Local companies need humanistic management

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian companies have to practice forward- looking management with humanistic and realistic orientations, a management expert said yesterday.

Management has to develop its hard side and human side in harmony, said Japan's Peace, Happiness and Prosperity Institute Inc. (PHP) executive director Robert J.J Wargo.

"Managers have to improve their human resources as well as other resources," Wargo told The Jakarta Post during a break at a seminar discussing the Matsushita Leadership concept at the Le Meridien Hotel.

Many companies in Indonesia were still practicing old style management, which was not forward-looking and sometimes did not fit the current situation, he said.

A company could encourage employees to improve their talents and give them due recognition, he said.

The seminar was organized by the Productivity and Quality Management Consultants (PQM) to introduce the management philosophy of Konosuke Matsushita, a Japanese entrepreneur, who founded Matsushita Electric.

The giant electronic company grew from a three-person company into a multinational firm with over 200,000 employees worldwide.

Matsushita founded the PHP Institute in 1946 to find a way to draw on the collective wisdom of all mankind and attain peace, happiness and prosperity.

His philosophy said management must be both rational and humanistic to be successful in the long run.

Wargo singled out PT National Gobel among Indonesian companies that use Matsushita's principles of open management and paying attention to its employees.

Gobel, an electronics manufacturer, has been highly profitable using this philosophy, he said.

"It is rare because a lot of managers are only concerned about their own welfare and not their workers," he said.

Wargo said people were becoming more aware of the importance of good management.

"Indonesian managers from many companies are interested in making their corporations more efficient, so they can make better contributions to society," he said.

PQM's managing partner, Sonny Irawan, said most successful companies have practiced leadership with humanistic elements.

"It depends on the top management to improve their employees' talent," he said.

Wargo said nepotism practices, common among Indonesian corporations, would lead to friction and inefficiency.

PQM Consultants, founded in 1987, is a consultant in productivity management and quality management.

About 82 people attended the seminar, represented by private and state-owned companies. (08)