Message from the President May.2008

On April 1, 2008 M-Net portal was released in-house. It aims to provide improved convenience to all Meitec engineers by unifying the interface for “getting connected to the company” from the engineers’ own PC environment. Another centerpiece feature of this portal site is the “Web-Version Best Matching System.” Since the early days of introduction of the Best Matching System six years ago, we’ve received a number of requests to make the system viewable from PCs at home. Owing to our success in solving the technical as well as security-related problems, the system--although an abridged edition--was finally brought to realization this time. I look forward to seeing a greater number of our engineers access the site.

At the annual president’s meeting, the Best Matching System is a topic I never fail to bring up and discuss. That’s because I believe the most important factor in career improvement for you as engineers is to “realize a rotation best suited to each individual engineer within the network of Meitec’s clients.” To achieve this, it’s essential that each engineer should routinely access Meitec’s client network to verify his or her market value. The basic process for achieving a truly good rotation entails the following steps:

1. Using the CS (Customer Satisfaction) sheet, check if you’re successful in boosting your market value as an engineer in the work you’re currently performing.

2. Using the Best Matching System, examine the job possibility at the next assignment based on your current duties and career, as well as the expertise and skills you’ve cultivated so far.

3. Based on the evaluations performed in 1 and 2 above, utilize the various training systems and manager activities to expand your future possibilities.

4. Achieve a “good rotation” by repeating steps 1 to 3 above.

In short, the CS sheet, the Best Matching System and the training systems are tools. As such, they shouldn’t be the end purpose; rather, they’re the means for you to secure a “good rotation.” For this reason, it was decided that starting this term, the CS sheet and Best Matching System are required for use as tools at the interview, in which career improvement information is shared for each of the engineers. Therefore, I suggest that you access the Web-Version Best Matching System prior to the interview, rather than waiting until the interview to access it unprepared. That’ll enable you to engage in highly informative communication.

Incidentally, what’s the definition of “good rotation”? Considering that individuals’ senses of value are diverse, there must be the same number of “good rotations” as the number of employees. Given that order receipt--the basis for “good rotation”--consists of (1) job content, (2) area and (3) compensation, there are different ways of balancing the three elements, which vary depending on the values of individuals. In other words, some people may give priority to element (1), while other people will give priority to element (2), and still others to element (3). The Best Matching System may be considered as a tool to check the possibilities of balancing the three elements. In the same way, various training systems and manager activities can be regarded as tools to expand those possibilities. Among them, no tool fluctuates more greatly than the Best Matching System. That’s because the market changes so rapidly that order receipt information, the basis of the system, is completely replaced nearly every six months and also because the absolute number of orders received rises or falls according to the business results of the entire manufacturing industry, our clientele. That’s why I emphasize during every president-employee meeting that you should access the system regularly, just as you’d undergo a medical checkup, so that the Best Matching System may be put to good use. Seen in that light, I think the Web-Version Best Matching System is of great significance.

I stated earlier that the balance of the three elements?(1) job content, (2) area and (3) compensation--varies depending on individuals’ senses of value. The point is that you should chart your career course by giving consideration not only to the “you of today” but also to the “you of the future.” Because career building’s a continuous process, expanding your options for your “next career” succeeding the present one makes it easier for you to cope with changes in the future. Assuming that changes in the market will increase both in speed and severity, the more future options you have, the greater the range of possibilities for your growth. If your sense of values places exclusive focus on just one of the three elements?(1) job content, (2) area or (3) compensation--that may narrow your options. Even then, however, if you’re aware of that, you’ll not only accept the situation but also see more clearly what needs to be done to make your possibilities a reality within a limited range of options.

I sincerely hope the Web-Version Best Matching System will prove its worth as a tool for expanding possibilities of a greater number of our engineers.