A New Computer System for Staples Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

A New Computer System for Staples - Essay Example Also corresponding Technology Road Map for the project was presented. Staples, Inc. sells a wide range of office products, including supplies, technology, furniture, and business services. Headquartered outside of Boston, Staples operates approximately 1,695 office superstores and also serves its customers through mail order catalog, e-commerce and contract businesses. Staples, Inc. has a website available at www.staples.com. Each Staples superstore carries over 7,000 brand name products for businesses and home offices, including supplies, furniture, small business machines, computers and peripherals - all at Guaranteed Low Prices. (Staples, The Office Superstore, 2005) With the Big Three of office supplies, Staples, Office Depot, and Office Max, accounting for only 20 percent of the $285 billion market, Staples is focusing on two key areas for growth: small businesses and the Internet. The company hopes to offer small businesses such high tech services as videoconferencing, messaging, and Web-site design. The office giant already bought Quill Corporation, which specializes in direct sales, and telecommunications firm Claricom Holdings while it forged partnerships with Bell Atlantic, Nortel Networks, and CompuCom Systems. Staples also invested an additional $10 million into its new on-line site, which allows customers to purchase over 6,000 items over the Internet. Its rapidly expanding virtual office market is already worth billions of dollars; efforts to improve and refine the site are never-ending. Expansion-happy Staples has surged into 2000. It strengthened its Internet presence by allying with VarsityBooks.com, CloudSource, MarketTools, and TVisions Inc. In early-2000, the company announced that it would offer insurance online as well. Also in 2000, Staples formed strategic alliances with Manhattan Associates, Inc., a producer of management systems; with Plumtree Software, a corporate portal leader; and with Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., a national provider of legal service plans. (Staples, The Scoop, 2000) Staples' customers are various companies from home-based businesses to Fortune 500 companies in 21 countries throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. There are a lot of complaints from Staples' customers that they cannot get the complete information about the goods, fees, discounts and rebates; and therefore they make wrong decisions about purchase. Nevertheless, corporate culture of Staples stated at its website says, "At Staples we strive to be a model of corporate governance and ethical business practices. We are committed to acting with integrity in everything we do and hold ourselves accountable for doing business honestly, ethically, and legally. At Staples, we have built a reputation for

Personal Statement for residency programs post medical school Essay

Personal Statement for residency programs post medical school - Essay Example Here, I found my pre-medical courses much more challenging than any of the other studies I had previously done. I enjoyed the challenge and found great interest in the seemingly infinite amount of knowledge to be gained. With a growing interest in medicine, I then decided to shadow a number of surgeons. At first, I was fascinated to see the procedures in preparing for surgery. I was impressed with the structure in the operating room. Every detail was handled with absolute precision, ensuring the safety of the patient. I also found that patient care could be heart-warming and was able to envision the type of physician I could become. My next and most profound experience with medicine happened in 2002 during a volunteer medical mission trip to Ecuador. During the time I was there, we offered free medical examinations primarily to children. Some people came in with no complaints, leaving with vitamins and a greater sense of well-being. Others with more serious complications were appropriately sent to the primary hospital in north Quito. Everyone was treated with the utmost respect. They, in return, offered absolute graciousness, which made the trip all worthwhile. All of the volunteers were delighted to be of assistance.

