Introduction

BUS 1111 to business

Marketing
Shah Md. AbidSony &
mix of
SONY
SEC:
ID 2019210000077
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HRM (Management Practices)

CORPORATION

[Date]
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Table of contents
Contents Page no.
Executive Summary 3
Introduction 4-5
Marketing Mix: 6-9
HRM (Management 10-13
Practices)
conclusion 14
reference 15
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Executive Summary:

In past last 30yrs carrier, Sony’s faced so many difficulty and problem but always overcome on
that obstacle, make good reputation and provided excellent service to their consumer. Sony
should use its know-how for high end business and office equipment. They are also taking
advantage from some Asian countries, where they are hiring workers in low wages and using
resources which is comparative to the current market very cheap with SWOT analysis and
Porter’s competitive forces model, PEST, BCG Matrix and DOG etc. we can view that the market
is much more competitive with less profit margins and lead-time for product innovation.
However, Sony’s high technology filled with gadgets electronic goods and innovation. This
innovation makes Sony’s greatest company that started in post-war Japan. Sony has used its
creation in building markets out of thin air, created a multibillion, multinational electronic
empire with product such as the transistor radio, the Trinitron, the Walk in and the VTR. This
brand Shows Sony’s great status in the competitive market and declare Sony’s Leadership in the
World wide.
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Introduction
Introduction

Sony is an international corporation with major businesses in electronics, movies, video

games, and finance. The Japan-based company is one of the world’s largest media
conglomerates with revenue of $89.6 billion in its fiscal 2008 (Sony, 2009).

Sony is a well-recognized brand name of consumer electronics and its key products are
CyberShot digital cameras, Bravia LCD TVs and VAIO computers. Those products
constitute 65.1% of sales and operating revenue.

The three biggest markets for SONY are Europe with 25.7 % of operating revenue followed
by Japan with 24.2 % and USA with 23.6%.

Company History:
Sony Corporation was founded in Tokyo, Japan in the year 1946 by an engineer Masaru Ibuka
and physicist Akio Morita, with just 20 employees. They started by creating Tokyo
Telecommunication Engineering Corporation, also known as Totsuko, to repair and build
electrical equipment's.

The company-built Japan's first tape recorder, call. the Type G. In 1955, the company decided to
use the Sony logo on Totsuko products and three years later changed its name to Sony
Corporation. From then on Sony has aggressively expanded into new businesses like Sony
Picture Entertainment (films), Sony Life (insurance) and Sony Bank (banking).

Company Vision and Mission

Due to its diversified business portfolio, each business division in Sony has its own mission
statement based on its organizational structure. However, being true to its simple roots, the
over 2 arching mission statement of the Sony Corporation is simple and to the point. Sony
intends “to become the leading global provider of networked consumer electronics,
entertainment and services.”9 In the founding prospectus, written by Masaru Ibuka in 1946, he
wrote of his wish to build a company whose employees gained satisfaction and pleasure from
their work and his desire to create a fun, dynamic workplace.10 The mission and vision of
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Sony’s core electronics division are below: Vision “To create exciting new digital entertainment
experiences for consumers by bringing together cutting-edge products with latest generation
content and services.” Mission “Sony is committed to developing a wide range of innovative
products and multimedia services that challenge the way consumers access and enjoy digital
entertainment. By ensuring synergy between businesses within the organization, Sony is
constantly striving to create exciting new worlds of entertainment that can be experienced on a
variety of different products.”

Marketing Strategies:
To make the company's vision a reality, Sony is trying to strengthen the core electronic
business.

By applying information technologies to product design, production, distribution, and sales this
will strengthen their network. globally and add value to Sony's music, pictures, game and
financial services businesses.

Other global strategies that enable Sony to progress in global competitions are the choice of the
location, global marketing and competitive move.

Innovative quality products, strand brand and worldwide presence have made Sony a truly
global company.

Sony offers same products in different countries to serve the similar needs of worldwide
consumers. This successful strategy has derived from the strengths of Sony over competitors in
terms of anticipating hidden consumer needs such as Walkman served worldwide consumers
for entertainment. This puts the Sony one step ahead over their competitors.

a consequence of global availability and serviceability of Sony, it has global recognition, which
enable Sony to be familiar in every country

Sony "make. Believe"

Sony "make. Consider (dot It), a new message to another group of origin mentioned by Sony in
electronics, games, videos, music, web services and mobile phones. Make. Believe Sony is to
add a spirit of creativity technology, marking the very first time, the business has unified brand
note that is both entertainment and electronics.
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Marketing Mix:

Products:
Sony has a variety of products ranging from electronic devices, games and entertainment. So,
briefly Sony products can be categorized in the following major product categories:

Television and Projectors: Sony has tried to fulfill the demand of displaying devices from the
home television sets, Office projectors and Public display panels.

Example: Bravia LED TV, Bravia LED TV, Home theatre projector, Business Proj.tor, Public
Display Panel.

