Table of Contents

1.0 Role of Strategy in organization success

2
Chapter Two Strategic Analysis of Sony Corporation
2.0 Introduction
3
2.1 !ternal Analysis
3
2.1.1 "est Analysis
3
2.1.2 "orter#s $i%e $orces
&
2.1.3 Co'petitor#s Analysis
(
2.2 Internal Analysis
(
2.2.1 Resource Audit
)
2.2.2 *oston +atri!
,
2.2.3 Core Co'petencies
,
2.3 Swot Analysis
10
2.3.1 Strengths
10
2.3.2 -ea.ness
10
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2.3.3 /pportunities
10
2.3.& Threats
10
Chapter Three Reco''endations
3.0 Reco''endations
11
*i0liography
1.0 Role of strategy in organization
success:-
The task of crafting, implementing and executing company strategies are the
heart and soul of managing a business enterprise. A companys strategy is the
game plan which the management will use to stake out the market position &
conduct its operations and attract and serve customers and successfully
achieve the organizational objectives. (Thompson & Strickland 13
th
edition,
3!"#
$mong all the things nothing affect a company%s success or failure more than
ho& &ell its management team sets the long term direction &hich 'n simple
terms without strategy the organization is like a ship without a rudder ((arly
)iorina (*+, ,e&lett ackard, )inancial Times -ay .//.#. 0o& a days
managers ha1e to think strategically about their company%s position and about
the impact of changing economic conditions. 2usiness history sho&s that high
performing enterprises often initiate and lead, rather than not 3ust react and
defend.
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The ad1antage of a good strategic thinking and conscious strategy management
is to pro1ide better guidance to the entire organi4ation on the crucial point of
&hat it is &e are trying to do5. -aking managers and organi4ation members
more alert to the ne& and upcoming technologies and threats &hich e1entually
help to unify the organi4ation &ith the help of &hich a company can create a
more positi1e posture.
T&o factors separate the best managed organi4ation from the rest, first is
superior strategy making and entrepreneurship and the second is competent
implementation and execution of the chosen strategy. There is no escaping the
fact the 6uality of managerial strategy making and strategy implementing has a
significant impact of organi4ation%s performance, a company &ith muddled or
fla&ed strategy is a company &ith &hose performance is probably suffering the
better concei1ed a company%s strategy and the more proficient its execution, the
greater the chances the company &ill be a leading performer in its markets.
Chapter Two
Strategic Analysis of Sony Corporation
2.0 Introduction:-
+riginally called Tokyo Tsushin 7ogyo (Tokyo Telecommunications *ngineering
(ompany#, Sony%s roots go back o1er half a century to 189: &hen it &as
founded by -asaru 'buka and $kio -orita. The purpose of this case analysis is
to gain broad insight into the different strategies employed by The ;isneyland
This &ill aid in de1eloping recommendations for ma3or aspects of its future
strategies.
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2.1 !ternal "nalysis:-
*ST, porter%s fi1e forces & competitor%s analysis &ould be used to conduct
external analysis on Sony.
2.1.1 "ST A1A23SIS
*ST identifies the political, economic, social, technological,
en1ironmental, and legal factors that of &hich directly affect Sony.
"olitical
Trade, return, and &arranty restrictions.
*mployment la& is crucial to maintain cost effecti1e and legal in a
specific country.
'ntroduction to *uro, the exchange may drop in the <7 making Sony
easier to expand.
cono'ic
roduction and distribution of a multitude of consumer electronic
products.
'nterest rates play an important role in a company%s gro&th and
price factor of the products=
The fall in unemployment rates may cause Sony some problems
in the process of recruiting ne& employee%s in the business.
Specific region%s economic gro&th, inflation rates, and exchange
rates, and due to current economic crisis.
Social
.
Social factors include health consciousness of customer
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+lder population tend not to be interested in latest products
rather they might be interested in simple ones.
Some $sian and $frican countries may not be able to buy Sony%s
products.
Technological
;igital age is the future de1eloping aspect of the consumer
electronics.
The production, storage and marketing of Sony products can be
effected by increased use of ne& technology.
Technology and inno1ation has been Sony%s passion and they
made a breakthrough in .//. by launching S., &hich included
enhanced graphics. This &as follo&ed by the S3 in .//> &hich
had blu ray http?@@ne&s.bbc.co.uk@1@hi@technology@:.8"3"8.stm last accessed on
/8@/9@/8
2.1.2 "/RTR#S $I4 $/RCS56
+AT*A%S fi1e forces &ill sho& the po&er of ne& entrants, buyer po&er,
substitute threat, supplier po&er and ri1als.
"ower of 1ew ntrants56
Streaming audio and 1ideo &ill make the demand of Sony%s
music products less.
+1er cro&ded market5 i.e. there are too many competitors
selling the same or e6ual products
(hinese products are a big threat to Sony%s *uropean market
because of there lo& price and resemblance.
"ower of *uyers56
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Sony has implemented its lo& buyer po&er strategy 1ery
successfully by ha1ing a number of outlets across <7 & all o1er
the &orld by doing so they ha1e more chance of breaking in to
the market as compared to other suppliers.
Sony has implemented its price control 1ery successfully by
making sure that their prices are much more affordable as
compared to their ri1als.
