Under the direction of Yoshiro Maruta, Kao Corporation developed a management philosophy and organizational capability that wove continuous renewal into the fabric of the company’s ongoing activities. He insisted that his managers view Kao not as a soap and detergent company but as an educational institution. Accordingly, he opened up the organization to its people invigorating the force of continuous learning. By creating a sense of stretch and organizational fit, he infused strategic alignment and challenge by creating dynamic processes and democratization of information. Kao was able to continuously give its employees their own voice and help them achieve their full potential. The company did not think of itself as a portfolio of businesses, their people not as mere factors of production, but it learnt that it is to be viewed as an educational institution and recognize that competitive advantage flows from people’s ability to constantly enhance their knowledge and skills. As such the transformation of a company to a virtual university was complete.

As such the transformation of a company to a virtual university was complete. Under the leadership of Dr. Yoshio Maruta, the President of Kao Corporation, Kao became one of the most admired companies in Japan during the early 1980s, which was regularly rated by Nikkei Business as being ahead of well-known companies like Canon and Toyota in terms of corporate originality, innovativeness and creativity. Many of the company's innovativeness in the field of super concentrated detergents and shaped diapers were benchmarks in its field, when compared to its much mightier rivals like Procter & Gamble and Unilever.

It consistently came up with new products ahead of its local competitors such as Lion to emerge as the largest branded and packaged goods company in Japan and second largest cosmetics company. It received the renowned "Nikkei Monozukuri Award" in November 2006 for promoting product development and manufacturing capabilities. The award is given to outstanding companies for research centers and systems in Japan and overseas. Women's Wear Daily - a fashion magazine awarded it the "breakthrough product of the year 2006" in US for its Luminous Color glaze sold under the John Frieda brand in the US.

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