Management Style of Sony Company - Essay Example

Sony’s Management Style Sony’s Management Style Sony Corporation is a Japanese firm that uses the design and consensus management styles. The design management style is based on business principles that focus on an organization’s mission and goals. The design management style at Sony is focused on harnessing Sony’s core ability of simplification. The style also supports techniques that enable the systematic pursuit of functionality and beauty. The Japanese multinational founded by Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka. One of Sony’s outstanding and innovative products is the Walkman. Sony’s competency is its ability to use miniaturization technologies (Nagasawa, 2013). Currently, the management of the firm is focused on the creation of management structures that will enable the expansion of its core strength as a global technology, electronic and entertainment company. The current Chief Executive Officer is Kazuo Hirai. The responsibility of the C.E.O is to run the firm’s business operations globally. Sony Corporation is a design and production intensive firm. The founders of the firm provided the platform for the current design management style used by the current managers (Nagasawa, 2013). Design management style uses design, project management, supply chain techniques and strategy to control a firm’s creative processes. The style is suitable to Sony because it establishes a structure and organization for design. It also supports a culture of creativity. Design management is based on the objective of developing and maintaining a business environment where companies and organizations can achieve their mission and strategic goals through design (Chang, 2011). Sony uses this style because of its strategic advantages in the establishment and management of effective and efficient system. Design management covers all areas of a business. These range from operational and strategic activities to the discovery phases and implementation phases. The management style encompasses ongoing processes, strategies that facilitate innovation and business decision making. Most importantly, design management works in hand with operational, marketing and strategic management. Sony’s design management approach is focused on asset management. In this case, the firm highly values its assets, which range from its innovative products, human resources and projects (Borja, 2003). Design management approaches asset management with an objective of creating value. The style also approaches attitude management with an aim of adjusting employee’s mental attitudes (Nagasawa, 2013). Sony’s founders personally worked with their employees in order to adjust their attitudes and focus their actions towards the firm’s mission. One of the most important applications of design management at Sony was when the founder Akio Morita allowed Yasuo Kuroki to change the firm’s advertising methods. Morita recognized that Sony had a poor advertising strategy because the firm was focused on product development (Nagasawa, 2013). Morita’s acceptance of Kuroki’s advertising proposal showed that Sony’s top management allowed people and employees with talent to implement their vision. Morita entrusted the crucial design related issue to Kuroki because he understood that Kuroki had the experience and expertise as a marketing executive. Employees at Sony have different capabilities. The most important issue for the firm is how these employees fully utilize their capabilities and the firm’s capacity. Each employee is entrusted with the duty of imagining a product in three dimensions from its conceptualization stage to the production stage (Nagasawa, 2013). This trend is one of the most important aspects of design management. Employees take the characteristics and specifications of the product and translate them into three-dimensional images. Employees with these design abilities have enabled Sony to produce products that are suffused with aspects and features that are functional and easy to sell. For instance, the Walkman became an instant market hit after it was released because it was highly functional. Masaru Ibuka was one of the founders of Sony. Initially, Ibuka focused on technology and its application in the production of top-notch products. He was not concerned with marketing and design. He was entirely devoted to the creation of the best electronic devices through superlative technologies. During the time of developing the Walkman, Ibuka came to realize the importance of design management. He came to agree with Kuroki and Morita’s theory on how products should be viewed. This changed Sony’s approach to product development. Instead of only focusing on the technology in the product, the firm started to consider the customer’s emotional state when purchasing (Nagasawa, 2013). Design management’s focus on asset management was a motivating factor to Ibuka’s consideration of project failures as important assets to the firm (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2007). This configuration of management is convivial, and from a management point of view, it represents the fountainhead of design management. During the development of products at Sony, design management is used in order to ensure that people overseeing the design process take the design of the product personally. In this process, mutual learning is important because it creates a relationship between managers, designers and marketers (Nagasawa, 2013). Since the inception of the company, its human resources department has focused on the potentials and talents of prospective employees rather than their school reports. Sony has sought to help its employees achieve their strategic potentials by harnessing their talents. This has led to a culture within the firm where design is taken as a personal issue. At Sony, people who make products have been given the powers to control the production process. Most importantly, the designers of these products have been given the flexibility and power to ensure that every product is functional and beautiful. In this case, Sony’s management has ensured that its commercial goods and assets are appealing to customers and help their individuality rise. In order to ensure that these products achieve these objectives, it is essential for designers to have enthusiasm and aspiration. Sony products such as AIBO, Walkman, Playstation and Sony mobile phones have been designed using Sony’s typical design approach called Sony Design. Sony Design is supported by the design management style to ensure that all Sony products are innovative, appealing, entertaining and intuitive (Nagasawa, 2013). In the case of innovativeness, Sony strives to ensure that it has released the latest technologies, and its products can distinguish themselves. In the case of appeal, Sony’s products are designed with an aim of ensuring that they are attractive to customers. Attractiveness is viewed in terms of feel, appearance and performance. Sony approaches intuitiveness by ensuring that the functions of its products are easily understandable to users. In addition to design management, Sony can be considered to use consensus management. Consensus management is used at Sony as a strategy for creating personal responsibility. A look at one of the founder’s management styles shows the entrenchment of consensus management within Sony Corporation. Akio Morita approached management at Sony by outlining the responsibilities of each of the employees. This played a crucial role in turning Sony Corporation into one of the leading entrepreneurial organizations in the world (Nathan, 1999). Sony’s competitiveness can be attributed to the consensus management. For instance, memos at Sony are required to be stamped by each of the firm’s managers. The reward for this practice is company-wide commitment, which empowers and enables decisions made by the firm’s top executives. The current management of the firm has established frameworks for increasing accountability and objectivity. Consensus management is used at Sony to ensure that the firm completes its change process (Cooper, Junginger & Lockwood, 2011). It is an important management strategy because it helps in balancing the interests and strategic goals of an organization. Consensus management is also used during negotiations between Sony and its leaders and partners. Over the years, Sony has actively participated in the acquisition of a number of business entities. Some of the successful ventures by Sony, which were initiated through consensus management, are Sony Life Insurance, Sony Music and Walkman. Conclusion Sony is a Japanese multination that was founded by Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka. The firm is a leader in the entertainment, electronic and technological products and services. It has also ventured into the service sector through Sony Life Insurance. The management approach at Sony is consensus and design management. Consensus management ensures that all employees adhere to their roles and responsibilities. This management style also played a crucial role during negotiation when Sony was purchasing business entities. The design management style was a style that was entrenched by the founders of the company. This style is focused on strategy, design, project management and supply chain techniques. The aim of this style is to control the creative processes within the firm and build a structure and organization for the design of products. References Borja, M. B. (2003). Design management: Using design to build brand value and corporate innovation. New York: Allworth Press. Chang, S.-J. (2011). Sony vs Samsung: The Inside Story of the Electronics Giants Battle For Global Supremacy. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. Cooper, R., Junginger, S., & Lockwood, T. (2011). The handbook of design management. Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2007). Strategic management: Competitiveness and globalization; [concepts and classes]. Mason, Ohio [u.a.: Thomson South-Western. Nagasawa, S. (2013). Design Management Seen At Sony. Having Managers And Designers Meet Halfway. Waseda Business And Economic Studies. No. 49. Nathan, J. (1999). Sony CEO’s Management Style Wasn’t Made In Japan. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved From < http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB939252647570595508> Read More