[ Society > Labor File ]

n his five-year tenure as chair and CEO of Fuji Xerox Korea, Nobuya Takasugi has become one of the most celebrated members of Korea¡¯s foreign business community.
  In addition to having made a spectacular turnaround of a once-failing company, his fame rests also on building what can best be described a model rapport between management and the Fuji Xerox workforce, no small achievement in a country where the field of labor relations is often replete with pitfalls for a foreign CEO.

  In explaining his success, Mr. Takasugi stresses the need for being in close contact with his employees. ¡°We¡¯re continuing our quarterly employee/top management cooperation workshops, plus my meetings with our line workers where we drink and enjoy sam-gyop-sal (¡°grilled pork¡±),¡± he said. (This latter activity earned him the moniker of ¡°the sam-gyop-sal chairman¡± on account of its novelty among expatriate business people).
  He has often said he uses the five most important human functions of seeing, touching, speaking, hearing and eating when interacting with his employees and is currently making a video to explain his philosophy.
  ¡°The key word in all this is communication¡¯,¡± said Mr. Takasugi. ¡°Two-way communication is all important in building up trust with the union.¡± Built into this communication is transparency on explaining where the company is headed and what Mr. Takasugi describes as a scientific approach to explaining the company¡¯s situation.

  ABANDONING STRIKES ¡°When we¡¯re in negotiations with our union, we always present our financial data to demonstrate our productivity,¡± he said. ¡°The labor union may ask for a 10-percent salary increase for its members, but revenue or gross profit should also have increased by the same amount otherwise there¡¯s no improvement in productivity. This way they can see that without those increases, it¡¯s tough to justify a salary increase of that size.¡±

  Top management also shares data on the ten other units in the Fuji Xerox group throughout East Asia and Oceania with which the Korean operation must compete. ¡°A salary increase of 10 percent might also mean we¡¯d be in tough competition with the Chinese operation,¡± Mr. Takasugi explained.

  He frequently meets with the company¡¯s newly installed union leader whom he admits he finds ¡°tough¡± but with whom he has nonetheless established a rapport. ¡°I teased him by saying that the behaviour of Korean unions was babyish,¡± said Mr. Takasugi, ¡°He replied, I understand, but top Korean management is babyish too!¡¯ In comparison with Japanese and U.S. management, I agree.¡±
  Two years ago, this openness and communication resulted in the company union declaring that it would no longer resort to strikes in its dealings with management. Fuji Xerox Korea¡¯s record of industrial relations was officially recognized in the fall of 2001 when the company received a Presidential Award for Best Labor Practices from then-president, Kim Dae-Jung.

  Even the most harmonious relationship encounters challenges and the equanimity at Fuji Xerox Korea looked set to be disturbed last year at the time that the company¡¯s support for the World Cup was going into full swing. As an official sponsor, the company had enjoined all employees as part of ¡°Team Xerox¡± to give the best customer service possible in order to promote the event and Fuji Xerox¡¯s role in it.

  LABOR IN THE SUPPORT ROLE Trouble arose when the company invited many of its customers to the World Cup matches but very few of its employees. When the employees complained, Mr. Takasugi responded by giving each one (all 1,000) a bicycle. ¡°In my presentation of the bikes, I explained that they were intended to commemorate the company¡¯s 28th anniversary, as a thank you¡¯ for the Team Xerox effort, and also for the two wheels of the bikes to represent Japan and Korea, the two hosts of the 2002 World Cup,¡± said Mr. Takasugi, ¡°but there was also another reason.¡± One of the two wheels of the bicycles was to represent the company¡¯s top management and the other, the labor union. However, he told his audience that it was the front wheel that represented top management, the driving force of the company and the rear wheel, the union. ¡°Sometimes the labor union misunderstands its role and says, We want to be in front,¡¯ but I don¡¯t think so,¡± he continued. ¡°The back wheel supports the front.¡±
  The employees accepted the explanation (and the bikes) without demur.
  Mr. Takasugi strongly believes in the complementarity of the Korean and Japanese economies, and is an ardent supporter of Japanese inbound investment to Korea and a Korean/Japanese free trade agreement. He was invited to accompany President Roh Moo-Hyun on his recent state visit to Japan.
  By his keen desire to promote economic advance in Northeast Asia and his open, straightforward and handson approach to labor/management relations, the grilled pork chairman has forged a template for foreign corporate success in Korea that is truly worthy of emulation.