Asahi Glass Co. has introduced a training program to prepare middle managers aged around 40 for senior executive positions. At the same time, the company is trying to internationalize its senior manag…
Asahi Glass Co. has introduced a training program to prepare middle managers aged around 40 for senior executive positions. At the same time, the company is trying to internationalize its senior management in line with its global expansion. Under the program that started in 2004, 24 trainees from group company around the world will undertake about six months of training, Asahi Glass officials said. The trainees will be instructed in the firm“s managerial philosophy, internal finances and the skills required of top managers. The training program, called the “Dynamic Leadership Session,” is designed to select candidates for executive positions from among section heads by consulting the chief of each business division. In late September 2004, the trainees attended a six-day course at Swiss business school IMD, which included lectures on organizational management and strategy formulation. The trainees will now work in four teams of six for four months on specific managerial issues and formulate recommendations for submission to the company“s president by February 2005, for possible incorporation into the firm“s overall business strategy. Eleven of the trainees are Japanese, while the remainder are from Europe, North America and elsewhere. Around 70% of the work force of Asahi Glass group is from countries other than Japan. Both Japanese and non-Japanese staff need to fully understand the group“s corporate philosophy, said a company official in charge of personnel management. The company intends to organize more such programs to give non-Japanese staff greater opportunities to enhance their job skills and their chances of being promoted to managerial positions. The group“s expansion has included the takeover of foreign firms including Glaverbel SA of Belgium and AFG Industries Inc. of the US. The company has been trying to internationalize its operations by appointing non-Japanese officials to head some of its operations, such as the flat and automotive glass divisions.