Sad that Kikukawa was actually instrumental in getting Olympus into digital. And his mad scheme to hide the losses could have worked. A strange business culture all the same.
This is an interesting video. The writing is good, and that's the most important thing. But to my mind the production values are extreme and distracting, especially the heavy-handed music.
Japanese Zaibatsu 101: Keep the company going through all means even though you become Zombie company or worse, example: Toshiba, Takata. New scandal brewing today is corporate Nissan and their M&A cases maybe in one way although different is Jatco.
god hand I wonder why the new board didn't REHIRE Michael Woodford? It would have been a very overt signal that Olympus was going to rebuild the organization from the ground up financially.
Yes great documentary and case study. There are so many companies that have gone under for many reasons. Once infused with a positive income cash flow, many CEOs make unchecked brash impulsive decisions to expand and buy out other companies; some decisions are successful and others not. It would have been interesting if the Board of Directors could have found solutions together as a team.
You would be wise to talk to some former Olympus employees who experienced the rise of Michael Woodford. He was a technologically untrained bean-counter who ravaged Olympus' camera divisions support infrastructure and development projects with ruthless, short-sighted cost-cutting and tried to take over the company with the help of international corporate vultures, but Japanese banks helped Olympus prevent this. Milking the scandal for all he could, he did manage to extract a large (reputedly 10 million pound) settlement, on which he essentially retired.
When Woodford knew that Olympus is in trouble, he should have found decent ways of fixing the losses, correcting the boards wild ways of making instant money and bring Olympus back to glory in long run. Instead he chose to bring down the people who tried to fix it.
So he should have let those who committed fraud go without punishment? Kikukawa wasn’t just running the company poorly he and his cohort were corrupt and committing serious crimes. Everything bad that has happened since to Olympus is not Woodford’s fault to exposing it but Kikukawa’s fault for committing the crime.
I was expecting a more factual objective explanation into the actual scandal and the cover up procedure as opposed to how amazing the whistleblower was and how hard it was for him... Michael did good but rather than how offensive a tuna sandwich was for him, would have appreciated a break down of all the technical investment schemes :/
With the camera market shrinking some manufacturers are not going to make it. It won't have anything to do with the quality of the products. It will simply be a matter of making profit in a collapsing market. Olympus is doomed. It may not survive 5 more years.
Olympus' camera division just started turning a profit. Read their latest report. Also, if Panasonic becomes less active in mft, they will have a whole market segment to themselves
Turns out you were right. There will be no more Olympus cameras after the designs that already exist at the end of 2020. There might be "Zuiko" or "OM" cameras but they will probably be crap like Yashica have become crap. The medical side has sailed away with the Olympus brand.
@@1fareast14 Don't know where you got that from, they have been losing money for years. They have now been dumped by the parent Olympus comapny, going to asset strippers at the end of this month.
I am watching this now and I have some questions: - were these CEOs arrested like Carlos Ghosn?; - Could Japan Inc. have something to do with Ghosn and Kelly arrest? Something is rotten in the land of the rising sun
indirectly michael saves and shapes olympus... this is the more reason when given the opportunity always hired an outsider and someone that disagree with you but has the same common goal.
How wrong about the camera division. Even in 2018 it was losing big money and is now (Jan 2021) being sold to asset strippers. As for mirrorless and Micro4/3 being small, the OM-D E-M1X is bigger than most full frame DSLRs. They backed the wrong horse with Micro4/3, which seemed fine when bigger sensors were very expensive but there is less price difference now. And Olympus weren't the first mirrorless interchangeble lens cameras, Panasonic were.
Apparently you skipped the part of his upbringing... Some people aren't that shallow as to assume money controls all their decisions.... except maybe for you... That tells a lot about your character I suppose. Michael Woodford could have easily fallen into line as a yes man... He was given several opportunities... Your charge of him being "overpaid" can you site documentation to support that evidence?
sirluke7 I still have doubts about Woodford. You don't get to such a high level even in a division (European Olympus) unless you make many ethical compromises. The fact is it is VERY difficult to be a completely ethical and moral person in any top level executive position.
