Toshiba Business Strategy - Essay Example

?Toshiba Business Strategy Report Introduction The Toshiba Corporation is a multinational conglomerate that produces and trades in highly developed electronic goods. The products that Toshiba manufactures include power systems, communications equipment, industrial infrastructure systems, electronic components and household appliances. Toshiba is based in Japan and is committed tackling problems within its specialised sector by producing the most innovative products for its numerous clients. The Toshiba Corporation’s corporate structure is made up of a board of directors who report directly to the chief executive officer and president of the company. Toshiba also has additional in-house branches like the Digital Media Network firm, the Digital Products Group, the Infrastructure Systems Group, and the Electronic Devices & Components Group among others. Mission Statement The Toshiba Corporation is dedicated to improving the quality of life of its clients while leading in developing electronic products. By constantly inventing new technological products that cater to the increasing needs of customers, Toshiba not only adds to its consumer group but also ensures that it remains relevant in an increasingly competitive field. Toshiba is also committed to engaging in programmes and experiences that ensure the improvement of society as well as the preservation of the environment. Toshiba has a diversified workforce with members from all over the world. It also has branches in most of the developed nations (Sato 2005). This is actually advantageous because the workers bring with them different capabilities and skills that participate in ensuring continuous growth. In the Toshiba Corporation, workers from different national backgrounds are encouraged to apply for various positions. At the start of every working year, Toshiba’s CEO, in the forum in which employees are addressed, known as the “Kirameki Forum”, diversification is actively encouraged (Xue, Ray, and Whinston 2006). Indeed, Toshiba has just recently established the ‘Diversity Development Division’ which functions to promote diversity by actively including measures that are channeled towards further developing the management of the Corporation’s personnel (Yusuf, Altaf, and Nabeshima 2004). Toshiba provides an environment in which each worker is encouraged to realise his or her potential, and even has programmes that make it possible for workers with hearing disabilities to be able to function successfully. The Toshiba Corporation also has various departments that cater for the needs of its workers; for instance, there is a department that specialises in dealing with the problems faced by workers such as harassment. This particular department deals with issues that were suggested by the workers and not the management. It is also responsible for encouraging workers from different backgrounds to form productive relationships within the work place. Strategic Analysis The Toshiba Corporations remarkable performance in the global computer industry gives evidence as to why it is important for a company to be strategically innovative in aggressive markets. In the past two decades, Toshiba was one of the main producers in the computer industry. Moreover, recent trends indicate that the cutting edge new technologies that are being developed on an annual basis are unsettling this domination. Toshiba has to come up with products, on a regular basis, which are inventive in order to maintain its position as one of the best production outfits against the considerable gains in technological advancement which is evident in business rivals such as HP and Dell. Toshiba’s competence and central technologies determines its capacity to bring value to the market. Toshiba’s readiness to research and invent new products shapes its competence in that it allows newly created strategies that deal with handling newly invented processes to control its operative functions. Toshiba’s success is due to its adoption of an aggressive strategised scheme that uses the corporation’s critical elements in determining success. In today’s competitive business scene, many business establishments are looking to tackle emerging challenges by capitalising on the opportunities that are only found in emerging markets (Holweg and Pil 2004). Toshiba realises that ensuring efficiency in all its company procedures will not bring the success that it enjoyed in previous years because smaller and upcoming organisations are taking advantage of lacks within the industry that previously were unnoticed and unaddressed. Toshiba makes sure that it spots opportunities for growth by identifying technological inventions that might possibly cater for potential problems (Whittaker and Cole 2006). This enhanced functionality can effect markets superiority when customers realise that the company provides for problems even they were as yet unaware of. In the Toshiba Corporation, business operations are divided into four groups. These are the electronics devices category, the electronics holding category, the infrastructure systems category, and the digital products category. Toshiba’s SWOT Analysis A SWOT analysis is basically descriptive of a report of the strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats that a company has to deal with in order to operate. Toshiba’s internal strengths include its extensive product portfolio which has many products that ensure that it does not experience reduced revenues whenever any one of its products is not in any great demand among consumers, and its research department. Strengths Of all business fields, the electronic field is perhaps one of the most, if not the most competitive. Any company that specialises in the manufacture of electronic products understands that it can be rendered irrelevant if it does not continuously invest in the discovery of more cutting-edge products. This will necessitate a research department that is