Canon's 'Kyosei' Philosophy and Social Responsibility Initiatives

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Excerpts

Kyosei was an age-old Japanese philosophy, whose roots traced back to the sixteenth century. Canon's management attempted to re-invent the philosophy in the light of modern Business Ethics.The management developed Kyosei as a general concept, whose applicability was not restricted to Canon alone, though it was made clear that at Canon, it would be pursued with absolute sincerity and dedication. . According to Canon, businesses go through five stages of evolution in the course of implementing Kyosei. These stages included the establishment stage, the employee partnership stage, the stakeholders' partnership stage, the globalization stage and the government partnership stage. ....

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In the late 1980s, Canon's management stepped up the implementation of Kyosei in the company. The principles of Kyosei formed the basis of framing several policies and management concepts (Refer Exhibit III). The impact of Kyosei was felt at every stage of Canon's operation, right from the R&D and product development to the company's social responsibility initiatives....

The reflections of Kyosei could be prominently noticed in the way Canon addressed issues relating to the society, environment and its own product development. The company made significant efforts to contribute towards the development of the society in which it operated. For instance, in 1997, in a bid to promote education in South East Asia, Canon started a book fair where books and CDs of Canon's employees were sold at negligible prices.....

Exhibit I: Canon's Code of Conduct
Exhibit II: Canon's Environmental Charter
Exhibit III: Sensitivity Conscious and Ecology Conscious Management