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We Seek to Establish an Indispensable Presence by Helping to Build a Sustainable Society
Tamotsu Fukushima
Representative Director and President
In fiscal 2007, Benesse embarked on a three-year management plan aimed at increasing sales to 430 billion yen in fiscal 2010, and increasing operating income to 43 billion yen. Under this plan, the Company aims to achieve these earnings goals by strengthening its operations in four business segments-education, lifestyle, language, and nursing care. In this way, the Company intends to make itself indispensable to customers, communities and society in general.
As part of its CSR strategy, Benesse always seeks to promote the concept embodied in its company name and corporate philosophy-“living well.” This includes developing “core business operations that help to address challenges” facing customers, and establishing a relationship of trust with customers by “emphasizing fairness, promptness and transparency in management activities.” The Company faithfully “supports the personal growth and advancement of employees, ”who are our most valuable resource, and seeks ways to “address environmental issues” through our education business. In addition, the Company is “fostering regional growth and vitality by supporting culture and the arts,”as exemplified by its successes on the island of Naoshima, in the Seto Inland Sea.
In fiscal 2009, the Benesse Group will continue its effort to earn the trust of customers and establish itself as a vibrant, growing, and widely respected company.
Recognizing Social Issues and Seeking to Resolve them
Benesse recognizes that the societies in which it operates face a number of challenges, and that companies have a social responsibility to do what they can to help resolve these issues. The Company is always seeking new ways to offer services to the public and help each one of its customers address the challenges they face and realize the goal embodied in our company name: “living well.”
In the education business, society faces the problems of an increasing disparity in academic performance between “successful” and “unsuccessful” students, and a declining motivation to learn. To address this problem, the Company has been researching new techniques and styles of instruction to incorporate in our latest home education courses. This effort bore fruit in 2008 with the introduction of the Shinkenzemi Junior High School Course + i, a new type of correspondence course which combines traditional paper-based learning materials with the multimedia functions of the internet. This novel approach not only enhances learning results; it also increases the interest and enjoyment that students obtain from their studies, and encourages them to pursue the limitless dreams and possibilities that their future may hold.
Japan also faces the prospect of a steadily aging population, and the challenges that this will create for the nursing care industry. In fiscal 2008, Benesse implemented major changes to the personnel structure and employee training systems of its nursing care business, in an effort to provide a better quality of life for residents, their families, and caregivers alike. These changes should help to reduce employee turnover among nursing care staff, providing greater security and stability to nursing care patients, and enhancing nursing skills. In addition, by setting an example of positive change, as an industry leader, Benesse hopes to promote an improvement in the conditions of the nursing care industry as a whole.
Meanwhile, as globalization has an increasing impact on society, Benesse is trying to play an important role in helping people to cultivate the communication skills and leadership abilities needed to perform internationally. English skills are becoming ever more important to businesspersons, as well as to students, as Japan introduces compulsory English classes for elementary school children. To promote this internationalization, Benesse has given subsidiary Berlitz International-which in 2008 celebrated 130 years of foreign language learning-a key role in training individuals to perform effectively on the global stage.
In Benesse's lifestyle business, the Company is trying to respond to the diverse and changing lifestyles and values of women. In 2009, it launched a new service under the name “Happy Collection, ”aimed at working women in their 20s and 30s, which combines catalog shopping features with educational activities. By responding to the needs of women, who are marrying later in life, and seeking opportunities for self-improvement, Benesse hopes to enhance their quality of life, and help them to “live well.”
In all its businesses, Benesse aims to contribute to environmental preservation, and the Company's efforts are aimed at not only reducing the impact that the Company's own business activities have on the planet, but also making positive environmental contributions in ways that only Benesse can. For example, the Company has invested a great deal of energy and resources into “environmental education.” One element of this effort is to provide accurate information about environmental issues to the millions of young people who are enrollees in the Company's correspondence courses. Beginning in fiscal 2008, the Company introduced “Ecolo-Project” environmental protection activities, including environmental contests, and environmental show-and-tell stories aimed at preschoolers, elementary, junior high and senior high school students, to teach them about environmental issues.
Finally, Benesse is involved in many unique social contributions employing benevolent foundations to support cultural and art-related activities which bring vitality to local areas. In 2008, the Company marked the 20th anniversary of its activities on the island of Naoshima, in the Seto Inland Sea, and in the future it hopes to make similar contributions to communities in all parts the country.
Activities to Improve the Quality of Life for Employees
The motivating force behind all of the Company's CSR activities is the dedication of Benesse employees. These energetic, dedicated individuals are the Company's most valuable asset. The Company provides a stable and rewarding work environment that allows a diverse multitude of individuals to contribute, each on the basis of their own strengths and skills, to the goal of “living well.” Benesse places particular importance on supporting the efforts of each employee to grow and improve their own capabilities. By improving the quality of life for employees, the Company can promote its own ongoing development and growth, while helping to establish a sustainable society.
Since it was founded, Benesse has always offered the same treatment and opportunities to all of its employees, regardless of gender or background, and encourages them to contribute in a variety of ways. When employees are encouraged to pursue their own individuality, they are motivated to throw their full energies into their work, and do their best to achieve goals.
Over the past two years, Benesse has been working to put a system in place that will help each employee establish a favorable balance between work and their private life. The Company's new personnel policy is based on the understanding that the personal growth and success of each employee also contributes directly to the growth and success of the Company and its business operations. With this in mind the new personnel system, which was implemented in April 2009, was designed on the basis of extensive communication between employees and management, and tries to incorporate their feedback as fully as possible. As the new system is implemented, Benesse will try to identify any problems and adapt the system to make it even more effective.
Seeking New Avenues for Growth
At present, the global economy is experiencing a once-in-a-century crisis which is fostering dramatic changes and reforms. However, even in the midst of this dramatic change, Benesse must still focus on the same issue that has always been at the heart of the Company's activities-how to address the challenges that our customers face, help them achieve personal growth, and improve their quality of life from childhood to old age.
In October 2009 the Benesse Group adopted a holding company structure, in order to support the Group's continued growth and ensure that overall management resources are allocated in the most effective way. Under this new structure, Benesse will pursue four main policy goals-enhancing the overall strength of the Group, promoting globalization, pursuing growth in both quantitative and qualitative dimensions, and improving corporate governance-as it seeks to open up new avenues for future growth.
Looking ahead, all the Benesse Group's companies and employees will continue acting as one to pursue a business model that reflects the meaning of our company name. In this way, we will strive to win more loyal customers and “fans,” and to be more trusted by customers, communities and society in general than any other corporation worldwide.
Tamotsu Fukushima
Representative Director and President