Me too. My OM-2 broke down fourteen times in three years, by which time the warranty was over. It spent more time being repaired than I spent using it. I was stuck with a bunch of Olympus lenses (nice lenses except for the 200mm f/4 which was a bit soft) so I ended up buying an OM-1. I had no problems with that one.
Olympus is like Subaru vs. Toyota and Honda - quality and different. My wife has a Sony full frame and four OM-Ds as a professional. I recall client saw her lens and light wow, is that enough, then they realize the little thing cost $1300 and the picture came out she was wow... incredible. It's like Subaru, the well off the know how in Japan and US drives it, and the mainstream have no clue only know Lexus and Mercedes.
1. What’s wrong with the company? 2. How did they overcome the challenges? 3. What more you would do if you were the decision maker? 4. What are your learnings from this case that you can apply in real corporate world here in Bangladesh? Kindly please answer the questions. I got an assignment over this video & deadline is 18 December 2020
I feel like this is a over-sensational documentary. Shame that this is the only one I could find on youtube. Don't misunderstand me, what Olympus has done is wrong, however, I would like to have more explanation on the scandal, not just the drama part. Except for the tension among those charged with governance, and the shallow mentioning of Olympus dubious transactions, there is nothings else. It will take much more effort in just hiring the yakuza and staring at each other to forge the company's papers for "the alleged 30 years" - as quoted at the beginning of the documentary. In reality, the papers could only by traced back 6 years prior. It's such a disappointment, as I did have a high hope for CNA.
ruclips.net/video/n_Ihcl-1OIk/видео.html Of course mirrorless effects image quality. mainly because it is less capable at focusing under many situations. while it has some advantages, and while it may eventually be a better overall option, that isn't yet the case. That said, I still love my 1970's era OM-D with manual adapter and f1.4 lens, although I haven't shot it in years. Also, overall, thought this was a great take on a story I didn't know.
Are you familiar with cameras like the Sony a9 and a7 III? Mirrorless cameras have overtaken DSLRs IQ. All the major camera companies are switching to mirrorless. This year has seen the release of many new mirrorless cameras and not a single new DSLR as far as I am aware.
@@Kelkschiz I am aware of them but haven't used them. I don't have anything against the concept. My primary dislikes to date have been (1) focus *speeds* not as good, and (2) most of the cameras with the tech seem to follow the worthless trend of making every thing smaller and lighter. If I can't comfortably grip the camera, reach a lot of buttons quickly and put a big, honkin battery in it, then the form factor gets in the way. So if Nikon can make a D500 or D800 series camera that the only difference is mirrorless and it has better overall (speed and precision) focus, I'd buy it. I also don't know if I'd like an electronic viewfinder. With enough processing power and thoughtful implementation, I might.
@@Kelkschiz Ther is no difference in image quality for a given lens and given sensor. Mirrorless is just a different way of previewing the picture before you take it.
@@dukenukem5768 True, but given that all new releases of lenses and bodies are for mirrorless systems, that is where all the development is. Development which includes advances in IQ. Don't get me wrong, there are still some awesome DSLRs out there. But unfortunately, I fear it's a dead-end development-wise.
@@Kelkschiz Not yet true that all new releases are for mirrorless, but some truth in what you say about lenses. If some superlative lens is developed for m-less it would not be possible to make a DSLR version if its optics would infringe a mirror box. However, nothing to stop a superlative sensor or things like stabilisation to be applied to a DSLR. Nikon and Pentax for example buy sensors from Sony anyway, and I fully expect Olympus's image stabilisation tech to go on the market after JIP get hold of the patents. But it's rather academic, as there is a feeling that IQ of the hardware is now as good as it ever needs to be except for specialised purposes, even though megapixel count makes good sales hype. Olympus M4/3 fans themselves tell us 20 MPx are enough for anybody and they may be right. Future improvements are more likely in software, again not limited to m-less. The real tech improvements are now focussed on video, but I hope and expect video oriented cameras will evolve away from stills - it has started to happen. I'm not interested in video and if I was I'd get a proper camcorder. Video only got into stills cameras as a half-serious extra for salesmen to brag about, but it has got out of hand, the tail is wagging the dog.