continuously seeking to come up with new products. Toshiba’s research department employs some of the best workers from around the world (Sako 2006). Toshiba’s corporate management exhaustively tests all interested potential researchers to ensure that it has some of the best, if not the best, talent. Its benefit packages also tend to attract the most skilled researchers in the electronic sector. Toshiba’s other strength is its acknowledged market position. Toshiba has now been at the fore front of producing innovative products for years (Sturgeon 2007). This has given it a distinguished reputation among companies that produce electronic gadgets. This position gives it clout when operating in new markets as well as among regular clients; so that Toshiba products are preferred to others due to the fame of the company. Weaknesses The Toshiba Corporation’s biggest weakness is its large debt. Opportunities The developing world as well as second world nations such as China and India have consumers who are increasingly acquiring the means to procure gadgets that were previously presumed to be a staple of first world nations in the West. Electronic gadgets such as phones and laptops of the latest make are swiftly gaining market in developing nations. This means that Toshiba still has potential consumers in the vast untapped markets. Another opportunity is in the sustenance of the environment. Toshiba has the chance to attract more consumers by taking part in activities that interest them. At present, concerns over global warming and the preservation of the environment are at the forefront in most developed nations. To this end, Toshiba has invested in generating products such as rechargeable batteries, recharging nuclear generation operatives that do not produce carbon dioxide. Toshiba has also heavily invested in the solar photovoltaic sector and is also building nuclear reactors in the interest of further diversifying its product portfolio. In the present, there are many nations that are increasingly investing in their defence budgets; this means that there will be more future trades in military based electronics – which means that firms such as Toshiba will have additional clients. Also, the development of multimedia applications and the rising requirement in developing nations for information networking also portends well for companies in the electronic industry (Dutta and Roy 2005). Threats Toshiba is headquartered in a nation that has been experiencing economic slowdown for years; and that affects it to some capacity. Also, Toshiba has competitors such as Sony, Dell, Pioneer, Hitachi, Samsung, and Fujitsu that are ready to invest even more than Toshiba does in technological research in order to corner the market for electronic goods. Rapid technological developments seen in the past two decades have resulted in the incidence of rising costs, and flooding of cheap imports. Companies that produce electronic goods cannot afford not to invest more in research if their business rivals are doing the same because this may cause them to make mistakes in the decision to produce certain goods. Even though the electronic sector has experienced more benefits than other sectors of business, it has also had to endure instability due to the swift changes in the preferences of customers. Such uncertainty is unlikely to stop in the near future. Another threat concerns the existence of legal proceedings. In the recent past, Toshiba has been involved in a number of debilitating court cases. In one case, it was fined for attempting to artificially fix the prices of LCD panels. While this may not necessarily cost it more than it can put up, a company’s reputation can be tainted by such proceedings. Toshiba’s Business Strategy Toshiba’s generic corporate policies have enabled it to be able to expand into other markets where there is intense competition. Toshiba was launched in Japan but not has branches in numerous developed nations and is actively seeking to expand into markets in developing nations. Toshiba has a winning strategy in its decision to invest in products for consumers such as HD DVD players, and video recorders, and HD TV’s, and in products for firms such as copiers, telecommunications equipment, and printers. Toshiba also produces industrial products such as power systems, motors, and LED Display systems. In fact, Toshiba is currently the largest producer of imaging and printing goods in the world. Toshiba produces products that are used in the logistics, manufacturing, and retail sectors. Porter’s Five Forces Porter’s five forces have a role in promoting the relevance of the Toshiba Corporation within the electronic sector. For instance, the corporation has low buyer power and actively seeks to retain this characteristic by generating competitive advantage over its business rivals. It also creates products for individual clients as well as other corporations. Toshiba also has a reward system for its diversified workforce (Vogel 2006). Though Toshiba has numerous competitors, it ensures that is products are preferred to all substitutes that flood the market by ensuring that each of its goods are first systematically researched. Toshiba also keeps all rivals at bay by implementing the most inclusive customer benefits and charging competitive prices for its goods. Marketing Mix and Strategies Toshiba has a marketing mix that exhaustively makes use of the internet to reach potential companies (Guth 2000). Toshiba makes use of pop-up ads, as well as commercials that are installed in different websites, while also trading products through chain-retailers. Toshiba also has a comprehensive web page in which there is a lot of in depth information about the operations of the Toshiba Corporation and its partnering companies. Toshiba has also ensured that information about its products is included in trading sites such as Best buy, and Amazon. Toshiba also makes use of functions such as Customer Relationship Management, which