Management: A New Yen for Savings

The campaign is called "Operation Be Stingy," and one of its slogans -- "I'll do it, you'll do it, and everybody will do it" -- is to be taken seriously indeed. Tokyo's Nissan Motor, in an effort to keep the prices of its exported autos low as the value of the yen rises against the U.S. dollar, has launched a major drive to cut costs.

Some 2,300 middle managers have "volunteered" to take a 5% pay cut. Last month the company even traded five tons of old documents to recyclers for 330 rolls of toilet paper. Nissan refuses to reveal the goal of its drive, but Tokyo's English-language Asahi Evening News reports the company aims to save $1.3 billion annually.