Between 1994 and 1997, 18 former executives of American Honda Motor Company were convicted on federal fraud and racketeering charges. This true-crime story reveals the underbelly of one of the world's most respected companies, detailing the key characters in this 15-year scandal and their shady deals, along with internal and FBI investigations. Examines how the corruption adversely affected Honda's sales efforts, and analyzes the corporate culture that allowed it to flourish for so long. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
The book is a meticulously researched, well written account of the embezzlement and corruption activities taking place at American Honda from the mid 1970s to about 1995 and should as such be of interest both to people connected to / working in the automotive industry, as well as those interested in business ethics more generally.
Steve Lynch, a former Honda employee has written a very thorough account of the whole affair, going up to about 1997. Relying on his own first hand experience, witness accounts, ample documentation from the federal court case, etc. you really get a multilayered, rich account of what was going on during each period, at various levels of the organization.
Even though the book is quite content heavy, it is written in a very easy to digest style and often gives the appearance of being more of a fireside chat than a business tome - making it a pleasure to read.
You will find out everything from the structural weaknesses, which allowed the corruption to start, to accounts of the perpetrators (and perpetuators), the possibly willing blindness of the Japanese top executives, detachment of the HR department, collusion of the dealer body... In short you will find out, how in the words of the sales chief Billmyer (the originator of the schemes) 'you did not get paid millions at Honda but could still live like a millionnaire'.
In addition to the main topic, which is more from the area of business ethics, the book shares lots of operational practices from automotive retail of the 1970s and 1980s, which will be quite interesting for people working in the automotive business.
