In March 1999, Renault, the ninth largest car maker in the world, announced acquisition of a 36.8 percent stake in Nissan Motor for $5.4B. Second, Carlos Ghosn would take charge of the struggling company. The news shocked Japan as well as the global business community. Would a Westerner be able to bring about change in a Japanese company with a deep-rooted tradition of bureaucratic behavior and a consensus-building style? Case A describes the steps that led to the acquisition of Nissan. Case B covers the story of Carlos Ghosn and how he changed the company and brought profitability to Nissan. The case discusses such techniques as the art of listening and understanding in depth, formation of cross-functional teams, and Ghosn's three management principles: transparency, 5% strategy and the rest execution, and communication of company direction and priorities.
