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Technology offers competitive edge [New Straits Time (Malaysia)](New Straits Time (Malaysia) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SUBANG JAYA: MORE Malaysian businesses need to see technology as indispensable game-changing tools to remain relevant in the marketplace, according to six top executives of Japanese companies operating here. The executives, who shared their views on the topic of "Operating Japanese Businesses in Malaysia" at a roundtable discussion with Business Times, here, yesterday, pointed out areas of advantages as well as things that need to be looked into. Those who took part in the discussion were Toshihiro Maekawa, managing director of Chiyoda Software Laboratory (M) Sdn Bhd; Tetsu Nagashima, president and CEO of Sumisho ECommerce Malaysia Sdn Bhd; Akira Nomoto, vice-president of Dentsu Media Malaysia Sdn Bhd; Cheah Kok Hoong, group CEO/director of Hitachi Sunway Information Systems Sdn Bhd; Masato Saito, chairman and director of Hitachi Sunway Information Systems Sdn Bhd; and Minoru Hirukawa, managing director of Hitachi Transport System (M) Sdn Bhd. Cheah said more Malaysian businesses need to see technology as indispensable game-changing tools to remain relevant in the marketplace. "Japanese companies place a great emphasis on technology investments and see technology as an edge," he said. Sumisho ECommerce's Nagashima said Malaysia's excellent IT infrastructure has attracted the company to set up its retail website here. Sumisho ECommerce operates www.soukai.my, a virtual retail outlet with home delivery services that sells various mid-and high-priced products, including Japanese grocery product. The website was just launched in April and it is slowly picking up in popularity with Japanese expatriates in Malaysia as well as the locals here. A trend Nagashima has observed is that 50 per cent of the devices used by Internet users to access his company's website are mobile and tablet devices. His e-commerce company is comfortable to use Malaysia as a landing pad for onward expansion to other Southeast Asian countries. As a result, his e-commmerce company is setting up businesses in countries like Vietnam. Hitachi Sunway's Saito is also impressed by the IT infrastructure and reliable power supply in Malaysia, which he finds very stable, compared to many other countries in the region. He sees great potential for business growth in Malaysia, saying that in Singapore, there is no space for growth. Hitachi Transport System's Hirukawa said the number of Japanese companies investing in Malaysia has dropped since the 2008 Lehman Brothers bankruptcy debacle, which had affected the world economy. As a result, he observes, China and South Korean investors have gained more prominence in Malaysia's investment landscape. Hirukawa said he places a great emphasis on training and Japanese staff are regularly brought in to train the Malaysian staff. He said he uses every opportunity to talk to the staff at company events to inform them of his expectations and guide them to reach their performance level. A reason Hirukawa places so much importance on training is because he feels there are too many inexperienced staff here. "The attrition rate in this country is rather high, resulting in many businesses not having enough experienced people," he lamented. "Turnover is low in Japan. We have a huge number of experienced people in companies. Job hopping is a big issue in Malaysia," he noted. Nomoto said at Dentsu, the training includes a system of mentoring junior and inexperienced staff, which leads to a strong team bond and a family-like atmosphere. He said remunerations also commmensurate with the talent they hire, resulting in low attrition rates. On the whole, however, everyone agreed that it is a challenge that human resource departments must tackle and come up with strategies to retain staff as well as increase productivity and change standard of procedures. Saito highlighted an interesting trend in Japanese managers and management style of today. Now, many of the Japanese highranking personnel, such as the six executives at the roundtable talk, are well-travelled and well- read, as well as speak fluent English. They are no more the rigid and inflexible managers one would assume them to be. "It is difficult to control everything in the Japanese way. We adapt to the different cultures where we operate," Saito said. Chiyoda Software's Maekawa said he and his family love the warmth of the people here and the fact that there are no earthquakes in Malaysia, but insists that his friendliness as an employer be tempered with a demand for quality from his staff as well as their ability to meet deadlines. He has 15 staff, mostly fresh graduates who are programmers, and is happy to train and guide them. Maekawa set up his company in 1998, with a focus on offshore software development, and has clients from many different industries. (c) 2014 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |