Custom «The SONY Corporation » Essay Paper Sample

The company which has been chosen for assessment is the SONY Corporation which is simply usually referred to as Sony. The SONY Corporation is actually a multinational electronic conglomerate which is based in Japan. Sony's headquarter is located in Tokyo, Minato, being the world's fifth largest media conglomerate. By this virtue, Sony remains the world's leading electronic manufacturer, dealing in the manufacturing of products for both professional and consumer markets, having been founded in 1945.

Mission Statement

The mission statement of SONY Corporation is "To experience the joy of advancing and application of technology for the good and benefit of the public."

Product Strategy

The product strategy refers to a marketing concept of administering and building an organization so that there is profitable satisfaction of the needs of the clients, as the clients in turn realize success in a competitive market. Sony's main strategy is innovation. This is exemplified in the 1989 case where SONY Corporation introduced better graphic projector, thereby outdoing Barco, whose Barco N. V. projectors upto the time had been being perceived as the best. Sony perfects this strategy by according its products and services at fair rates. This is still seen in the case where Barco was not able to compete with Sony on price so that Barco projectors' market shares were only 4%. On the contrary, Sony projectors' market shares remained very high, standing at 76% (Anderson, 2008).

Distribution Strategy

The distribution strategy of Sony mostly depends on the specific product that is being offered by the company. Sony has been known to use the introduction new models so as to totally permeate the market. The company also uses 3C chain (stores), especially for the distribution of new products such as the Comprehensive LCD TV Product Range. According to McChesney (2003), Sony also dispatches its products to outlets which retail Sony products at the lowest rates possible such as Fry's Offers.

Pricing Strategy

The pricing strategy used by Sony is the most effective. Particularly, SONY Corporation aims at issuing significantly lower prices per unit capacity and for higher capacities. This is mainly as far as data collection and storage devices such as portable music players and digital cameras and their accompaniments (flash memory cards, memory sticks and the Secure Digital cards) are concerned.

A description of the global business environment and the countries selected market

The countries selected as markets are Japan and England. Both countries offer conducive and stable markets for SONY Corporation products. The fact that England is a prime trading power and financial centre as well as the world's third largest economy underscores the benefit that Sony realizes by being situated in the England as a subsidiary. On the other hand, Japan is also the home of strong work ethic, a wide mastery over sophisticated technology and the government- industry cooperation. This technological advancement (in Japan) and the stable economic status (in England) spur on Sony subsidiaries into profitability.

Competitive environment

The environment in both countries (Japan and England) foster competitiveness in their markets, due to the liberalization of the market. As such, there are many entrants into these markets such as Samsung, Tatung, Sanyo, Kenwood, Pioneer, Aiwa and Technics, among other brands. These electronic companies manufacture the same products with Sony.

Target Market

Sony mainly targets the middle class and the high income earners in virtually all countries. This is well attested by the state of the art products and services it manufactures and produces in the market. Nevertheless, Sony at the moment attempts to capture the entire market in terms of both class and age. With the introduction of Sony Discman and Walkman, teenagers and young adults have already been securely captured by Sony, while the introduction of simpler and cheaper products ensure the accessibility of low income earners (Ghosh, 2009).

Communication Strategy

Sony communication strategy is totally multifaceted to allow free flow of information. Online communication through the Worldwide Web, telephone numbers, facsimile and postal address codes in respect to every market, and product operational manuals are all examples of these Sony communication avenues (Bradley, 2005).    

A description of the global business environment and the countries selected market

Just like in the entire globe, Sony enjoys stable markets in both England and Japan since both England and Japan are stable democracies. Both countries are liberal economies and thus allow fair competition. The 2010 GDPs of both countries (England, 2.259 trillion US Dollars for purchasing power parity, and 2.189 trillion US Dollars) allow favourable purchasing power.

Competitive environment

The competitive environment is enhanced by the liberalization of the economy which has allowed for the infiltration and stay of reputable electronic manufacturers such as Samsung, Tatung, Sanyo, Kenwood, Pioneer, Aiwa and Technics.

Target Market

In both England and Japan, the target market is variegated so alongside class and age. With the introduction of Sony Bravia, the middle and high income earners are netted, while Sony Flat screen remains affordable to low income earners as adults. According to Yamamori (2004), the manufacturing of Sony Discman and Walkman helps capture the youthful market segment.

Communication Strategy

Sony uses an array of communication in both England and Japan, with the telephone, facsimile, worldwide web, postal address, all serving as examples.  

An explanation of the impact of culture on their chosen business's activities around the world

Sony has continued to inspire the population in Japan and England to stand up for high fidelity sound and visual products, as opposed to settling for counterfeit products which are of poor quality.

Key management issues Sony faces

At first, because Sony was being run by Japanese CEOs, it was deemed as being too secretive and seggregative to the outside world. This only changed by the entrance of Howard Stringer, a Briton. Similarly, Sony management has a costly tendency of paying little attention to advertisement and digital rights management. It is against this backdrop that the company experienced a backlash in 2006 after airing its "White is coming" advertisement; while F Secure, a security firm accused Sony of allowing MicroVault USB thumb drive to install rootkit in concealed trajectories without computers in August 2007.