DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT AT MATSUSHITA In recent years, a growing number of multinationals have began to expand their operations, realizing that

if they do not increase their worldwide presence now, they are likely to be left behind in the near future. In turn, this has created a number of challenges for these MNCs, including making a fit between their domestic organizational culture and those of the different countries where they operate. Matsushita provides an excellent example in how they have handled this challenge with their macro/micro approach. These huge Japanese MNC has developed a number of guidelines that it uses in setting up and operating its more than 150 industrial units. At the same time, the company complements those macro guidelines with on-site micro techniques that help create the most appropriate organizational culture in the subsidiary. At the macro level, Matsushita employs six overall guidelines that are followed in all locations. They are: 1. Be a good corporate citizen in every country, among other things, by respecting cultures, customs, and languages; 2. Give overseas operations the best manufacturing technology the company has available; 3. Keep the expatriate head count down and groom local management to take over; 4. Let operating plants set their own rules, fine-tuning manufacturing processes to match the skill of the workers; 5. Create local research and development to tailor products to markets; and 6. Encourage competition between overseas outposts and with plants back home. Working within these macro guidelines, Matsushita then allows each local unit to create its own culture. The Malaysian operations are a good example. Since 1987, Matsushita has setup 13 new subsidiaries in Malaysia, and employment there has more than quadrupled to approximately 25,000 people. Only 230 of these employees, however, are Japanese. From these Malaysian operations, Matsushita currently produces 1.3 million television sets and 1.8 million air conditioners annually and 9o per cent of these units are shipped overseas. To produce this output, local plants reflect Malaysias cultural mosaic of Muslim Malays, ethnic Chinese, and Indians. To accommodate this diversity, Matsushita cafeterias offer Malaysian, Chinese, and Indian food, and to accommodate Muslims customs, Matsushita provides special prayer rooms at each plant and allows two prayer sessions per shift. How well does this Malaysian workforce perform for the Japanese MNC? In the past, the Malaysian plants slogan was Lets catch up with Japan. Today, however, these plants frequently outperform their Japanese counterparts in both quality and efficiency. The comparison with Japan is no longer used. Additionally, Matsushita has found that the Malaysian culture is very flexible, and the locals are able to work well with almost any employer. Commenting on Malaysias multiculturalism, Matsushitas managing director notes, They are used to accommodating other cultures and so they think of us Japanese as just another culture. That makes it much easier for us to manage them than some other nationalities. Today, Matsushita faces a number of important challenges, including remaining profitable in a slow-growth, high-cost Japanese economy. Fortunately, this MNC is doing

extremely well overseas, which is buying it time to get its house in order back home. A great amount of this successes results from the MNCs ability to nurture and manage overseas organizational cultures (such as in Malaysia) that are both diverse and highly productive.

Tessera Enterprise Systems

Tessera Enterprise Systems, a custom software developer, was founded in Boston in 1995 by an executive team that had previously worked together for three years. Tesseras target market included some of the largest American retail and financial companies, such as Eddie Bauer and Charles Schwab. The founders provided initial funding for the venture, but after one year it was decided that venture capital was required to expand the company. Tessera, however, secured an investment offer from Greylock Management, a prominent Boston-based IVC. Greylocks status added legitimacy to the fledgling venture, permitting it to obtain contracts with target companies such as Charles Schwab, Eddie Bauer, and other prominent clients. Subsequent expansion and third-stage funding from two other prominent IVCs solidified Tessera in the market and led to a corporate expansion to San Francisco. At the same time, Tessera considered establishing an office in Switzerland to serve potential European clients. One of the VC providers likened internationalization to loading an airplane with stacks of cash and opening the doors while flying over the Atlantic. Tessera nevertheless pursued its foreign market entry strategy and, while it slowly obtained some European contracts, it did so without the involvement or aid of its IVC investors. Had Tessera sought investment from a technology corporation such as Oracle (on whose products its offerings were often based), it might have been better able to leverage its investors networks and knowledge to the benefit of its foreign business. A modest capital round was provided by IVCs and a private investor in preparation for an exit. Tessera, originally planning on a public offering and broad foreign expansion, was acquired in 2001 by iXL, an Atlanta-based internet services provider company with offices in San Francisco and London.

