This time, Inamori* spoke about the above motto in Kyocera philosophy.
What Inamori said is quoted with “”.
“ What many people find strange about the Amoeba Management is the distribution of profits, and they are not convinced with the idea that Kyocera don’t give higher salaries or bonuses to Amoebas that perform well. At Kyocera, even if an Amoeba contributes to business performance and becomes a driving force for the entire company, it does not receive monetary compensation such as an increased salary or bonus. Other colleagues praise and admire that amoeba.
People have always wondered how employees can be satisfied with this system, but since I have always told our staff that the most respected action as a human being is to work for your colleagues without asking for any compensation, so no Kyocera employee asks for an extra bonus or a higher salary even if their division has made a profit. “
The essence of Amoeba Management is this spirit of “devoting yourself to your teammates.”
Without this, the following problems would occur because Amoeba is a sort of an independent accounting system.
1. Fraud and corruption would occur
2. Members tend to act selfishly
3. It would lead to unexpected spin-off or rebellion
Let me explain them one by one.
1. Fraud and corruption would occur
” In one example from an American company, a purchasing manager was taking bribes from vendors, asking them to give him a kickback if he bought the item from them. “
→ Because Amoeba is an independent accounting system, the head of an amoeba is in a position to control expenses. If that team head has no sense of devotion, this kind of fraud and corruption can occur. I think that before implementing this amoeba system, the top leader must build relationships bound by philosophy.
2. Members tend to act selfishly
“ However, the divisions that were unable to improve their performance become depressed when they see this (other divisions receiving a lot of bonuses). While one division becomes increasingly prosperous, another division becomes stagnant in inverse proportion. The company cannot succeed under this circumstance.
Even if you encourage the underperforming divisions by saying that they should try harder and that their bonuses and salaries will definitely increase if their performance improves, it may not work out so well. People tend to become sulky and resentful if they don’t succeed after working hard for a couple of years. “
→ If each member of the amoeba does not have the feeling of devoting themselves for their colleagues, they will start asking more compensation simply because it is unfair to get lower compensation as they are in the same company. Or some people simply work hard in apple polishing, to please their reporting line managers.
Some may stop working hard or doing good market practice simply due to being paid less as a team. Each person will start to calculate their own interests and act selfishly. Therefore, within Amoeba’s independent accounting system, it is especially important to “work for the colleagues.”
3. It would lead to unexpected spin-off or rebellion
“ Furthermore, even in business divisions that have been doing well, good results will not continue forever, and there will come a time when performance will decline. Then, what would people who have received high bonuses up until now think if they were told that they would not receive a bonus this time because performance has deteriorated?
If you consider the human mind, you will be very much depressed and discouraged. At the same time, practical problems such as not being able to repay the mortgage will arise, and this will turn into dissatisfaction. “
→ It looks somehow interesting that people believe that the bonus they received once will continue to be given in the future. Even though they do not know what will happen next year, they incur continuous expenses such as education and home mortgages.
Such people may become independent with their teams or move to other companies due to the higher salary. Furthermore, people who are recruited with money are ultimately motivated by higher monetary compensation. It is just as important to learn about people as it is to learn about management.
So, to summarize, an independent accounting system such as amoeba management is useful for developing the administration of a company. However, at the root of it is the philosophy of “devoting yourself to your colleagues.” I never forget this important premise.
* Mr. Kazuo Inamori, the founder of Kyocera, KDDI (one of the top tele communication companies in Japan) and the top of revitalization project of JAL. As a well-known Japanese entrepreneur, he has been sharing his experiences and management know-how with managements of small to middle companies in Japan.
Further queries or doubts, please email to ytomizuka@abrilsjp.com
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