposes coordination strategy among core module components as one of the possible management options for assembler. The coordination strategy is one in which assembler reduces its dependence on a specific component manufacturer by adjusting the differences in performance and function among core module components. In order to verify the validity of this strategy, this paper selects Mori Seiki, a machine tool manufacturer, as a case study and analyzes the approach for NC (Numerical Control).

 Mori Seiki tried to change its business relationship with Fanuc, the largest NC manufacturer, by increasing the number of suppliers of NC from the 1970s to the 1990s. But these efforts were not successful. In the 2000s, Mori Seiki changed the relationship with Fanuc by adjusting the differences between NCs through the development of MAPPS.

 From the case study, this study shows that when core module component manufacture is highly competitive in modular industry, it is difficult for the assembler to implement the strategies discussed by previous studies and the coordination strategy can be effective.

 This study uses structural equation modeling to examine the relationships between subsidiary management strategies, inward and outward collaborations, and knowledge creation in emerging markets. These relationships were tested using survey data from 118 Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs) based in Asia. The results revealed a significant influence process model as follows: autonomy → outward collaboration in the local environment → knowledge creation in emerging market subsidiaries. Thus, autonomy, one of the most important subsidiary management strategies, was positively related to knowledge creation in emerging markets. Conversely, although socialization had a positive impact on inward collaboration between the MNCs, the strategy had no direct impact on knowledge creation. Furthermore, inward collaborations within the MNCs negatively influenced knowledge creation. These findings provide insights on the conflicting views emerging from previous studies on the relationship between subsidiary socialization and knowledge creation.

 The main reason for the increasing overtime work in Japanese companies is that allotment work is not properly divided among workers in the workplace. Nonetheless, recent reforms in work style to reduce overtime work have required each worker to change their behavior regardless of who has discretion. We conduct empirical research, focusing on the psychological state of employees compelled to reduce overtime work, analyzing such psychological state using the concept of work pressure. We also use the concept of work engagement as proxy variables for sense of meaningful work. A study was conducted using an Internet survey through Macromill, Inc. in November 2017 with questionnaires targeting regular employees working for Japanese companies. A total of 622 samples were obtained.

 Consistent with our prediction, we find that long overtime work harms work engagement when the degree of work pressure is high. We consider two reasons for this result. One is that long overtime work under strong work pressure may exhaust workers and reduce work engagement. The other is that the undermining effect has replaced the intrinsic rewards such as the fun things about work with the extrinsic rewards for objectives to reduce overtime work. There are two major theoretical contributions of this research. First, we use the concept of work pressure which allied studies have ignored in the Japanese work style context. Second, we find an adjustment variable that links overtime work and sense of meaningful work. The practical implication of this study is that changes in work style that strongly demand individuals to reduce overtime work may have a negative impact on the employees' work engagement. Rather than reforming work style by requiring individual workers to reduce overtime work, it is important for organizations to manage work allotment appropriately.

 Research on continuous change is progressing. However, research on the “process” of how to realize radical change is comparatively underdeveloped. Existing theories of change do not fully explain the observations from our qualitative research; however, some researches suggest the process of realizing radical change in continuous change. This paper studies the process of realizing incremental changes that do not have a clear intention in advance to realize radical change. An organization with strong organizational inertia is the subject of this analysis. A real life example in forming, a process to realize a continuous change can be seen in the case of the Sabae city government. The engagement in the Kawada area has brought about changing values in the Sabae city government and its environment. Following the initial small changes in the Kawada area, unintentionally fostered a radical change. My results indicate that three key findings. First, the radical change was unintentional and was caused by an accumulation of two types of incremental change. Second, there are two types of incremental change. One is incremental change through the switch of the context, and the other is incremental change through the expansion of the management agency. Finally, this process was achieved by using a “boundary spanner” at every stage. This article concludes that the process of realizing continuous radical change is the “change process model through expanding the management agency and switching the context.”

 Based on the premise that humans are bounded ethical beings, Bazerman (M.H. Bazerman) and Tenbrunsel (A.E. Tenbrunsel) posit that “ethical blind spots” and “ethical breakdown” occur. Both these concepts are important, and useful, when analyzing corporate scandals.

 However, there are several issues regarding how to respond to the ethical issues proposed by Bazerman and Tenbrunsel. To solve these problems, this paper analyzes the two-level utilitarianism based on preference utilitarianism, also known as preferentialism, as posited by Hare (R.M. Hare) and further informed by Popper's (K.R. Popper) critical rationalism.

 Thus, it is necessary to make the behavioral ethics developed by Bazerman and Tenbrunsel a more logical and consistent theory. This was achieved by solving ethical problems, that occur because of the bounded nature of human ethics, through the hierarchical viewpoint of Hare, and then is further informed by Popper's critical rationalism. The purpose of this paper then, is to clarify this research.

 First, after considering the “ethical blind spots” and “ethical breakdown” as posited by Bazerman and Tenbrunsel based on humanity's ethically bounded nature, the problems in their theories are highlighted.

 Then, it was explained that to solve this problem, the two-level utilitarianism theory based on preference utilitarianism by Hare would be necessary for addressing the ethical problems that were presented. However, when the problems with his theory were considered, Popper's critical rationalism was applied to improve Hare's theory. Finally, it became possible to address ethical problems such as “ethical blind spots” and “ethical breakdown” brought about by the bonded nature of human ethics.

 This article focuses on the foundation phase of the Faculty of Business Administration, which was established in 1949 at Kobe University. It concerns books written by Yasutaro Hirai housed in the Kobe University Library for Social Sciences and analyses the scribbles in those books, which have seemingly been read by many students. These students scribbled all over the books during the limited period from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s. It appears as though the voices of the students from that time are revived through the scribbles. These include support for and criticism of Hirai, who had advocated business administration at the university since the pre-war days, as well as criticism from the standpoint of commerce, which he often mentioned in contrast with business administration. The article attempts to approach the history of the mentalities, focusing on the students, by taking up their inner voices from the scribbles and discovering how they perceived the foundation of the new faculty and a new academic discipline (business administration) as well as the fact that the teachers had mixed feelings about this matter. In modern society, the spread of the SNS has facilitated simultaneous, two-way communication between people. However, for students at that time, library books were one of the few mediums in which they could anonymously express their opinions and ideas to members of the same organization. The books became a place for communication, where those who saw such opinions and ideas could support or argue against them. Thus, library books can be said to have functioned as an SNS. The teacher who wrote the books and the students that read his books talked to each other directly through their life at university, including lectures, thought logically and wrote down their real opinions and feelings. Their scribbles are the traces of such real opinions and feelings and can be considered an “intellectual layer of traces” that has been read and added to over time.