Sony Management Project

Executive Summary

Sony's current financial difficulties are tied into its corporate culture which was stated over 30 years ago. With such a large multinational corporation, greater planning and more use of strategies should be pursued. Sony could start with the implementation of a new mission statement, with profit and benefits of the company tied more closely to everyday operations. Internally, the four forces, the management, the designers, the production and the marketing should achieve better communication and cooperation. Alliance and cooperation between competitors should also be actively sort after in order to create standards in new fields. Sony should aim at being the leader instead of being the maverick. As for cost cutting, Sony should seriously consider setting up operations in other Asian countries in order to take advantage of the cheap labour and the budding markets. Finally, diversification, instead of pursuing the fast changing and easily imitated consumer goods market, Sony should use its technological know-how for high-end business and office equipment.

With SWOT analysis and Porter's competitive forces model, we can view that the market is much more competitive with less profit margins and lead-time for product innovation. The conclusion is that change is needed in Sony. However, even with strategirial and structure change, the Sony spirit of innovation should remain intact because that is what made Sony grow and would make it stay strong.

1. Introduction

The first thing that comes to people’s minds of the company and products of Sony is its high-technology-filled-with-gadgets electronic goods and innovation. It was also this innovation that makes Sony the greatest company that started in post-war Japan. Sony has used its innovation in building markets out of thin air, created a multibillion,