Who is toshiba owned by

Toshiba executives were criticized for their rigid adherence to a feudal system of hierarchy and status. Top officials maintained lax working hours and were far removed from any operational business.

An indisputable separation between a superior and his subordinates made the exchange of ideas virtually impossible. To reduce the burden of responsibility on any one executive, numerous signatures were needed to approve a document.

Thus innovation was easily stymied in a chain of bureaucracy. In the early s, these internal problems were compounded by an economic recession. To halt any further erosion, a radical change was in order. For only the second time in Toshiba's history the company sought an outsider to aid the ailing business. The company's board hired Toshiwo Doko to take charge of the company. The combined status ranked Doko as Japan's leading industrialist. After Doko became president, Toshiba raised its stake in IHI as both companies shared executives on their boards and established trade agreements.

This exchange, a keiretsu hallmark, strengthened Toshiba's financial standing. Doko's other corrective measures included the reduction of Toshiba's dependence on borrowed capital. This was aided by the U. The infusion of capital enabled Toshiba to expand and modernize its operations. The new company president also initiated a comprehensive campaign to export Toshiba products around the world.

By establishing independent departments, the company could better facilitate the export of consumer and industrial goods. Major contracts were finalized with U. Other streamlining efforts took the form of expanding the sales force, hiring new management, and consolidating operations. By Toshiba controlled 63 subsidiaries and employed more than , people; the company ranked as the largest electronic manufacturer in Japan and the nation's fourth largest company.

But in light of the dramatic expansion of such domestic competitors as Sony Corporation and Hitachi in the s, Toshiba's performance was generally considered mediocre. In , a new president, Shoichi Saba, brought renewed vigor to the company. Trained as an electrical engineer, Saba funneled vast resources into research and development, especially in the areas of semiconductors, computers, and telecommunications. In October , Toshiba formed an Information and Communications Systems Laboratory to develop and integrate office automation products.

That same year, Toshiba was responsible for the world's first direct broadcast satellite. By the company was producing almost half of the world's one-megabyte chips.

Utilized in equipment from stereos to computers, semiconductors soon became an important part of Toshiba's portfolio.

In alone, Toshiba's semiconductor facilities experienced a 55 percent increase due to contracts in France and West Germany, as well as burgeoning domestic demand. For the first time in its history, Toshiba surpassed its closest competitor, Hitachi, to become the second largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world, behind NEC Corporation. Joint ventures and agreements with both Japanese and foreign corporations facilitated technology exchange. In Toshiba entered into a joint venture with Motorola for its Japanese production of computer memories and microprocessors.

The two companies became involved in the collective development of microcomputer and memory chips based on the exchange of technology, and also developed a manufacturing facility in Japan. Efforts of this type facilitated the development of voice recognition systems and digital private branch exchange systems PBXs , which transmit telephone calls within private buildings. In the same year, Toshiba entered into an agreement with IBM-Japan to market their general purpose computers domestically. Through this arrangement, Toshiba marketed its own communications equipment with IBM-Japan's computers, selling to governmental agencies, local governments, and other institutions to which IBM as a foreign interest had previously been blocked.

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This involved concentrating resources in sectors with growth potential and new businesses, while selectively promoting growth in mature or declining sectors through reform and restructuring. Toshiba focused resources on semiconductors and expanded the PC business.

In , Toshiba introduced the in-house company system, creating eight in-house companies. Authority was delegated to these in-house companies to give them greater autonomy and promote faster decision-making. Rapid economic growth in developing countries and sluggish growth in the developed world have led to major changes in economic and industrial paradigms in the 21st century.

To prevail amid intensifying global competition transcending national borders, Toshiba continues to focus on restructuring businesses to reinforce their earnings base while seeking to transform its overall business structure by targeting growth sectors and emerging businesses.

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