DIOPHANTUS A KEY FIGURE IN THE HISTORY OF ALGEBRA Essay

DIOPHANTUS A KEY FIGURE IN THE HISTORY OF ALGEBRA - Essay Example He was a Greek mathematician who was born, raised and lived in Alexandria in Egypt which was considered a striking center for learning and culture in the Greek world. During his time he was best known for his collection of books arithmetica which was a landmark work in the algebra history. He had a very huge influence on the development of number theory with the Diophantine equations (Book Rags, n.d). Diophantus’ book The Arithmetica was a much higher one on level compared to the others as it had (or it gave) many amazing solutions to the difficult indeterminate equations. He was very keen as he did not have any impression for zero and tried as much as he could to avoid negatives in his equations. His keenness drove him at three types of quadratic equations that include ax2 + bx = c, ax2 = bx + c and ax2 + c = bx. However despite him using the three types, today’s mathematics only one case (only one quadratic equation) is looked at. He also considered other various types of problems. He was good at solving many mathematics problems that included the pairs of simultaneous quadratic equations (Algebra.com) Diophantus made many contributions to algebra and one of contributions which will be discussed in detail is the problems of Arithmetica. There are six books of Arithmetica that present the indeterminate and determinate problems and they are treated using algebraic inequalities and algebraic equations. Diophantus moves from the simple to difficult in the degree of the unknown numbers and equations. All his works are summed in the sixth book which has a number of exercises that belong to a variety of group problems. The exercises are related to the right triangle and without taking into consideration the dimensions; the polynomials are created from the surface and from the sides and once from the angle bisector (encyclopedia.com., 2011). The first book by Diophantus contains the determinate problems that are of the second and the first degree.

Gamification Primer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gamification Primer - Essay Example amification is applied in business is to improve the competitiveness of a given business over other competitors and increase the market share, hence profitability. It is a shift from the games modeling the real world to the real world emulating games. Understanding game mechanics is significant as it enables the understanding of the real forces that affect business behavior and trends across the globe (Burke 35). Common players in games include both corporate and individuals that do it for different reasons, although the aim is to gain in different ways. Despite the benefits that are associated with the different games, challenges and risks emerge as well. For instance, an organization could apply a different game that could result in great losses and its exit from the industry if other competitors play similar games at the same time. To this end, gamification utilizes technological innovation and research and development to increase the benefits. Barclays Bank is a multinational banking group that began its operations in the United Kingdom and expanded to other countries across the globe. The organization deals with provision of investment and personal banking among other services. The bank has positioned itself as a dominant financial institution in the industry given its good financial performance. However, maintenance of the dominance is not an easy task for the bank it had to undertake different strategies (Burke 67). Gamification is one of the strategies that Barclays bank undertook. Under this strategy, the bank has the objective of generating value for all the customers it serves in its services and products. Barclays Bank is involved in intense marketing strategies some of which include integrated marketing. This is manifested in several ways such as the promotions and adverts in the broadcast media. Corporate social responsibility activities such as the support of the English Premier league is another example of mar keting strategies. The competencies

Global Contraflows - Morocco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global Contraflows - Morocco - Essay Example Global contraflows are a threat to Americanization. This is so because it enhances culture diversification that is contrary to what Americanization stands for. In the past U.S had dominated over the other cultures making the minority cultures to adopt their way of life thus deteriorating culture of individuals (Moran 67). Contraflows on the contrary provide avenues for culture exchange between two different regions thus nurturing culture and ensuring its maintenance. There is therefore need to rethink culture production (Pennycook 74). This is to ensure that productions are considerate of the ethics of other cultures. This is to ensure that they conform to the norms of the other cultures so as not to be faced with hostility when the product is aired (Thussu 86). This paper seeks to analyze whether the Gnawa music of Morocco had an impact on the social life of individuals globally and the role that media played in ensuring cultural exchange. Gnawa music was mostly experienced by the westerns who visited Morocco. This is due to the annual Gnawa festival that is held annually in one of the Moroccan beaches (Athique 49). This provided the visiting westerns with the chance to be able to experience cultural celebrations of the Moroccan people. This as well provided an avenue whereby the Moroccan people and the westerners could be able to exchange their culture (Kearey, Kleipes and Vine 53). This is because the performers went to perform having worn their full regalia that marks the celebration. This could offer the westerners with a chance to learn the culture of their hosts and at the same time the hosts could be able to learn through this interactions (Moran 65). With the advent of media, culture movement was further facilitated. This is because of the availability of equipment such as satellite televisions that made it