Threat of Su0stitute56
Sony has high threat of substitute in electronic market rather than
the other markets in &hich it operates due to competitors
The substitutes of Sony%s electronic products are easily a1ailable
in the market (Samsung, BC, Sanyo, and anasonic#
Sony%s gaming and electronics doesn%t offer easy s&itch to other
products and due to substitution threat Sony offers best after
sales ser1ice to its customers.
"ower of Suppliers56
2argaining o&er of suppliers is relati1ely lo& in the electronics
industry for Sony due to competitors.
Sony%s income depends mainly upon the sale of its game
consoles and electronics goods and it has a 1ery good brand
name kno&n for its reliability.
;ue to recent credit crunch Sony has to retune its prices of
se1eral items to make it more appealing to the customer.
Co'petiti%e Ri%alry56
Sony ha1e 1ery strong ri1als in the electronics industry i.e.
hilips, anasonic, BC.
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$s all other competitors are mo1ing along &ith customer trends
Sony has also taken this into account by launching 2B< A$D
firstly in S3 than as blu ray players.
2.1.3 C/+"TIT/R A1A23SIS56
(urrently Sony has many competitors like Samsung, hilips, BC,
and -icrosoft.
$ll the Sony competitors are using different types of techni6ues
to get o1er each other but currently Sony is the market leader of
the gaming and house hold electronic industry.
$fter merging &ith *ricsson, Sony has also captured mobile
communication industry &ith Samsung and 0okia to be the
biggest ri1als.
Sony%s ri1als are not targeting each market like Sony, for instance
0okia 3ust makes mobiles, and Samsung are into consumer
electronics and mobiles but are out of gaming.
2.2 Internal "nalysis:-
Aesource $udit, (ore competencies and 2oston -atrix &ould be used to
conduct internal analysis of Sony (orporation.
2.2.1 RS/7RC A78IT56
9u'an Resource56
Sony has almost o1er 1E/,"// employee%s &orld &ide by the end
of 31
st
-arch .//E. ()inancial Aeport .//E#.
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'ncrease in total number of employee%s due to opening of ne&
manufacturing sites in $sia & *ast *urope.
Fithin staff they ha1e ma3ority of excellent experts and
technicians as &ells as experienced salesmen and many kind of
professionals.
"hysical Resources?!
Sony has physical resources spread all o1er the &orld &hich
include factories, land, building and e6uipments
Total assets of Sony has increased by 1/.. G as compared to
last year &hich are no& "//8.> billion Den.($nnual report .//E#
roperty, lant and e6uipment 1alue has decreased by 1>E..
billion Den or 1.."G ($nnual report .//E#.
icture Source Sony $nnual Aeport .//E
$inancial Resources?!
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Sony yielded a profit of ..8G taking sales up to 3:8.9 billion Den
for the last year all due to increase sales in electronics and
Cames.
'ncrease in free cash flo& made an impact on sale of shares in a
financial ser1ice subsidiary.
icture Source Sony $nnual Aeport .//E
Intangi0le resources56
Sony is a 1ery po&erful brand name among the consumers for its
reliability and performance.
This brand came through more than fi1e decade%s &orth of
inno1ations.
Farhan Shafique
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..... 2+ST+0 -$TA'H?!
2.2.3 C/R C/+"T1CIS56
:ore competencies are activities that underpin an organizations competitive
advantage; <*xploring corporate strategy, Cerry Iohnson & 7e1an scholes
p.1":#
Sony%s core competency is to de1elop all kind of consumer
electronics.
hysical resources and financial resources &ork as necessary
resource and pro1ide threshold competence for Sony
(ustomers kno& Sony for its inno1ation in electronics and
gaming industry.
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Star?
lay Station .@S
,; tele1isions
-obile phones
;og?
Sony )inancial
Sony +nline
roblem (hild?
lay Station 3
Sony -usic
(ash (o&?
Sony Caming
Sony ictures
-obile hones
*lectronics
PlayStation2
PSP,HD
televisions
-obile phones
S ,Sony
-usic
Sony )inancialSony
+nline
Sony Caming, Sony
ictures, -obile
hones, *lectronics
2.# $%&T "'"()$I$:-
..3.1 Strengths?!
The greatest strength for Sony is production of inno1ati1e and
6uality products.
Strength of Sony is to be successful in other markets such as
gaming & mobile phone industry.
Sony has a 1ery po&erful marketing department on &hich it can
rely on.
2.3.2 -ea.ness?!
Sony%s biggest &eakness is lack of inno1ation &ith S3 due to
Sony%s lack of interest in general public &hich could not either
afford S3 or ,; tele1isions.
,igh prices of certain products.
2.3.3 /pportunities?!
Sony can perform a lot better in the -usic industry to make up
&ith the company image
The opening of foreign markets like $sia and (hina is also a
great opportunity of Sony.
2.3.& Threats?!
The stiff competition is one of the most important threat for Sony
due to its ri1als competing for the similar products
(oncerning the non electronic business the biggest source of
danger is piracy, selling of pirated music, mo1ies and games.
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Chapter Three
#.0 RC&*'+"TI&'$:-
The first recommendation to Sony management &ill be to gro&
share &ith customer focused products by reducing the time to
market and increasing product customi4ation like ;ell.
Sony has to lead on design for ongoing re1enue streams by
increasing product interoperability and maintaining A&; cost.
The third recommendation &ould be to de1elop ne& markets.
Sony should ha1e lo&er lifecycle cost by impro1ing de1elopment
efficiency and increasing design reuse
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