3. What alternatives to NIHAO were available?

Are these alternatives consistent with

Mabuchis corporate strategy?
Alternatives to NIHAO and their consistency with the corporate strategy
Continue with Japanese expatriates for running Chinese operations. This option will drain
the resources of the company and also demotivate potential Chinese managers. It is
inconsistent with the strategy of cost minimization.
Another alternative is to first try out the program in a less-strategic location like Malaysia
and study the outcomes before fine tuning the program and applying it to China. This
alternative can fulfill the strategic aspects of the company.

4. In September 1995, what should Mabuchi do?
There are few recommendations we have for Mabuchi.
Mabuchi should temporarily halt the program for a few months.
This period should be utilized to understand the intricacies of the NIHAO and tweak it to match
the Chinese sensibilities.
The company should also communicate and address possible limitations as well as potentials of
labor and resources to local staff clearly.
The company should have a new structure with vice presidents to oversee each product
categorys global operations
Also there should be country/area managers who act as a liaison between the local operations
and the global product management.
Middle management is in direct contact with the workers and can be instrumental in
communicating company culture to them. The Chinese managers need to be able to convey the
headquarters message properly and they should be used as a medium of communication with
the workers.