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OUR CHANGING WORLD: JOINT VENTURES, MERGERS, AND PART-OWNERSHIP15 Much has been written about the fierce competi- general news coverage, business publications also tion between European, Japanese, and U.S.com- carry news about cooperative efforts between com- panies, especially in the auto industry. Though the panies, many on a worldwide basis Learning and | competition between companies gets most of the sharing are occurring in all directions between com- panies Joint ventures, mergers, and acquisitions be- People at all levels meet often. Socialization be- tween auto companies are notably prevalent; the tween Ford and Mazda is important for building firms involved include Toyota and General Motors, trust. Chrysler and Daimler Benz, Mitsubishi and Disputes are resolved using a third party DaimlerChrysler, Nissan and Renault, General Mo- Neither company loses its identity. They maintain tors and Opal, Isuzu and General Motors, and independence and sharpen expertise. Mazda and Ford. Each project must be viable for each partner. TRUST AND COOPERATION A monitor is appointed to take primary responsi- bility Many ventures and mergers have not been suc- . Anticipate cultural differences cessful. Lack of trust, misunderstandings, and not enough mutual benefit are some of the more signent in the success of the Mazda-Ford relationship. Open, honest communication is a key compo- nificant problems Mazda and Ford have developed The president of Mazda says. "The most important a successful joint venture, but they have been work- ing at their relationship since 1979, when Ford took point is for people to meet face-to-face and talk freely." its first equity position in Mazda. The two compa- nies cooperate on new vehicles and exchange valu. THE JOHARI WINDOW able information. The companies bring to the table different, but complementary, expertise. Mazda If you think of corporations as entities, you can de- shares its engineering, manufacturing, and product-scribe corporate behavior in Johari Window terms. development abilities. Ford offers international Corporations, as they interact with one another. marketing, finance, and computer-controlled mea- form windows with cells of different sizes. suring equipment. Ford has also included Mazda in For example, when Mazda and Ford work out its quality improvement program. a joint project, each company presents a "public area" to the other. According to the basic business BASIC BUSINESS PRINCIPLES principles, the two companies work on enlarging Building a mutually beneficial relationship between maintain certain areas as closed. For example, Ford the public area. They have also agreed up front to two companies is something that does not happen has refused to manufacture certain Mazda models. automatically. Some aspects of the relationship and Mazda has refused to share some of its models cannot be drawn up in legal documents. Ford and Mazda work hard at making their agreement work. with Ford. Decisions about what to work on jointly are made QUESTIONS on a project-by-project basis. Through the years, Mazda and Ford have developed a set of basic busi- 1. Do you agree that corporations can have per- ness principles: sonalities? Top management must provide support otherwise 2. If so, can they develop a Johari Window? middle management will resist ceding partial con- 3. What do you think of the basic business prin- trol of a project. ciples