Japan's move to protect geographical brands(1)

Japan’s move to protect geographical brands in China and its implication to Korea

As the wave of globalization is getting bigger and bigger, national economies also impact to each other more frequently. Thus, snowballing international disputes are reported here and there in the international stage. 

This is no exception in Northeast Asia. In fact, growing number of cross-border conflicts have been observed in this region. It is mainly because Japan, Korea and China have not only cooperative partnership but also competitive relationship. 

Troubles are widely found in both private and public sectors. Especially, cases regarding the intellectual property rights are often being heard recently. This is no wonder in a time when the significance of the intangible assets is getting unprecedentedly highlighted as a key source of national competitiveness. 

For example, a company files a suit against its rivals in neighboring countries in charge of severe copyright infringement. A governmental agency is also embarrassed to catch its publications have been openly used in another country without legitimate process of offer and acceptance.

Strategy in Knowledge Management(10)

'Global Mando', Strategy is in Knowledge Management

Tacit knowledge such as craft and know-how, explicit knowledge such as manuals and management system exchanged with each other harmoniously and created a virtuous circle of ever–advancing knowledge management system of Mando. In short, strategic decision of realizing knowledge management incredibly worked well and finally bore the fruit of the rebirth of a deadly-ill company.

It is not too much to say that strategic management will draw more and more attention from all types of organizations in the future. Definition of strategy can be differed from one company to another. However, nobody argues that only the firm establishment of strategic management can guarantee the survival of any given organization. 

That’s why companies are strongly pushed to carefully look at the outer circumstances and utilize their own resources at the maximum level. As showed above, Mando Corporation is one of the best role models for strategic management. Undoubtedly, as a strategic concern, knowledge management resurrected a dishonored company into a highly promising star. 

As Mr. Oh indicated, without knowledge management, Mando may already have been liquidated. In this point of view, lessons from the story of Mando insist that strategic management should be spread into every single parts of an organization.

Strategy in Knowledge Management(9)

'Global Mando', Strategy is in Knowledge Management

Under this background, in application of the Resource-Based View, Mando's strategic initiatives can be analyzed as following:

- Defining Resources: When the crisis hit the company, Mando looked around the entire organization and tried to devise strategic plans. And the answer was in human capital. It is because Mando believed that it had most powerful and core resources of human capital. It was the employees who possessed the expertise and know-how desperately needed for the corporate survival.

- Verifying Resources: To the eyes of the top management, people in Mando were the most valuable and rare resources to overcome the dark era and to attain the sustainable competitive advantage. In that Mando's employees had always been highly observed and evaluated in the market, human capital were also turned out to be non-substitutable.

- Managing Resources: Now the question is how to manage and systemize the tacit knowledge of the people. At this point, Mando introduced the concept of knowledge management. Adopting and establishing knowledge management throughout the organization, Mando succeeded in developing new technology and bridging partners all over the world in the most efficient way.

Strategy in Knowledge Management(8)

'Global Mando', Strategy is in Knowledge Management

According to the company, productivity was estimated to escalate by more than 200% and 20 billion won-equivalent outcomes were achieved due to the global R&D knowledge management. Besides, Mando did full-page revision of its intellectual assets such as company codes, information system manuals and quality management system into a 'global Mando standard manual'.

One of the distinguished aspects of the Mando's knowledge management is the unique performance evaluation indexes. Mando came up with its own evaluation tools which measure how much knowledge management contributed to the corporate performance on the strategic purpose.

Starting in 2006, Mando designated the knowledge asset assessment and management system as the top priority of CKO (Chief Knowledge Officer). Consequently, Mando set up the overt goal and evaluated the performance of knowledge management, which brought the active participation of the employee and never-ending commitment of the management.

On top of that, Mando has changed the corporate culture so that employees can freely use the communities of practice into works. For example, through community of practice activities, employees defined what Mando's core competency was in terms of the competitive advantage and recreated core knowledge. Additionally, in pursuit of global communities of practice between oversea investors and partners, Mando widened knowledge management activities even outside the company.

Strategy in Knowledge Management(7)

‘Global Mando’, Strategy is in Knowledge Management

In the same context, PLM program enabled research centers, domestic factories and overseas investors to share information on technology, parts development and product specification management. 

Thanks to this innovation, Mando could dramatically reduce customer complaints and costs in quality control and inventory, all of which had caused big fraction in and outside of the organization. 

It was due to Mando’s sharing of real-time information of domestic, overseas research centers and factories. This sharing also narrowed information gap and even expanded the knowledge scope of the organization. Throughout all these, Mando perfectly established a ‘global cooperation system’ in the most strategic way. 

Moreover, Mado also cut down management costs and enhanced customer satisfaction by maintaining the concrete production information and improving the product quality. All of them led to the upgrade of Mando’s global management ability.

