Assessed Case Study: Sony

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Introduction Sony is a world-renowned electronic manufacturer originated in Japan, having led the electronic industry for a long time in its 67 year history. However, with technological ad-vancement and emerging companies’ development, the position of Sony in the market was greatly threatened. Sony has faced unprecedented challenges since the late 1990s. This deteriorating situation forced Sony to an organizational reconstruction. The ineffi-ciency of the first reconstruction led to another one and the replacement of its CEO. Overall, Sony witnessed radical changes regarding its organizational structure, internal relationships, organizational culture and leadership over the last decades. Structure of Sony Sony’s Structure seemed to be divisionalised, according to Mintzberg’s contingency framework. After the restructuring in 1999, Sony unified its ten divisional companies into three network companies: Electronics Business, Entertainment Business and Insurance and Finance Business aiming at exploiting the opportunities offered by the Internet. The new model aimed that resources within the Group would complement each other. The key part of a divisionalised structure is the middle line connecting the operating core to the strategic apex. The main design parameters are market grouping, performance con-trol and decentralisation. Sony restructured the company based on three prime markets: electronics, entertainment and Finance & Insurance. Sony’s headquarters gave autonomy and authority to the decentralised divisions, along with the required support functions and R&D labs in order to facilitate their operations. Moreover, Sony also created Digital Network Solutions that would eventually provide customers with digital content and fi-na... ... middle of paper ... .... Mintzberg, H. (1983) Structure in fives: designing effective organizations. Prentice-Hall. Mullins, L. (2010) Management & Organisational Behaviour. Ninth Edition. Prentice Hall Financial Times. Sony. Annual Report 2005. Available online at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/2005/qfhh7c000005z5so-att/SonyAR05-E.pdf Sony. Annual Report 2006. Available online at: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/2006/qfhh7c00000akslc-att/qfhh7c00000aksmr.pdf Thompson, J. and Tuden, A. (1959) “Strategies, Structures, and Processes of Organiza-tional Decision” in Comparative Studies in Administration, ed. J. D. Thompson et al. (1959) Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. Yang, J. (2005) Bloomberg Business Week. What Should Sony Spin off? Available online at: http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2005-04-12/what-should-sony-spin-off [Ac-cessed at 20th, Jan]

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