allows customers to access help and support from Toshiba’s personnel, and Supply Chain Management to improve its trading and distribution practices. For instance, when Toshiba’s clients order for products through trading sites like ‘Amazon’, they are notified of when their purchased goods are expected to reach them. Toshiba also has a division that serves to replace parts of its products as required by customers. Toshiba has an integrated marketing plan that stipulates that ‘Image is everything’. It promotes a life style brand that serves to cater for the needs of consumers who view their purchases as personal rewards and not just everyday utilities. This fact is exemplified in all of Toshiba’s communications activities, whether concerning the training of personnel, supporting the dealers, engaging in online trading, and in promotional activities. This integrating of the brand message has been successful since the activities of training, public relations, and advertising were assimilated into a single operation more than a decade ago. The evidence of its success is visible in Toshiba’s emergence as the leading producer of goods in the digital, audio, television, and video categories in the world. This is a direct result of Toshiba’s skill in promoting a brand image that draws and interests consumers. At present, Toshiba is involved in reinventing itself through its advertisements. The new commercials actively seek to capitalise on the appeal of the company’s offerings around the world. Also, the advertisements are not merely aimed at enthusiasts who are seeking to get new products that are more of cutting edge, but are also meant to influence corporations that have specific needs in the electronics field. Toshiba’s public relations division is mainly concerned with the effect of its electronic products on the lifestyles of its targeted clients. By using a combination of creative mailers, media tours and relations, trade events, and product placement opportunities, Toshiba continues to raise public interest and awareness of its products. The design used in Toshiba’s new website also intimates the lifestyle theme that is used in all of Toshiba’s marketing endeavours. To reach its customers well, Toshiba has also recently engendered changes in operations such as supplying support for its main retail partners. The support teams used for this purpose are usually informed and enthusiastic product trainers who aid the sales workers in their attempts to ensure that consumers easily find their desired goods. Toshiba employees are well aware of the importance of ensuring that customers can easily find their desired products, as well as of forming connections in Toshiba outlets. This means that the store workers have to be armed with the information necessary to persuade customers to make purchases while also communicating the brand’s lifestyle theme in their direct and indirect actions. Toshiba has also included marketing tools in its arsenal such as dimensional drawings, catalogues, and product collateral to meet the requirements of customers. Toshiba’s marketing plan includes disciplines such as straight forward advertising, internet functions, public relations operations, and the improvement of materials for the purposes of meeting corporate objectives. Alliances Toshiba believes that there is no single corporation that can meet all business or technological needs in the world by itself. With this in mind, Toshiba has formed partnerships with other corporations in order to be more effective in meeting the needs of assorted customers. These strategic alliances have contributed greatly towards the company being one of the foremost in the development of electronic products on a global scale (Bjork and Magnusson 2009). This is because Toshiba is wise in the partners that it chooses for itself; indeed, some of its trading partners have even bigger reputations than it does. They include Ericsson, IBM, Apple Computers, GE, Motorola, Siemens, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Thomson, Samsung, and National Semi Conductor. All these partnerships have allowed Toshiba to reach markets that were previously inaccessible; thus greatly improving its revenue. For instance, Toshiba’s partnership with Apple computers has allowed it to participate in the creation of multimedia computer goods. Toshiba is proficient in its manufacturing knowledge while Apple is a market leader in the development of software technology. The same type of partnership was instrumental for Toshiba in the creation of hand held computer arrangements. Siemens, Toshiba and IBM collaborated in the formation of semiconductors; with Siemens contributing its engineering expertise, while IBM contributed its proficiency in lithography. Also, IBM came together with Toshiba and National Semi Conductor to create flash memory cards. Motorola and Toshiba would cooperate in the formation of memory chips; while another joint enterprise with IBM resulted in the formation of notebooks’ colour flat panel displays. Such partnerships with such globally respected firms are responsible for Toshiba being viewed as one of the world’s leading producers of electronic products. Recommendations: How Toshiba can improve In order to improve its marketability in such a competitive sector, Toshiba has to first acquire exhaustive knowledge on the practices of its business rivals, which, in this case, are numerous. Toshiba should find out the marketing strategies that rivals such as Dell are using in order to come up with ways of countering them. Developing a marketing plan for outsized corporations such as Toshiba is no small task (Vogel 2006). The reality is that Toshiba is already a successful corporation but needs to expand into new markets in order to widen its customer base. Also, in order to deal with the existing stiff competition, Toshiba should seek to further diversify its product portfolio and include products that are in many ways different from its