Word: nomura
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...driven dog, at that. At the Kichijoji branch, a section chief gives his sales force a pep talk at 8 a.m. "The world is watching the movements of top- ranked Nomura, and that means right here in Kichijoji," he says. "Put in everything you have, and take the best care of your customers." On the fourth floor, Sales Manager Hidetoshi Koizumi orders his troops to ring up 60 stock sales among themselves that day. "I want you to go all out," he admonishes. Tension often runs high. Recalls an ex-employee who worked in sales for three years: "The metal...
Inevitably, some staffers fall out of favor. Says another former employee: "Only the best survive. At Nomura, one mistake and you're out." Not out, exactly, since Nomura, like most large Japanese companies, guarantees lifetime employment. But "failures" find themselves on a track to nowhere; they become what the Japanese call madogiwa-zoku, or those who sit idly by a window. More than a few failures have moved on to rival companies and report that they do not for a moment miss their life at Nomura. Says one: "It's a rare Nomura man who has a good career...
...victors in Nomura's internal competition go big rewards. A 35-year- old salesman may earn $90,000 a year, a slightly older branch manager $110,000. Those amounts may seem puny by Wall Street standards, but they are princely sums in Japan, where in most firms only high-ranking executives earn more than $70,000 a year. Unlike many Japanese companies, Nomura does not promote employees solely on the basis of seniority. If a young salesman or trader shows unusual dedication, he can move rapidly to a managerial post. Says a competitor: "For many people, it is painful...
...most Japanese firms, opportunities for women are limited: most rise no higher than clerk. Last year Nomura finally introduced a modest program that offers women a career path toward management, but so far, only 13 have been tapped. Many female employees wind up marrying a Nomura colleague. Says a male employee: "The good thing is, if you marry within the company, the wife doesn't complain that you come home late. An outsider couldn't understand...
...Nomura and Japan's other giant securities firms have harvested huge profits from a bull market that has raged on the trading floor of the Tokyo Stock Exchange for six years. The Japanese call it the age soba, or rising market, ascent has been dizzying: the 225-stock Nikkei index -- Japan's equivalent Dow Jones industrial average -- has surged 400% in value since beginning its bullish burst. The $3.5 trillion now invested in the Tokyo market makes it world's largest. Even the devastation wrought by last October's global stock only temporarily dampened the spirits of Tokyo traders. Although...