{"product_id":"choose-and-focus-ulrike-schaede-9780801447068","title":"Choose and Focus","description":"\u003cp\u003eBetween 2002 and 2008, Japan's economy saw constant expansion, a record among the world's advanced economies and Japan's longest period of economic growth since World War II. This remarkable achievement came about because of a transformation of Japanese business practices. This transformation was guided by strategies that enabled Japan's leading corporations, previously diversified to an exceptionally high degree, to become leaner, more nimble, and more competitive at home and in the global economy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eChoose and Focus\u003c\/i\u003e, the first in-depth account of this strategic inflection point in Japanese business, Ulrike Schaede argues that the emerging practices and attitudes have created a New Japan. Drawing on profiles of several corporations, including Panasonic, Takeda and Astellas, Softbank, kakaku.com, and SBI E*Trade, Schaede explains how the fundamental principles of Japan's economy have been overturned. \"Choose and focus\" strategies, whereby corporations concentrate on core areas and spin off unrelated businesses, have completely altered the strategic logic of Japan's previous industrial architecture. These surprisingly aggressive moves, Schaede finds, have created new market opportunities for start-up enterprises and foreign investors, as well as a wave of mergers, acquisitions, and hostile takeovers that have shaken Japanese companies out of complacency.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnlike the advances made by Japanese firms in the 1970s and 1980s, the current transformation is taking root in component and materials industries rather than in consumer products. Because of the relative obscurity of the changes and the overshadowing story of China's ascent, the Japanese corporate revolution has gone largely unnoticed among Western observers. \u003ci\u003eChoose and Focus\u003c\/i\u003e is required reading for anyone doing business in Japan or trying to understand how contemporary Japanese business works and how Japanese corporations have reinvented themselves to face the challenges--and realize the opportunities--of the 21st century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ulrike Schaede\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0801447062\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780801447068\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Cornell University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/15\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 304\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.26lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.52h x 6.40w x 0.97d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHarvard Business Review\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2009 pg. 30\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChronicle of Higher Education\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/10\/2008 pg. 19\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eReference and Research Bk News\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2008 pg. 120\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2009","brand":"Ulrike Schaede","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43947172004095,"sku":"9780801447068","price":30.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_0cae7164-1703-42ed-ab4a-e9731856da42.jpg?v=1681517147","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/choose-and-focus-ulrike-schaede-9780801447068","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}