netrashetty
Netra Shetty
Sony Corporation (ソニー株式会社 Sonī Kabushiki Gaisha?) (TYO: 6758, NYSE: SNE), or commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate with US$77.20 billion (FY2010).[4] Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, products for the consumer and professional markets.[6]
Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and the parent company of the Sony Group, which is engaged in business through its seven operating segments – Consumer Products & Services Group, Professional & Device Solutions Group, Pictures, Music, Financial Services, Sony Ericsson and All Other.[7][8] These make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world. Sony's principal business operations include Sony Corporation (Sony Electronics in the U.S.), Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Ericsson, and Sony Financial. As a semiconductor maker, Sony is among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders.
The Sony Group (ソニー・グループ Sonī Gurūpu?) is a Japan-based corporate group primarily focused on the Electronics (such as AV/IT products & components), Game (such as PlayStation), Entertainment (such as motion pictures and music), and Financial Services (such as insurance and banking) sectors. The group consists of Sony Corporation (holding & electronics), Sony Computer Entertainment (game), Sony Pictures Entertainment (motion pictures), Sony Music Entertainment (music), Sony Financial Holdings (financial services) and others.
Its founders Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka derived the name from sonus, the Latin word for sound, and also from the English slang word "sonny", since they considered themselves to be "sonny boys", a loan word into Japanese which in the early 1950s connoted smart and presentable young men.[6]
Style of leadership and management
Discussed in detail about the leadership style of the co-founder of Sony Corporation – Akio Morita, his leadership style including his ability to imagine, design, implement and innovate new products, marketing, brand management strategies and human resources skill as well.17
Akio Morita resigned from the post of the Chairman, during which he positioned Sony as the world’s most successful consumer electronics company. Sony was ranked 37 on the Fortune 500 global list. Under Morita’s leadership, Sony continuously innovated new products and technologies.18
One of the other key success factors of Sony was Morita’s people skills and his trust in his employees. Though Sony continued its tradition of offering innovative products after Morita’s death in 1999, by the early 21st century, Sony was facing several problems due to the slowdown in the global economy. Matsushita, Toshiba and Samsung had emerged strong contenders for the leadership position in 2002.
However, Sony was still the best company in the consumer electronics industry; it’s because of Morita’s efforts to make the Song brand synonymous with innovation and high quality products.19 Innovative, brand management and high product quality are Sony’s style of leadership and management. Staff trainings and listen voice of employees are Sony’s style of people management. Both management styles are proactive.
The future scenario by No Change
From the above of the analysis, Sony is finding solutions to lead the consumer electronic market from environment and technology change. Senior and top management resigned the old mind, before they think Japan’s firm leads by Japanese. Create more innovative products by partnership with competitors. Build up an entertainment and HD world concept for whole environment and society needs. But, it maybe makes Sony loss the “first marker” in one day. Due to Sony’s products connectivity and compatibility are enhanced, Sales profits should be getting in the satisfaction level. As a Sony, leader of consumer electronic, to have their owner create technology is a need. It can be more confident in market position.
The future scenario by Proposed Change Strategy
Create a new product by existing technologies that can compatibility in all Sony products in human life. Expand Sony memory stick technology usage and benefits. Most of the Sony’s products need to use memory stick for saving files including Sony Ericsson’s mobile phone. Remember “FeliCa”? FeliCa is a contact-less IC card technology developed by Sony, this system was born to make daily living easier and more convenient.20 In Hong Kong, and our OCTOPUS is using this IC. FeliCa can install in the watch or the key chain, why cannot install in memory stick? Every people also at least have one mobile phone, is it more convenient if add this value in memory stick? Back to Sony’s cassette theory, at that period, it was very successful since it is Sony-own-technology product. The change strategy recommendation is, Sony should have to create their own brand technology to let the organization development most aggressive.
Conclusion
The reputed brand name is one the Sony’s strength, but on the other hand, many competitors start to see Sony as their target and main competitor, which will inflict various threats against Sony. Similar to the “SO Strategies”, Sony strengthens its brand name from time-to-time, but this will not be successfully by just merging with other companies. Aside from this, Sony also concentrates on improving itself. They collect “Voice of Customer (VOC)”, which directly reflect the responses, expectations or suggestions from end-users. It could be observed that Sony is positively dealing with its competitors, through learning from failure and looking for room to further improve. Such strategy helps minimize the probabilities that their customers would turn to other competitors. It aims at retaining its present customers and keeping their Number 1 market position.
