Haruka Nishimatsu

Everyday CEO's live the high life earning gargantuan salaries at the expense of others, however, Haruka Nishimatsu, CEO of JAL, seeks to live differently. Haruka Nishimatsu is the type of guy you do not notice when he passes you. Albeit being CEO, when asked about his view on his position he remarked, "So?' says Nishimatsu. 'That doesn't make me special.'" (Lah) Nishimatsu started in the finance department in 1974, later transferring divisions and working in the traffic department in 1980. Later in 1983, he headed the corporate planning division, where he took care of financial issues. In 1987, he moved to Frankfurt and worked as the administration manager. After finally rejoining the finance department in 1991, Nishimatsu was promoted and became the president and CEO of the JAL Company. Despite this high position, Nishimatsu continues to maintain his trademark executive modesty. Through the sacrifices Nishimatsu made for his company, Nishimatsu demonstrates how he possesses an unselfish behavior. Apart from this, Nishimatsu also possess a just sense of collectivism, the belief that every human plays an interdependent role in a system, society, or culture. Nishimatsu is an everyday hero who works for the good of others through his own small sacrifices and morals.

Nishimatsu seeks to make sacrifices for the better of his company. Concrete data can be used to prove this fact: "Nishimatsu reflects on the challenges of the restructure thus: "'I hold this company very close to my heart due to the vital role it plays in Japan, Asia and globally. The business climate over the years has presented some very tough hurdles for our company to overcome, and continues to do so. It has forced us to completely reexamine who we are, what our customers' needs and wants are and how we do business. It has resulted in great change at JAL, change that I am sure will ultimately make JAL a much stronger corporate entity.'" (Thomas) Nishimatsu shows in the quote his desire to make JAL thrive. Nishimatsu states his view on the company indicating the degree at which he will to act for them. These changes and re-evaluations on one's-self and peers are necessary. Because of these changes and sacrifices made by not only Nishimatsu but the entire company that have greatly affected JAL in a positive way. Nishimatsu said it himself that, "'It has resulted in great change at JAL; change that I am sure will ultimately make JAL a much stronger corporate entity.'" In finer detail, Nishimatsu applied these specific changes to his CEO company benefits. "While Merrill Lynch's John Thain was splurging on a $1.2 million office makeover and Lehman Bros.' Richard Fuld was drawing a $22 million bonus, the president of Japan Airlines was riding the bus to work, eating in the company cafeteria and cutting his salary to $98,000." ("In Japan, more CEOs share the pain.") Nishimatsu cut down on all CEO benefits and uses more" conservative ways throughout the work day." It is evident how drastically Nishimatsu contrasts from standard American CEOs, in the largest that, his yearly salary is drastically different from theirs. This change was not only necessary to uphold customer satisfaction, but also to keep his employees in work. Nishimatsu rejects the high luxurious life of a regular CEO, and instead opts to be more conservative -- riding the bus to work and lining up during lunch with all his employees. Overall, Nishimatsu stays unselfish in that, his conservativeness benefits his employees.

Nishimatsu running the office in a collectivist fashion benefits also benefits his employees as a whole. . He seeks to improve office work ethic, in his own words: "'the corporate structure has since been streamlined and is now far less bloated and "top heavy". And Nishimatsu says that in the bigger picture the JAS takeover was without question positive for JAL. 'I think frankly that without this merger, without this increase in our domestic business, JAL might not have survived as it is,' he says. 'If we compare it to a human body, the international business represents the upper portion of the body and the domestic business the bottom portion. The top portion is flashier, but the lower half serves as the foundation. Right now, with the incorporation of JAS, our domestic and international businesses are about 50:50, and I think the ratio could be even bigger for the domestic business.'" (Iodines) Nishimatsu makes the metaphor that the company, both domestic and internationally, act like two halves of a body, in that both pieces are vital. This metaphor explains collectivism; the belief that every human in a system, society, or culture, for this example, a business, is interdependent on one another. This being said, it explains the cause of collectivism where everyone, including Nishimatsu, is interdependent on one another, when the time calls for change and sacrifice it will happen for the greater good. "'I wanted to share the pain with my colleagues,' JAL President Haruka Nishimatsu, 61, says by e-mail. Nishimatsu had just imposed an early-retirement program that ended the careers of 'many staff of my generation.'" ("In Japan, more CEOs share the pain.) Nishimatsu wants to share the ups and the downs with his colleagues. Instead of having an executive private office, he and his employees share an open space office where everyone is equal. In addition, having imposed an earlier retirement program pays tribute to Japans ethic of giving 110% in the workplace, it shows the amount of respect he holds for the hard-working older employees. Nishimatsu defines collectivism with the way he runs the workplace with conservative work ethic and respect for all his employees.

Haruka Nishimatsu is a hero because he possesses unselfish intentions and uses his own spin on collectivism to keep productivity up in the work place. Altogether, the time he spent as CEO, Haruka Nishimatsu has been working to keep customer satisfaction up, employee work ethic and morale high, and productivity optimal. He carries out the urge with company sacrifices and office management improvements. Nishimatsu inspires me to be generous, unselfish, and to make sacrifices when necessary. Haruka Nishimatsu inspires me through his selfless acts and sacrifices for the greater good, showing that when the time calls, sacrifices must be made for the greater good. In addition he inspires me with his own belief of collectivism and work ethics to be more humble and efficient in a work environment.