Strategy in Knowledge Management(6)

'Global Mando', Strategy is in Knowledge Management

In doing so, Mando shortened the required time for the development of new technology and invigorated R&D. At the same time, by compiling knowledge through community of practice activities, Mando encouraged all employees see and learn the know-how of in-house experts.

Mando's knowledge management does not just stay in sharing, utilizing and creating corporate knowledge. Rather, it advances to global network which ties foreign investors and partners together. The central research center in Korea led the development projects of the new technology and global R&D. 

Furthermore the center established and operated the optimal 'global R&D response system' by collecting customer demands and technology information in close cooperation with research centers in Beijing and India, technology centers in America and Germany.

'Global Specification Management System' is the best  example. From the planning stage to the mass production and quality control level, product information of both domestic and overseas investors and partners was efficiently exchanged throughout the whole process of product development.

Strategy in Knowledge Management(5)

'Global Mando', Strategy is in Knowledge Management

As an example, let’s talk about the intelligent car project which was under development at that moment. The central research center was deeply involved in advanced development. In other words, the central research center mainly provided the concept of technology and devised necessary electronic and controlling technology. 

Furthermore, the center performed prototype tests as well. In the meantime, once the quality and specifications of a product fixed, local research centers took the responsibility of the mass production and after sale services.

Right after the development project of the intelligent car began, in-house experts armed with related knowledge and experiences immediately rushed to the corporate research centers. 

These experts who had been at Mando at least over 5 years were the owners of core technologies in their own R&D (Research and Development) area. They acted as go-betweens to transplant their knowledge into co-workers who joined the development project.

Strategy in Knowledge Management(4)

'Global Mando', Strategy is in Knowledge Management

Performance and safety of a car highly relies upon the quality of core parts, to name a few, breaks, suspension and steering. Mando succeeded in achieving world-class competitiveness in the development and production of core parts through knowledge management.

Other than Hyundai Motors, a long-time Korean customer, GM, Ford and Daimler-Chrysler also became new buyers of Mando. And this vividly shows even American 'Big 3' highly values Mando's technological capability.

The very secret of knowledge management, which constitutes the biggest part of corporate strategy, is found out in the flip side of Mando’s success story. First, in virtue of knowledge management, Mando initiated enterprise-level changes and innovation. 

Additionally, as a knowledge-based company, Mando enhanced its competitiveness in technology by sharing knowledge throughout the organization. Moreover, as a result of close cooperation between central and local research centers located all around Korea, great amount of new knowledge was endlessly being created.

Strategy in Knowledge Management(3)

'Global Mando’, Strategy is in Knowledge Management

In addition, Mando's knowledge management implies a lot to the Korean corporate sector. Mando is the first Korean company which developed its own performance evaluation indexes and used it to measure how much knowledge management contributed to the corporate performance and how big the net value of key assets are.

In doing so, Mando could manage the goals of knowledge management effectively and make strategic successes consequently.

In the wake of Asian financial crisis back in 1997-1998, Mando went bankrupt and froze out all corporate expenditures. However, Mando strategically didn't stop investment in knowledge management. As a result, Mando finally revived with 41 billion won in net profit in 2008. With high recognition of Mando's knowledge management, Korea's top business daily, MAEIL Business Newspaper and BOOZALLEN Korea awarded Mando the best prize in knowledge management in 2007.

In fact, Mr. Oh Sang Su, CEO and president of Mando in 2007, valued knowledge management as the indispensible part of the corporate strategy.

Strategy in Knowledge Management(2)

'Global Mando', Strategy is in Knowledge Management

In this regard, Mando Corporation, unlisted, one of the top Korean auto parts suppliers whose sales reached 1,575 billion won in 2008, is sure to be the best example. By making strategic decisions of fully concentrating on knowledge management in time of the big crisis, Mando showed splendid performance over the considerable amount of period.

Let's take a look at Mando’s strategic movement especially focusing on knowledge management so that the significance of strategy can be enlightened in this fast-changing era once again. Regarding the question of strategic management, how Mando originates its own strategy and secure competitiveness?

Mando's competitive advantage lies in knowledge management through which all employees share, utilize and recreate core knowledge of the organization. Thus, the essence of Mando's knowledge management as the core organizational strategy can be defined as not mere 'information system' rather something 'human-based'. 

It is because Mando has been endlessly raking values by inserting the clothes of knowledge management on the top of information system.

Strategy in Knowledge Management(1)

'Global Mando', Strategy is in Knowledge Management

It isn't too much to say that there are no companies which do not emphasize the importance of strategic management in their business. From functional and business strategies to organizational strategies, companies all around the world pay enormous attention to strategies on a daily basis.

It is because they suppose the success of business highly relies upon strategic management. Thus, they argue that companies must come up with and develop proper and timely strategies to achieve competitive advantages. 

This could explain why a huge number of companies seem so obsessed with strategies. In other words, to succeed in business, companies should create powerful strategies by all means. Otherwise, they even can’t guarantee survival in this era of fierce competition.

Knowing strategies definitely makes organizations to think and prepare for the future. All in all, strategic management already takes in the every aspects of corporate operation. The question is how an organization can execute it. 

Enriching Work Experience and Bringing New Opportunity(5)

Enriching Work Experience and Bringing New Opportunity(5)

Actually, for the brand-new section, an interview with a high-profile figure is of significance to draw public attention. Thus, I contacted Dr. Nonaka via Dr. Odo and he kindly accepted my suggestion.

Even though I couldn’t make the interview due to the unexpected company order, trial itself was quite a big news to me and my company. And 3 months stay in Hawaii, Dr. Nonaka’s last session at JAIMS in particular, definitely helped me a lot in coming up with the idea and made it almost realized.

Without the experience and subsequent network, it would be much tougher to arrange the possible interview with Dr. Nonaka. All above could explain why EWKLP remained important both to me and my organization. From the bottom of my heart, I wish 3 months stay in Hawaii would be of great significance to my work in the future, too.

Enriching Work Experience and Bringing New Opportunity(4)

Enriching Work Experience and Bringing New Opportunity(4)

In other words, articles of the section will be like the MBA school lecture printed on the newspaper. The member selection process went through several steps and I was chosen as one of the final members of the section. Without EWKLP certificate, it would be highly unlikely that I would work for the department.

 

Regardless of my willingness to join the section, it was a sure thing that Hawaiian experience provided me with another chance to show off what I studied at JAIMS and to devote my company with fresh and intriguing ideas. 

Honestly speaking, after watching that I was sent to the new department, some of my colleagues were envious of me and even asked me how they could get the Fujitsu scholarship.

An attempted interview with Dr. Nonaka deserves to be mentioned as well. While I was working for the corporate business department, an interview with Dr. Nonaka just came to my mind. It is because he has full qualifications for media coverage, as the one of the most influential scholars in the Asian business academy.

Enriching Work Experience and Bringing New Opportunity(3)

Enriching Work Experience and Bringing New Opportunity(3)

And it is non other than catching up with the most recent trend of advanced MBA education in the world. If not staying in Hawaii, I probably can’t have this persuasive view. Not only for articles, but also for brainstorming and daily conversation at work, the role of EWKLP training means a lot and makes me to intellectually grow as time goes by.

And needless to say, it distinguished me from other Korean journalists who covered similar area with me. After reading my unusual but sophisticated articles, colleagues both at my organization and other companies asked me what’s secret of my excellent coverage. 

Whenever it happens, looking back on good days in Hawaii, I smiled with pride and explained them the tacit knowledge. In doing so, what I learned at JAIMS will be penetrated into the entire Korean media industry and play crucial roles in enhancing the quality of articles and even spreading the importance of knowledge management into all sectors of the Korean society. 

In addition, EWKLP brings me new opportunities, which was not easy or time-taking to get before. After returning to work, out of the blue, I was assigned to a newly-lunched department of my company, 'Corporate Management Section'. The new section covers corporate success or failure stories, global business trend and interviews with academic or corporate gurus in the business field.

Enriching Work Experience and Bringing New Opportunity(2)

Enriching Work Experience and Bringing New Opportunity(2)

Now let me explain why I can positively link 3 months stay in Hawaii and my work. More than anything else, I’d like to point out EWKLP definitely widens my horizon on various fields of the global society.

As a journalist, my main job is to provide high-quality articles for subscribers. In this globalized world, the importance of global contents can't be overemphasized. And it means that I have to produce more and more globally insightful contents. In this regard, EWKLP allows me to have worldwide views which, to some extent, I couldn't think of before flying to Hawaii. And it led me to develop fresh and up-to-date ideas when I wrote articles.

My column on MBA education will be a model example. In the column, I overlooked where Korean MBA schools are at this moment. And I emphasized the significance of timely MBA education, insisting "MBA schools should be places where students can learn what the society wants contemporary. MBA curriculums should reflect what the market eagerly demands, to name a few, green growth, NGO(Non-Governmental Organization) management."

Honestly speaking, I got this idea thanks to the experience in Hawaii. Lectures and course works at JAIMS did stress what MBA education should be like. The lesson is that MBA education basically shouldn't be theory-oriented. But it’d better focus on practices and 'Genba', which implies the curriculum would be consist of subjects that can digest various interests from the outside world. This point of view can be supported by students' high remarks on some classes such as professor Kobayashi, professor Kotabe and Mr. Larry Smith.