text: we had many foreign executives working at Nissan 
  
  headquarters, and the majority of communications were in 
  
  English as well as Japanese. As a result, more employees, 
  
  including non-management staff, are being assigned to 
  
  work outside of Japan. In addition, proficiency in English is 
  
  now a prerequisite for all managers at Nissan. These efforts 
  
  to promote diversity are transforming our corporate culture. 
  
  One of the most interesting developments of NISSAN 
  
  180 was the advent of the Career Coach system, which we 
  
  imported from our Alliance partner, Renault. In a modern 
  
  business structure, HR is in charge of structural and 
  
  system functions such as compensation. The Career Coach 
  
  system provides career development for the individual 
  
  employee. There are five career coaches at this time, one 
  
  for each of the major functions. Their collective task is to 
  
  identify people of high potential and create career plans for 
  
  them. In a sense, they work outside of HR, although they 
  
  report to me. The coaches gather once a month for the 
  
  Nissan Assignment Committee, headed by Mr. Ghosn, to 
  
  report on their activities. 
  
  Employees at Nissan also have the chance to control 
  
  their career paths through our internal “self-career” system 
  
  on the Company’s intranet. Managers can search for 