Gotta love the irony of something named after the mountain of the gods being almost reduced to rubble by its own hubris.
Mr. Woodford: an honorable and courageous man.
Tom Burchill The world now treats honest people as the evil ones.
That impression was gold.. this guy is straight GOAT
HOW IS THAT NOT A MEME?!?! THE SUSPENSE BEFORE HE KICKS IN WITH IT! Haha!
holy shit, just saw it at 13 min. and change, haha
Well done Michael Woodford ....great hero at heart
I would like to shake this mans hand, and say "thank you".
Awesome documentary!
That impersonation 13:13 totally caught me off guard lmao
Vance Kay me toooooooooo
Damn i wasn't ready for that lol
If Carlos Ghosn watched this he would have seen his arrest coming and not return to Japan to get arrested!
If you compare Woodford to Ghosn you haven't understood a single thing.
Back from the brink?
However, the only business left for Olympus is medical equipment, cameras and lens business being sold to a vulcher named JIP.
I have to get this book. Corporate governance is a serious issue in Accounting.
Sad that Kikukawa was actually instrumental in getting Olympus into digital. And his mad scheme to hide the losses could have worked. A strange business culture all the same.
This is an interesting video. The writing is good, and that's the most important thing. But to my mind the production values are extreme and distracting, especially the heavy-handed music.
Japanese Zaibatsu 101: Keep the company going through all means even though you become Zombie company or worse, example: Toshiba, Takata.
New scandal brewing today is corporate Nissan and their M&A cases maybe in one way although different is Jatco.
I'm shocked you didn't go for the title "How Olympus Hasn't Fallen".
I like your bright comment..
@@idlanir9304 didnt they make that movie with Gerard Butler?
Same here, though I guess this could lead to some copyright-sues, making CNA fall.
So good documentary, please cover Toshiba scandal.
god hand
I wonder why the new board didn't REHIRE Michael Woodford? It would have been a very overt signal that Olympus was going to rebuild the organization from the ground up financially.
Yes great documentary and case study. There are so many companies that have gone under for many reasons. Once infused with a positive income cash flow, many CEOs make unchecked brash impulsive decisions to expand and buy out other companies; some decisions are successful and others not. It would have been interesting if the Board of Directors could have found solutions together as a team.
You would be wise to talk to some former Olympus employees who experienced the rise of Michael Woodford. He was a technologically untrained bean-counter who ravaged Olympus' camera divisions support infrastructure and development projects with ruthless, short-sighted cost-cutting and tried to take over the company with the help of international corporate vultures, but Japanese banks helped Olympus prevent this. Milking the scandal for all he could, he did manage to extract a large (reputedly 10 million pound) settlement, on which he essentially retired.
The Boss says: I suggest you use that report like an Olympus endoscope, for self-examination.
Carlos Ghosn is now in the same circumstance
Ghost himself is thief whereas yakuza is thief in olympus, so there is difference.
This man. What balls.
Excellent insights
When Woodford knew that Olympus is in trouble, he should have found decent ways of fixing the losses, correcting the boards wild ways of making instant money and bring Olympus back to glory in long run. Instead he chose to bring down the people who tried to fix it.
So he should have let those who committed fraud go without punishment? Kikukawa wasn’t just running the company poorly he and his cohort were corrupt and committing serious crimes. Everything bad that has happened since to Olympus is not Woodford’s fault to exposing it but Kikukawa’s fault for committing the crime.
I didn't know JHONNY SINS Is also a journalist...!!?
I was expecting a more factual objective explanation into the actual scandal and the cover up procedure as opposed to how amazing the whistleblower was and how hard it was for him... Michael did good but rather than how offensive a tuna sandwich was for him, would have appreciated a break down of all the technical investment schemes :/
With the camera market shrinking some manufacturers are not going to make it. It won't have anything to do with the quality of the products. It will simply be a matter of making profit in a collapsing market. Olympus is doomed. It may not survive 5 more years.
Olympus have their medical device business to carry them through any camera slowdown.