Attend an executive management development programme twenty years ago, and it would have been all about the need to adopt Japanese business techniques. How things have changed. Sony has appointed Welsh born Howard Stringer as its chief executive. Carlos Ghosn who was put in charge to turnaround Nissan Motor when it was about to collapse under a $19bn pile of debt. Daimler/Chrysler appointed a German to sort out Mitsubishi Motors when it took the company over. These appointments would have been unheard of twenty years ago. What accounts for this pattern? Do these appointments signify the end of the ‘Japanese way’ as thee embodiment of best management practices? Or are there other factors that need to be taken into account?
Certainly the world is a tougher place than when Japanese management practices were so popular in the West. The globalisation of markets has created the need for companies to be more cost effective. Layers of bureaucracy can no longer be tolerated if companies are to be competitive. Traditionally, Japanese companies have been very hierarchical creating cumbersome decision-making processes. These same structures were also suitable for producing long-term standardised products for mass markets.
Today’s rapidly changing markets require more flexible production runs with a continuous roll out of innovative products that can be personalised according to the demands of different local markets. The cultures of companies need to be market-focused, encouraging creativity and experimentation. None of these attributes are traditionally associated with Japanese companies.
The appeal of appointing Westerners is that they are regarded as having the corporate experience and personal attributes to inject new cultures into these companies. A common theme in their appointing briefs is the demand to cut costs and with the specific requirement to reduce layers of management. Stringer claims that Sony has become like a mushroom and that the business seemed to be more about management than about producing innovative goods and services that the world’s consumers want to purchase.
But surely this is not rocket science. Don’t Japanese executive leaders know when their businesses are over-staffed with too many managers? Of course they do but their leadership style and the basis of Japanese management practices prevents them from implementing the necessary reforms. The emphasis is on shared consensus and group decision-making. To cut head count in functional departments goes against the grain. There are too many personal obligations that would be offended. In any case, how can you fire colleagues with whom you engage in after hours drinking and other aspects of corporate sociability that are such pronounced features of Japanese business culture?
This is where the more impersonal character of Western companies comes into their own. By CEOs keeping their distance it makes it easier for them to fire when necessary. And this is one of the reasons for their present appeal to Japanese corporations. Stringer and all the other high profile Western appointments have strong track records in culling staff.
But their attractions for Japanese companies go further than this. Successful Western corporate executives are well versed in leadership skills. In traditional Japanese companies on the other hand the focus has been to develop highly efficient management capabilities. This is exactly what is needed in bureaucratic corporate structures when strict line management principles are applied to highly standardised work processes in fairly stable market conditions.
But in today’s far more dynamic markets when there are ongoing pressures for the roll out of innovative products and services, entrepreneurial leadership skills are required. It is these that Japanese companies are looking for when they appoint Western trained corporate leaders. Take Sir Howard Stringer as a case in point. As Head of Sony’s US operations, he is admired for his diplomatic, negotiating skills. He is a skilful operator who understands how organisations operate as dynamic human systems which have to be carefully manipulated if corporate goals are to be achieved. This is even more necessary in turnaround situations when structures and cultures have to be re-invented to achieve ambitious business objectives. In these circumstances, very flexible leadership approaches are needed those most Japanese companies, with their emphasis on consensus group dynamics, are unable to achieve.
This emphasis on entrepreneurial leadership has to be understood within the context of the increasing internationalisation of Japanese business operations. They have a growing appreciation of the need to develop products and services that respond to local consumer needs. The delivery of standardised products to these markets as in the past no longer works. Top notch Western trained business leaders seem to have a greater appreciation of the impact of local cultures on product design and purchasing preferences than their Japanese colleagues. They are more likely to have experienced different local business environments and on the basis of these, apply best practice, creative solutions in the companies they are in charge. They are more cosmopolitan in outlook but at the same time appreciate the need to act according to local needs.
But at the end of the day, my guess is that the chief reason why so many Japanese companies appoint Western CEOs is that they are prepared to make the tough decisions in ways that their Japanese colleagues are not prepared to do. I any case, these appointments are still very exceptional in Japanese corporate life. Although Japanese leadership is pretty stagnant, with its continuing heavy reliance on traditional hierarchical management practices, language barriers and corporate cultural assumptions about the nature of top level decision-making, makes it unlikely that Western appointments will be anything more than the exception to the rule. As the Sir Howard Stringer’s post indicates, it is only likely to be in those companies that have a high percentage of sales and manufacturing outside Japan. Even so, the fact that Westerners are being given these posts suggests the art of Japanese management, so greatly admired only a few years ago and much pushed by top business schools left something to be desired.
Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and the parent company of the Sony Group, which is engaged in business through its seven operating segments – Consumer Products & Services Group, Professional & Device Solutions Group, Pictures, Music, Financial Services, Sony Ericsson and All Other.[7][8] These make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world. Sony's principal business operations include Sony Corporation (Sony Electronics in the U.S.), Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Ericsson, and Sony Financial. As a semiconductor maker, Sony is among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders.
The Sony Group (ソニー・グループ Sonī Gurūpu?) is a Japan-based corporate group primarily focused on the Electronics (such as AV/IT products & components), Game (such as PlayStation), Entertainment (such as motion pictures and music), and Financial Services (such as insurance and banking) sectors. The group consists of Sony Corporation (holding & electronics), Sony Computer Entertainment (game), Sony Pictures Entertainment (motion pictures), Sony Music Entertainment (music), Sony Financial Holdings (financial services) and others.
Its founders Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka derived the name from sonus, the Latin word for sound, and also from the English slang word "sonny", since they considered themselves to be "sonny boys", a loan word into Japanese which in the early 1950s connoted smart and presentable young men.[6]
Style of leadership and management
Discussed in detail about the leadership style of the co-founder of Sony Corporation – Akio Morita, his leadership style including his ability to imagine, design, implement and innovate new products, marketing, brand management strategies and human resources skill as well.17
Akio Morita resigned from the post of the Chairman, during which he positioned Sony as the world’s most successful consumer electronics company. Sony was ranked 37 on the Fortune 500 global list. Under Morita’s leadership, Sony continuously innovated new products and technologies.18
One of the other key success factors of Sony was Morita’s people skills and his trust in his employees. Though Sony continued its tradition of offering innovative products after Morita’s death in 1999, by the early 21st century, Sony was facing several problems due to the slowdown in the global economy. Matsushita, Toshiba and Samsung had emerged strong contenders for the leadership position in 2002.
However, Sony was still the best company in the consumer electronics industry; it’s because of Morita’s efforts to make the Song brand synonymous with innovation and high quality products.19 Innovative, brand management and high product quality are Sony’s style of leadership and management. Staff trainings and listen voice of employees are Sony’s style of people management. Both management styles are proactive.
The future scenario by No Change
From the above of the analysis, Sony is finding solutions to lead the consumer electronic market from environment and technology change. Senior and top management resigned the old mind, before they think Japan’s firm leads by Japanese. Create more innovative products by partnership with competitors. Build up an entertainment and HD world concept for whole environment and society needs. But, it maybe makes Sony loss the “first marker” in one day. Due to Sony’s products connectivity and compatibility are enhanced, Sales profits should be getting in the satisfaction level. As a Sony, leader of consumer electronic, to have their owner create technology is a need. It can be more confident in market position.
The future scenario by Proposed Change Strategy
Create a new product by existing technologies that can compatibility in all Sony products in human life. Expand Sony memory stick technology usage and benefits. Most of the Sony’s products need to use memory stick for saving files including Sony Ericsson’s mobile phone. Remember “FeliCa”? FeliCa is a contact-less IC card technology developed by Sony, this system was born to make daily living easier and more convenient.20 In Hong Kong, and our OCTOPUS is using this IC. FeliCa can install in the watch or the key chain, why cannot install in memory stick? Every people also at least have one mobile phone, is it more convenient if add this value in memory stick? Back to Sony’s cassette theory, at that period, it was very successful since it is Sony-own-technology product. The change strategy recommendation is, Sony should have to create their own brand technology to let the organization development most aggressive.
Conclusion
The reputed brand name is one the Sony’s strength, but on the other hand, many competitors start to see Sony as their target and main competitor, which will inflict various threats against Sony. Similar to the “SO Strategies”, Sony strengthens its brand name from time-to-time, but this will not be successfully by just merging with other companies. Aside from this, Sony also concentrates on improving itself. They collect “Voice of Customer (VOC)”, which directly reflect the responses, expectations or suggestions from end-users. It could be observed that Sony is positively dealing with its competitors, through learning from failure and looking for room to further improve. Such strategy helps minimize the probabilities that their customers would turn to other competitors. It aims at retaining its present customers and keeping their Number 1 market position.