Making It Happen
Since VC has the potential to change the nature of resources in an SME so dramatically, entrepreneurs must approach it with a strategic view of how it may best add value, and source it accordingly. At the same time as they assess their financial capital needs, SME managers should do the following:

Carefully consider the type of advice, information, and network access you want from an investor in the light of current needs and strategic direction. Identify VC providers that have great reputations for providing value in a manner consistent with your willingness to cede some control. Ask others who have undertaken VC-backed ventures about their experience with investorsboth IVC and CVC and the success and problems they encountered. Identify companies that had exitsIPOs and acquisitionsmost consistent with your goals and ask about their investors.

Cella Energy Ltd:

July 2010: CoreTec was approached by Dr. Stephen Voller from the UK Governments Science & Technology Facilities Council (www.stfc.ac.uk) or STFC. STFC owns and operates all of the UK governments science and technology assets and supports and funds science & technology in a broad cross-section of the UK research community. Dr. Voller, a technology entrepreneur and Mentor in Residence at STFC, contacted Simon Robeson, Partner and Founder of CoreTec to request assistance in the raising of $550,000. The funds were to be used to create a spin-out vehicle from STFC that would own exclusive world-wide rights to a patented technology for the safe storage and release of hydrogen at normal atmospheric pressure, a technology of potentially global significance. On completion of his own due-diligence processes, Simon Robeson (CoreTec) introduced Dr. Voller to a potential investor; the multinational chemical manufacturing company Thomas Swan & Co. Ltd (www.thomasswan.co.uk).Thomas Swan conducted its own due-diligence and deal negotiation process which resulted in their $550,000 investment into the newly formed Cella Energy Ltd (www.cellaenergy.com). Feb 2011: Dr. Voller, now CEO of Cella Energy, retained CoreTec to raise a further $2.5m towards Cellas technology development programme. July 2011: CoreTec confirmed to Cella Energy that it had raised the required $2.5m. Subscribers included NASA (Space Florida) with a US$1m investment and a number of other strategic investors introduced by Simon Robeson of CoreTec. The above processes, from the calibre of the introduction to the quality of the technology and the successful completion of 2 separate financial transactions in a 14month period aptly demonstrates the strength of Core Technology Ventures governmental, industrial, technical, financial networks and capabilities plus the quality of its deal flow. Furthermore, in the course of raising these funds for Cella, CoreTec originated commercial supply and collaboration agreements for Cella with a number of major industrial potential customers from the aerospace, defence, battery and industrial gasses industries. CoreTec also identified a non-Executive Chairman for Cella Energy Ltd, the former industrialist and Chairman of merchant back Standard Chartered, Bryan Sanderson, CBE.

ACAL Energy Limited

Simon Robeson was contacted by The Carbon Trust to assess ACALs positioning in the emergent clean energy supply chain as part of its investment due-diligence process. CoreTec performed its own industry due-diligence process on ACAL which led to CoreTec recommending to The Carbon Trust that it make an investment. ACAL subsequently approached CoreTec and asked it to act as its industry expert and investment advisor for a 1.6m fundraising. ACAL Energy Ltd retained CoreTec for the duration of its 1.6m fundraising. CoreTec provided the following sector specialist support:

It advised ACAL on the production of a suitable investor presentation & executive summary based on an appropriate business plan. It introduced ACAL to its corporate & financial networks which included large corporates investment arms within its networks. It reviewed documents that were sent to potential investors throughout the process. It made introductions to both SME and large corporate fuel cell technology developers that have an interest in forming developmental collaborations. In the role of sector specialist it arranged and attended all investor presentations, a number of which were to CoreTecs contacts outside the UK It gave ACAL strategic advice with regards to potential investors It provided strategic advice on and introductions to potential non-execs It gave sector expert testimony to all of the above and to the technical & commercial due-diligence firm that was hired to produce a report for investors. The company received 1.6million from a consortium including The Carbon Trust, Rising Stars Growth Fund, NorthStar Equity Investors and Synergis Technologies.

Case Studies

Venture Capital Funding Management Buy Out Flotation Flotation (ii) Portfolio Management Trade Sale Technology Scout Industrial Collaboration German Market Entry