@@stephenarling1667 And 'laser scanning lithography'...Photography is a Vanity
Olympus' camera division just started turning a profit. Read their latest report. Also, if Panasonic becomes less active in mft, they will have a whole market segment to themselves
Turns out you were right. There will be no more Olympus cameras after the designs that already exist at the end of 2020. There might be "Zuiko" or "OM" cameras but they will probably be crap like Yashica have become crap. The medical side has sailed away with the Olympus brand.
@@1fareast14 Don't know where you got that from, they have been losing money for years. They have now been dumped by the parent Olympus comapny, going to asset strippers at the end of this month.
Great series...
Will have to read Woodford's book. Just got it.
I am watching this now and I have some questions:
- were these CEOs arrested like Carlos Ghosn?;
- Could Japan Inc. have something to do with Ghosn and Kelly arrest?
Something is rotten in the land of the rising sun
Ghosn is rotten all on his own. He royally screwed Nissan customers.
indirectly michael saves and shapes olympus... this is the more reason when given the opportunity always hired an outsider and someone that disagree with you but has the same common goal.
How wrong about the camera division. Even in 2018 it was losing big money and is now (Jan 2021) being sold to asset strippers. As for mirrorless and Micro4/3 being small, the OM-D E-M1X is bigger than most full frame DSLRs. They backed the wrong horse with Micro4/3, which seemed fine when bigger sensors were very expensive but there is less price difference now. And Olympus weren't the first mirrorless interchangeble lens cameras, Panasonic were.
To quote Imaging Resource
Olympus's recent Zuiko Pro lenses, both zooms and primes, have all shown stunning results when it comes to sharpness.
One can find Olympus M-1 cameras on eBay and say vulgar things about E. Leitz' suit to "own" letters and numbers.
It's easy to be honest when you are overpaid for 30 years
Apparently you skipped the part of his upbringing... Some people aren't that shallow as to assume money controls all their decisions.... except maybe for you... That tells a lot about your character I suppose. Michael Woodford could have easily fallen into line as a yes man... He was given several opportunities...
Your charge of him being "overpaid" can you site documentation to support that evidence?
sirluke7
I still have doubts about Woodford. You don't get to such a high level even in a division (European Olympus) unless you make many ethical compromises. The fact is it is VERY difficult to be a completely ethical and moral person in any top level executive position.
Who's eating tuna sandwiches now? lol
One would expect them to commit harakiri after such shameful behaviour
I had one of those cameras, worked fine for about 6 months, then stopped working, sent for repair, but it still was trash, kept going bad.
Me too. My OM-2 broke down fourteen times in three years, by which time the warranty was over. It spent more time being repaired than I spent using it. I was stuck with a bunch of Olympus lenses (nice lenses except for the 200mm f/4 which was a bit soft) so I ended up buying an OM-1. I had no problems with that one.
My OM4 worked like a charm.
"Rebuffed with tuna sandwhiches"
Great documentary. But they lost me at the "leading brand of mirrorless cameras" line.
You get lost a lot, as that statement is true.
Try doing some research... it might help you with the cognitive dissonance....
Olympus has fallen
13:15
13:14 dramatic...
I like RICOH too.
He pointed his finger and this is what he said to me.... OMAE WA MOU SHINDEIRU..... NANI!!
hard to believe. I had different view of Japan
Toshiba scandal tell us
One of the better episodes in "The Storm" series, however still poor quality dumbed down doc.
Four Toes it sounds like an advert for olympus
Love it
Olympus is like Subaru vs. Toyota and Honda - quality and different. My wife has a Sony full frame and four OM-Ds as a professional. I recall client saw her lens and light wow, is that enough, then they realize the little thing cost $1300 and the picture came out she was wow... incredible. It's like Subaru, the well off the know how in Japan and US drives it, and the mainstream have no clue only know Lexus and Mercedes.
Skidaki we 1 jaana hai?
@@shunal24 Aditya Kothari eats grass
"who do u work for"13:13, copy pasting 15:44
A documentary about a financial scandal which does not explain what the scandal was. Pathetic.
Olympus over paid for companies during acquisitions so that they would hide losses from the main company in their accounts from auditors.