Attend an executive management development programme twenty years ago, and it would have been all about the need to adopt Japanese business techniques. How things have changed. Sony has appointed Welsh born Howard Stringer as its chief executive. Carlos Ghosn who was put in charge to turnaround Nissan Motor when it was about to collapse under a $19bn pile of debt. Daimler/Chrysler appointed a German to sort out Mitsubishi Motors when it took the company over. These appointments would have been unheard of twenty years ago. What accounts for this pattern? Do these appointments signify the end of the ‘Japanese way’ as thee embodiment of best management practices? Or are there other factors that need to be taken into account?
Certainly the world is a tougher place than when Japanese management practices were so popular in the West. The globalisation of markets has created the need for companies to be more cost effective. Layers of bureaucracy can no longer be tolerated if companies are to be competitive. Traditionally, Japanese companies have been very hierarchical creating cumbersome decision-making processes. These same structures were also suitable for producing long-term standardised products for mass markets.
Today’s rapidly changing markets require more flexible production runs with a continuous roll out of innovative products that can be personalised according to the demands of different local markets. The cultures of companies need to be market-focused, encouraging creativity and experimentation. None of these attributes are traditionally associated with Japanese companies.
The appeal of appointing Westerners is that they are regarded as having the corporate experience and personal attributes to inject new cultures into these companies. A common theme in their appointing briefs is the demand to cut costs and with the specific requirement to reduce layers of management. Stringer claims that Sony has become like a mushroom and that the business seemed to be more about management than about producing innovative goods and services that the world’s consumers want to purchase.
But surely this is not rocket science. Don’t Japanese executive leaders know when their businesses are over-staffed with too many managers? Of course they do but their leadership style and the basis of Japanese management practices prevents them from implementing the necessary reforms. The emphasis is on shared consensus and group decision-making. To cut head count in functional departments goes against the grain. There are too many personal obligations that would be offended. In any case, how can you fire colleagues with whom you engage in after hours drinking and other aspects of corporate sociability that are such pronounced features of Japanese business culture?
This is where the more impersonal character of Western companies comes into their own. By CEOs keeping their distance it makes it easier for them to fire when necessary. And this is one of the reasons for their present appeal to Japanese corporations. Stringer and all the other high profile Western appointments have strong track records in culling staff.
But their attractions for Japanese companies go further than this. Successful Western corporate executives are well versed in leadership skills. In traditional Japanese companies on the other hand the focus has been to develop highly efficient management capabilities. This is exactly what is needed in bureaucratic corporate structures when strict line management principles are applied to highly standardised work processes in fairly stable market conditions.
But in today’s far more dynamic markets when there are ongoing pressures for the roll out of innovative products and services, entrepreneurial leadership skills are required. It is these that Japanese companies are looking for when they appoint Western trained corporate leaders. Take Sir Howard Stringer as a case in point. As Head of Sony’s US operations, he is admired for his diplomatic, negotiating skills. He is a skilful operator who understands how organisations operate as dynamic human systems which have to be carefully manipulated if corporate goals are to be achieved. This is even more necessary in turnaround situations when structures and cultures have to be re-invented to achieve ambitious business objectives. In these circumstances, very flexible leadership approaches are needed those most Japanese companies, with their emphasis on consensus group dynamics, are unable to achieve.
This emphasis on entrepreneurial leadership has to be understood within the context of the increasing internationalisation of Japanese business operations. They have a growing appreciation of the need to develop products and services that respond to local consumer needs. The delivery of standardised products to these markets as in the past no longer works. Top notch Western trained business leaders seem to have a greater appreciation of the impact of local cultures on product design and purchasing preferences than their Japanese colleagues. They are more likely to have experienced different local business environments and on the basis of these, apply best practice, creative solutions in the companies they are in charge. They are more cosmopolitan in outlook but at the same time appreciate the need to act according to local needs.
But at the end of the day, my guess is that the chief reason why so many Japanese companies appoint Western CEOs is that they are prepared to make the tough decisions in ways that their Japanese colleagues are not prepared to do. I any case, these appointments are still very exceptional in Japanese corporate life. Although Japanese leadership is pretty stagnant, with its continuing heavy reliance on traditional hierarchical management practices, language barriers and corporate cultural assumptions about the nature of top level decision-making, makes it unlikely that Western appointments will be anything more than the exception to the rule. As the Sir Howard Stringer’s post indicates, it is only likely to be in those companies that have a high percentage of sales and manufacturing outside Japan. Even so, the fact that Westerners are being given these posts suggests the art of Japanese management, so greatly admired only a few years ago and much pushed by top business schools left something to be desired.