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上司の命令を待つだけでは好機を逃す（渋澤 健の資本主義と道徳）
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- 組織が大きくなった時に陥りがちな機械的な応対。軍隊の場合は、機械のパーツのように一つひとつが決まった通りに動くことは不可欠でしょうが、会社に勤める一人ひとりが自分は人間であり、相手が人間であることを忘れてしまったらどうなるのでしょう。 先日、そのことを端的に表すこんな体験をしました。 A couple of months ago, I received a call from a branch office of a bank. Before a meeting in the area, earlier in the day, I had stopped by to use the branch’s ATM to transfer some money to a credit union. It appeared as though there was a problem with the instructions and the receiving credit union had refused to recognize the money transfer. The credit union and the bank did not share the same on-line system, so in addition to the account number, the account name also had to be typed into the transfer instructions. The problem was that the limit was 40 characters, and the account name was over 40 characters. So, I did what seemed logical to any human being (outside the banking industry). I truncated the name, but made sure that it was clear who the account name was. I was told by the bank branch that if the name was longer than 40 characters, then I should of have typed in the first 40 characters from the left. (Though I do not remember such guidance on the on-line screen, when I was typing in 40 characters) As if it was a script being read from a manual, I was told by the bank staff on the other end of the phone that I would have to come back to the branch office to re-write the instructions. I said, “No, I cannot do that.” About 9 months ago, when we were capitalizing Commons Asset Management, the investment company that I had established with my partners, I had to transfer a fairly large amount of money from my personal bank account to the new company’s account. I had the frustrating experience of waiting around for almost an hour to make a simple money transfer because the bank needed to make several levels of confirmation. They took a chunk of time from my busy schedule, and charged me a fee for “services” rendered. This time, it was a different branch, but the same bank, and I was not about to let this bank branch do the same. I refused to go back across town, just to wait around in order to re-write instructions that were obvious in the first place. 「これが本部の方針ですから」を繰り返す担当者 The branch office representative told me flatly, in that case, the money will be returned to my account. But my account would be charged a return surcharge, and the amount was 840 yen (which I figured out later that it was double that of the money transfer fee). I said, this is not acceptable, and asked what were the reasons and the high level of the surcharge. The person who claimed he had the responsibility of the wire transfer department at the branch office told me that he did not know since this was according to bank headquarters’ rules. When I asked whether I needed to contact headquarters for the answers, he kept on replying like a robot. “I will leave that decision to you.” I will spare the readers the details of the phone conversation that followed. In the end, it was clear that bank branch’s top priority was mechanically implementing working orders from headquarters, without question. The “customer’s” role in all of this was, sad to say, orderly payment of fees for so-called “services” rendered. The other day, I was chatting with an acquaintance who works at the headquarters of a different bank. He was expressing frustration that 80% to 90% of the people at his bank did not behave as though they were people, but rather like machines that functions just to fulfill their daily routine. I shared my recent ordeal, and he was sympathetic. But, he said the reality is that the capabilities of the people at the branch offices are at such a level, that they have to be told and controlled by headquarters through strict rules. ルールを決めないと仕事を任せられない人も… Simply waiting for working orders to fulfill one’s daily routine definitely could not have been the ideals that Eiichi Shibusawa envisioned for bank officers and staff when he established the first bank in Japan in 1873. Eiichi, in fact, said that bankers should not just focus on their ledgers, but also read the “Analects of Confucius” to learn about the moral codes of conduct. Even though much of the teachings of Confucius are about “order,” it should be made clear that Eiichi did not urge bankers to read the “Analects” so that they will learn to follow orders blindly. Rather, Eiichi hoped that, through these teachings, bankers can develop their own codes of conduct to able to rise to the occasion, so that opportunities are not missed by the bank, as well as the society as a whole. Not just the banks, but all organizations, large or small, are vulnerable to the conditions described in this column. Compliance to a set of rules is very important. However, just waiting around for orders means missed opportunities, and also making innovation and advancement very difficult. This is something that Japan in the 21st century simply cannot afford. （次回、3月7日土曜日に英文の部分と同じ内容のコラムを、日本語で掲載いたします。
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