main goods. This will stir the interest of potential consumers who wish to see if it will be successful in replicating its success when tackling a new market (Berglund, Hellstrom, and Sjolander 2007). Toshiba creates goods of superb quality with reasonable prices. Moreover, it might benefit from introducing new designs and other changes to its recognised products, which will stir more customer interest. Toshiba should also increase its use of online marketing practices for the purposes of reaching other customers. The existence of its website is merely the first point. In general, e-marketing and e-business models usually use a three-phase strategy. The first stage is that of strategic analysis. In this stage, there is the constant monitoring of a corporation’s macro and micro-environment, particularly in regards to the changing requirements and inclinations of consumers, as well as the opportunities that are made possible by emerging technologies. The business strategies used by rivals should also be considered. The second stage has to do with strategic objectives. In this phase, corporations have to be ready to alter their digital media strategies or use other elements of the media in order to realise change. A corporation should set practical goals for online returns contribution The third stage is concerned with strategy implementation. In this stage, the corporation should set executing plans in order to realise its strategic plans. This might mean the re-launch of a website, monitoring the website, and opening endorsing campaigns that are connected to the website. Any e-marketing proposal has two sides. The first is concerned with individual clients while the other caters specifically for B2B functions (Aoki, Jackson, and Miyajima 2008). Both of these sides usually have adequate customer service, advertising, and sales online support. This is where Toshiba has to implement marketing plans that are superior to those of its competitors. Basically, consumers can key into the websites of assorted electronics companies in little time, and are increasingly doing so as the internet shopping becomes more accepted among varied populations. It is a known fact that in the past few years, more businesses have began to use the facility of online shopping in comparison to individual customers. In addition, people usually go online when searching for products such as electronic gadgets, computers, and car parts. The change from traditional communicating and trading methods to online shopping happened so quickly that most corporations were unprepared for it. Today, companies’ websites have become the media used for effecting differentiation, customer relationship management operations, and discovering new integrated marketing communication methods. Toshiba should be at the forefront of realising changes to ensure that it benefits extensively from such functions in order to corner the electronics market. In addition, the Toshiba Corporation has not extensively made use of social media sites in reaching new customers. Social media sites do not merely give corporations the chance to engage existing and potential consumers online, they also allow corporations to be able to do business and collect profits. Moreover, in order to make profit through online purchases, a corporation has to engage clients satisfactorily. Toshiba can do this by: Listening keenly to for the needs of customers: Toshiba can test to discover the different applications to which micro-blogging sites can be put. It is a fact that suggesting deals to one’s online followers results in intense interest. If Toshiba does this repeatedly, it will be able to benefit from ever increasing numbers of followers, who can be converted into customers. Stress on communicating extensively with bloggers: Toshiba can generate articles and blogs or even how-to articles and support forums which customers then access at will. This will result in more visibility for the company as a result of online conversations between customers; which is always a good thing for business. Be Relevant on Face Book: When companies first launch into sites such as Face Book and Twitter, they may lack direction on how to satisfactorily engage customers. Even if Toshiba encounters this problem, it can just acclimatise itself to concentrating on the interests of its consumers and effect apps and support widgets that allow its followers to be able to reach Toshiba support forums through the social media sites. Make decisions based on what is learnt from the social media sites: For instance, if Toshiba learns that most of its online followers are seeking to express their opinions on customer management concerns, it can create a site that specifically deals with this issue. Conclusion The swift technological development of nations such as China, India, and other third world nations as well as the recessions experienced in many Western nations has resulted in even more competition within the electronic sector. To remain relevant in this field, corporations such as Toshiba have to concentrate on restructuring their operations in order to strengthen their earnings base while still effecting adjustments to their general structure by aiming to shape or influence emerging trends within the electronic sector. References Aoki, M., Jackson, G. & Miyajima, H. (2008) Corporate governance in Japan: organisational diversity and institutional change, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Berglund, H., Hellstrom, T. & Sjolander, S. (2007) ‘Entrepreneurial learning and the role of capitalists, venture capital’, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 165-181 Bjork, J. & Magnusson, M. (2009) ‘Where do good innovation ideas come from?: Exploring the influence of network connectivity on innovation idea quality’, Journal of Product Innovation Management, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 662-670. Dutta, A. & Roy, R. 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