I thought that Olympus has fallen
Well played sir... well played
Me thinks this documentary inst without agenda
1. What’s wrong with the company?
2. How did they overcome the challenges?
3. What more you would do if you were the decision maker?
4. What are your learnings from this case that you can apply in real corporate world here in Bangladesh?
Kindly please answer the questions. I got an assignment over this video & deadline is 18 December 2020
How did the assignment go?
😂
I feel like this is a over-sensational documentary. Shame that this is the only one I could find on youtube.
Don't misunderstand me, what Olympus has done is wrong, however, I would like to have more explanation on the scandal, not just the drama part.
Except for the tension among those charged with governance, and the shallow mentioning of Olympus dubious transactions, there is nothings else. It will take much more effort in just hiring the yakuza and staring at each other to forge the company's papers for "the alleged 30 years" - as quoted at the beginning of the documentary. In reality, the papers could only by traced back 6 years prior.
It's such a disappointment, as I did have a high hope for CNA.
Toshiba.... tobashi...
Endoscopy was developed in Japan because of some old cultural habits - and that lead to developing a flash bulb that could be used more than once.
Olympus NDT ommniscan
LOL
ruclips.net/video/n_Ihcl-1OIk/видео.html Of course mirrorless effects image quality. mainly because it is less capable at focusing under many situations. while it has some advantages, and while it may eventually be a better overall option, that isn't yet the case.
That said, I still love my 1970's era OM-D with manual adapter and f1.4 lens, although I haven't shot it in years. Also, overall, thought this was a great take on a story I didn't know.
Are you familiar with cameras like the Sony a9 and a7 III? Mirrorless cameras have overtaken DSLRs IQ. All the major camera companies are switching to mirrorless. This year has seen the release of many new mirrorless cameras and not a single new DSLR as far as I am aware.
@@Kelkschiz I am aware of them but haven't used them. I don't have anything against the concept. My primary dislikes to date have been (1) focus *speeds* not as good, and (2) most of the cameras with the tech seem to follow the worthless trend of making every thing smaller and lighter. If I can't comfortably grip the camera, reach a lot of buttons quickly and put a big, honkin battery in it, then the form factor gets in the way.
So if Nikon can make a D500 or D800 series camera that the only difference is mirrorless and it has better overall (speed and precision) focus, I'd buy it.
I also don't know if I'd like an electronic viewfinder. With enough processing power and thoughtful implementation, I might.
@@Kelkschiz Ther is no difference in image quality for a given lens and given sensor. Mirrorless is just a different way of previewing the picture before you take it.
@@dukenukem5768 True, but given that all new releases of lenses and bodies are for mirrorless systems, that is where all the development is. Development which includes advances in IQ. Don't get me wrong, there are still some awesome DSLRs out there. But unfortunately, I fear it's a dead-end development-wise.
@@Kelkschiz Not yet true that all new releases are for mirrorless, but some truth in what you say about lenses. If some superlative lens is developed for m-less it would not be possible to make a DSLR version if its optics would infringe a mirror box. However, nothing to stop a superlative sensor or things like stabilisation to be applied to a DSLR. Nikon and Pentax for example buy sensors from Sony anyway, and I fully expect Olympus's image stabilisation tech to go on the market after JIP get hold of the patents.
But it's rather academic, as there is a feeling that IQ of the hardware is now as good as it ever needs to be except for specialised purposes, even though megapixel count makes good sales hype. Olympus M4/3 fans themselves tell us 20 MPx are enough for anybody and they may be right. Future improvements are more likely in software, again not limited to m-less.
The real tech improvements are now focussed on video, but I hope and expect video oriented cameras will evolve away from stills - it has started to happen. I'm not interested in video and if I was I'd get a proper camcorder. Video only got into stills cameras as a half-serious extra for salesmen to brag about, but it has got out of hand, the tail is wagging the dog.
Total BS. Do your home work. Sorry
singaporean bias
Too long and poorly edited!
tvbox 69 not really...it’s about learning. Not everything has to be a Hollywood movie.
Yeah, needs more explosions.
13:18