Welcome to ZEON Corporation!
Being employed for the first time and becoming an adult member of society-you are at a very important decision making point of your life. I congratulate you for choosing ZEON Corporation, and in turn been chosen by the Company from many outstanding candidates. Therefore, on behalf of the entire corporation, I am pleased to extend to you a very warm and heartfelt greeting.
This year, we hired 33 new recruits at our head office, roughly equivalent to the 29 we brought on board last year.
In this epoch of the 21st century, you are not only shouldering responsibility for shaping the direction of this new age for Japan, you represent an important human assets, a reservoir of new talent and creativity which will determine the next half-century of ZEON Corporation. I have extremely high expectations for your ability to lead ZEON in the 21st century.
As you are aware, the Japanese economy is currently undergoing economic structural reform amid a negative growth of 0.6%, and finds itself now in the midst of the severest business conditions of the post-War period. The severity of our challenge is clear in nearly every economic indicator, from the urgency of resolving bad loans which impact the survival of even the largest companies, an unemployment rate exceeding 5.6%, a post-War record of nearly 20,000 bankruptcies, and a decline in stock prices. Meanwhile, significant changes are also occurring in global consumption trends, as seen in the IT Revolution, and as a result, such areas as research and development and technological innovation are undergoing a paradigm shift at a breath-taking pace. In addition, Japanese companies face intensifying international competition from China and other countries in the global market.
Throughout this difficult period of prolonged stagnation, ZEON has maintained a steadfast employment policy, not once considering the reduction of our work force through voluntary retirement, even as we withdrew from the large-scale polyvinyl chloride resin business and pursued structural reform. In fact, with this fiscal year ending in March, we expect to have achieved two consecutive years of increased sales and profit, confirming that we are making steady progress in accelerating the development of new businesses and are successfully building the foundations for transforming the company into a maker of specialty rubber and C5 specialty materials used in highly technical applications.
Our management philosophy is to "faithfully follow the ideas embodied in the origin of our corporate name ZEON-'Geo,' which refers the 'Earth' and 'Eon,' which refers 'eternity'-to contribute to the preservation of the earth environment and the prosperity of the human race through unique world-class technology." Our traditional corporate culture has been that of "building further upon strength to cultivate the world's leading businesses," "aiming to become the de facto standard through unique technologies that are original and without comparison" and "responding to challenges with agility and speed through everyone's participation."
In offering "unique technologies," we endeavor to meet the expectations of our customers through original technology and uniquely diversified businesses.
Inside ZEON, you will frequently hear such questions as these: "Are we imitating anyone else?", "Is this the ZEON approach?" and "Is this technology genuinely unique?" In order to secure the continued existence and development of our company, the one essential condition for surviving global competition is to develop technology that is absolutely unique in the sense of being both original and beyond imitation. In other words, in the ongoing pursuit of attaining the leading position in the global market for technology, products and businesses that are possessed only by ZEON, that are only possible for ZEON, represents our greatest advantage in satisfying customers and meeting their expectations.
Speed is paramount in times when the world is undergoing significant and rapid changes. And speed, in turn, is based on action and challenge. You are still young, at a point in your lives when you have the advantage of naturally acting and taking on challenges without hesitation. I encourage you to "Do it first!" boldly take on challenges without fearing the risks. At the same time, be aware of the importance of speed, and quickly responding to change through innovation. Always seize the initiative, and aggressively pursue solutions on your own.
Finally, every company is entrusted with the mission of continuously developing and contributing to society as an external goal, while at the same time, every company worker endeavors to ensure profitability. To that end, you must not only adhere to the rules, discipline and behaviors that form the basis of organizational management, but must also keep in mind the consciousness and responsibility, that is, a clear sense of ethical living as an individual-that comes with being an adult member of society.
While from time to time, companies may have too many people, there can never be an excess of effective human resources. I charge you with the responsibility, and fully expect you to embody in every aspect of work, the pride of being professional business people.