Home Video: In this category, Sony has tried to bring in new format . as to dominate the
market, for example the emerging data storage format cal. Blue- ray. Example: Blue-ray di.
player, DVD player, DVD portable player.

Home Audio: Sony has provided several home products ranging from small packages to big
audio systems. With additional features such as the ability to handle multiple formats, track
programming and repeat and random play. Example: Hi-Fi Systems, Home audio accessories.

Home Theatre System: Sony has tri. to combine the latest video and audio technologies.
Example: DVD Home Theatre System, Home Theatre Component System, Home Theatre System
Accessories.

Digital Photography: Sony has produced avariety of imaging devices depending on the users
and their professions.

Example: Digital SLR, Cybershot Digital Camera and Digital Photo Frame.

Handy Cam Vid. Camera: Sony has produced a variety of video camera for home and office use.

Example: HD video Camera, Handycam SD Video Camera.

Computer and Peripherals: Combining form, f unction and the latest in technology, Sony
provides a range of IT and computing devices.

Example: VAIO Laptops, Disc Drives, Monitors, etc.

Portable Audio: Sony has product. a lot of various varieties of portable audio whose main
target are the youth of the new generation.

Example: Walkman mp3 series, CD Walkman series, Portable Radio.

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Games: Sony has produced Powerful consoles which are accompanied with compelling garners.

Example: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PSP (PlayStation Portable).

Mobile Phones: Sony has produced a variety of mobile phones for different people, lifestyle,
usage, budget and profession.

Example: Xperia Series.

In-Car Entertainment: Different in-car entertainment products have been produced by Sony.
Example: XPLOD DV D, CD, FM Player.

Storage and Recording Media: Sony has developed. a range of reliable storage and recording
media for recording, transferring or storing the information.

Example: Memory Stick, USB storage, Data storage.

Price:
The prices of Sony's products range from moderately-high to high prices, depending on the use
and the targeted customer since the comp, emphasizes more on product quality. But to
increase their market share they have launched mobiles and laptops in the low-price segment
also.

Place (Distribution):
Sony being the company which positions itself as a seller of durable and

high-end products, it is practicing selective distribution of its products from

the selective dealers i.e. SONY World, Croma Reliance Digital, etc.

Sony distributes its products in various channels. It uses Zero-level channel,

one level channel and two-level channel. In India, Sony has used the method

of one-level distribution channel. This means that, customer buy their Sony

product from the retailers recognized by Sony, and these retailers buy the

products directly from the company itself.

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Promotion:
Sony will spend $200mil. in this financial year on advertising and

promotion. The major elements of promotion mix include advertising,

personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing, and publicity. Sony

Corporation has used all of these marketing communication mix elements.

Advertising

SONY has advertised its products through many different ways and media Through TV we have
seen different advertisements of its products. Sony also advertise its products by targeting
television programs, like sports and also it has its own channel cal. Sony TV channel. Sony uses
some events like Miss India to promote its products. Also, Sony has advertised its gaming
consoles like PlayStation 4 in sports like football. Through newspapers like Times of India, Sony
has advertised a wide range of products it offers to its customers.

Sony incorporates co-operative advertising in its advertising process. Sony Corporation provides
the dealers (e.g. Sony World) with the materials and guidelines to develop ads for print,
television or radio commercials. The company and the dealers usually share the media costs
and hence, the name 'co-operative advertising'.

Sales Promotion

Sales promotions for example includes free samples, discount, coupons, scratch cards,
exchange offers, early bird prizes, etc. Sony has promoted its products through different sales
promotional strategies. For example, after the release of the Sony Bravia television sets, Sony
promoted them by early bird prizes by saying that all Bravia full HD LCD TVs purchased
registered within two weeks of purchase qualify for a Bonus PlayStation 3 and free Bluetooth
headset with one-year manufacturer's warranty with purchase of phones.
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Public Relations and Publicity

Public relations are a broad set of communication activities employed to create and maintain
favorable relationship with employees, shareholders, suppliers, media, educators, potential
investors, financial institutions, government agencies and officials and society in general.

Through its website, Sony Corporation has provided contacts for those customers who will be in
need of any information from the company. In this way Sony can create a mutual relationship
with its customers and ensure that it serves the wishes and demands of its customers. To
minimize the negative effect of situations leading to unfavorable coverage, the comp, has
policies and procedures in place to manage help any such public relation

problems. So, it's the duty of the public relation department of Sony to solve any issues so as to
ensure that it maintains a good public relation with the public.

Customer Relationship Management:

Customer relationship management includes responding to changing customer needs, repair

services and building a structure for providing the best possible repair service quality.

Sony is taking various steps to improve its customer service capabilities, in line with its Pledge
of Quality to respect our customers. viewpoints in striving to deliver product quality and
customer service that exceed their expectations.

Sony has assigned officers to coordinate customer service operations in markets around the
world where its products are sold.

With the aim of providing high-quality services to customers, Sony provides ongoing training for
employees and the staff and reducing the number of days required for repairs.

Sony Corporation have found a new way to make more customers buy their products by online
courses to enhance customer's total Sony experience. The online tutorials provide courses to
online visitors in personal computing, home entertainment, digital photography and business
solutions.
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HRM (Management Practices)

Leadership style:
Sony follows Democratic Organizational Structure. Sony views employees not as a group, but as
individuals. Sony values employee engagement as the key to unleashing the full potential of
individual employees with their own strong motivation, autonomy and desire to grow. Sony’s
Founding Prospectus sets forth the founders’ vision, stating that Sony employees and
workplaces should stress a spirit of freedom and open-mindedness and that Sony should place
emphasis on a person’s ability, performance and character, so that each individual can fully
exercise his or her abilities and skills. This approach has been passed down unchanged to the
present day. The partnership of choice between Sony and each individual employee is defined
as one where both parties are accountable for being responsive to the needs of the other. Sony
believes that the growth of the individual will lead to growth of the organization and, in turn, to
the growth of Sony. Sustainable growth will ensure that employees continue to have
opportunities to take on new challenges and grow. Sony’s strength is the diversity of its
businesses and employees, and this is what drives Sony’s value creation. For Sony to unify its
diverse businesses and employees to create value on a sustainable basis, it is essential that
employees strongly sympathize with Sony’s Purpose & Values. Based on the founding vision,
Sony has defined “What we offer our people” and “People we look for” to be shared
throughout the Group.

Decision making:
Senior management meet to discuss and decide upon important matters relating to employees
at the Sony Group and guide the HR strategies implemented by Sony Group companies. Sony
shares a common HR strategic framework across the group. However, each business is
responsible for the independent development and implementation of its own detailed
strategies.

Sony has established the Diversity Committee, which reports directly to the CEO, to ensure that
diversity & inclusion is addressed as a high-priority issue. Sony also operates reporting hotlines
and other avenues for employees to get consultation on a broad range of issues including
human rights, work-life balance, parenting, nursing care, and LGBT concerns.
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Sony promotes occupational health and safety (OHS) by operating management systems based
on OHSAS 18001 at all Sony sites. With the publication of the ISO 45001 international standard
for OHS management systems, Sony plans to migrate its OHS management systems to ISO
45001.

Organization chart:
The Sony management team is made of key executives who are responsible for the past
successes of Sony. Sony’s culture places a high premium on consensus building and longevity,
and the current management team has broad industry experience. The current CEO, Kazuo
Hirai, has extensive experience from his work in the Playstation® and networked entertainment
businesses. The Sony board of directors is comprised of select members of the executive
management committee and non-employee veterans with vast industry experience. Key
employees and board of directors are detailed in Exhibit 1
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EXHIBIT 1: KEY EMPLOYEES AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Corporate Executive Officers

Representative Corporate Executive Officers:

Kazuo Hirai President and Chief Executive Officer
Ryoji Chubachi Vice Chairman

Corporate Executive Officers:

Hiroshi Yoshioka Executive Deputy President

Officer in charge of Medical business
Keiji Kimura Executive Vice President
Officer in charge of Intellectual Property
Nicole Seligman Executive Vice President
General Counsel
Masaru Kato Executive Vice President
Chief Financial Officer
Tadashi Saito Executive Vice President
Chief Strategy Officer
Shoji Nemoto Executive Vice President
Officer in charge of Professional Solutions Business,
Digital Imaging Business, Disk Manufacturing Business,
System & Software Technology Platform and Corporate R&D
President of Professional Solutions Group
Tomoyuki Suzuki Executive Vice President
Officer in charge of Semiconductor Business,
Device Solutions Business and Advanced Device Technology Platform
President of Semiconductor Business Group
President of Device Solutions Business Group*
President of Core Device Development Group,
Advanced Device Technology Platform
*Mr. Suzuki to be appointed President of Device Solutions Business
Group on
July 1, 2012.
Kunimasa Suzuki Executive Vice President
Officer in charge of PC Business, Mobile Business and UX,
Product Strategy and Creative Platform
President of UX & Product Strategy Group, UX, Product Strategy and
Creative
Platform
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Conclusion
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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. Sony also needs to 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.

References
https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201203/12-043E/
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https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-sonys-lost-decade-may-be-coming-to-an-end-
2015-02-04

https://www.theverge.com/2015/2/18/8063269/sony-electronics-future-selling-off-pc-
smartphone-tv

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2015/02/05/sony-xperia-smartphone-
future/#21ee24ee2383

http://thoughtokrats.com/pdffiles/leadershipdevelopment/akiomoritatheleadershipstyle.pdf

https://studybay.com/blog/strategic-human-resources-management-of-sony/

http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/foundation-human-skills-f-h-s/221127-
leadership-style-sony.html