Sustainable agriculture Essay Example for Free

Sustainable agriculture Essay Are Organic Foods All They Are Hyped Up To Be: An Overview Of The Organic Food Industry Today, with cancer and obesity cases increasing quickly, people are turning their attention to the foods they are consuming. Such diets as the vegan, vegetarian, lacto-vegetarian, paleo, raw, and locavore are becoming more and more popular. The one thing these diets all have in common is the belief that organic foods are better than conventional foods. Similar to conventional foods, organic foods contain chemicals and toxic bacteria, emit more greenhouse gases, and are not sustainable. The chemicals in organic foods cause harm to people and the environment. Furthermore, organic foods travel long distances, producing larger amounts of greenhouse gases and changing the nutritional content of the food. Organic foods also use more land and produces less food. Though there is much hype about eating organic produce, consumers may want to weigh out their options. Most people believe organic foods are better for you and the environment because they do not use chemicals. For instance, The USDA website states that organic foods are foods that are produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients; bioengineering; sewage sludge; or ionizing radiation (USDA). The truth is organic foods claim to be chemical-free except the organic pesticides they are allowed to use are so dangerous they have been â€Å"grandfathered† with current regulations and are not required to undergo strict modern safety tests. For example, organic farmers are allowed to use copper to treat fungal diseases on their farmland crops. Copper is not biodegradable and stays in the soil forever and is toxic in excessive amounts to the human body (Johnston). Another example is in India, who is a large manufacturer and exporter of organic foods to the United States. It has recently been estimated that 75% of India’s surface water is contaminated by human and agricultural wastes (Michael). Organic foods can be just as harmful to humans and our environment. There is also debate whether ingesting harmful chemicals, which are sprayed during conventional farming methods in order to kill other living organisms, are toxic to the human body. Because organic foods do not use fungicides and such, they are also frequently contaminated with bacteria and naturally occurring toxins that are harmful for human digestion (Miller). Studies have been performed to test the harmful effects to humans from organic chemicals. A recent study released by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) of 110 people and 358 matched controls showed two organic pesticides commonly used today, rotenone and paraquat, are linked to the development of Parkinson’s disease in humans. Use of either of these pesticides makes people 2. 5 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. Rotenone prevents the mitochondria from making necessary energy within cells. Similarly, paraquat produces excessive harmful oxygen by-products that are harmful to cellular structures (NIH). Furthermore, A 2007 Study of Use of Products and Exposure-Related Behavior (SUPERB) surveyed 364 children between ages two and five in order to compare toxin consumption and cancer risk factors. Research found all children examined had excessive amounts of arsenic, dieldrin, DDE and dioxins, all known to cause cancer. In addition, over 95% of preschool children had unacceptable amounts of acrylamide; a cooking byproduct found in potato and tortilla chips, also know to cause cancer (University of California). With so many pesticides and toxins, organic or not, proving to be harmful to the human race, it is difficult to understand what the best options are. Research concludes all chemicals, natural or synthetic, are damaging to the human body and the environment. So the question remains, is it better for people to ingest organic and synthetic chemicals or harmful bacteria and toxins? Organic foods travel long distances and may be more damaging to the earth. Rich Pirog, the associate director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, states that food travels 1,500 miles on average from farm to consumer, giving birth to the term â€Å"food miles†(DeWeerdt). Priog’s team concluded that conventional food distribution systems used four to 17 times more fuel and emitted five to 17 times more CO2 than the local and regional systems. However, Priog mentions that food miles are a good measure of how far food has traveled. But they’re not a very good measure of the food’s environmental impact (DeWeerdt). For instance, heated greenhouse tomatoes in Britain use up to 100 times more energy than those produced in fields in Africa (Johnston). Another example is our country’s largest retailer for organic foods, Whole Foods. They actually purchase most of their products from China and only mention it in small fine print on the back of the products. Upon choosing your produce, it is helpful to check the label to identify the food miles accumulated. Media and advertisements lead people to believe organic produce has a greater nutritional value than conventional foods. The USDA website makes no claims that organically produced food is safer or more nutritious than conventionally produced food (USDA/Miller). Likewise, the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency reported that there is no proof organic food is more nutritious than conventionally grown varieties (Taverene). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the organic food industry. Their standards have recently been scrutinized for allowing minimal amounts of approved chemicals. The EPA suggests the minimal traces of dangerous chemicals found in organic or conventional foods are not harmful to humans. However, studies report children and elderly are at the greatest risk of the damaging effects from chemicals. Charles Benbrook, previously a chief scientist for the Organic Center, states that the best benefits of organic foods are for children, pregnant women, and elderly who all tend to have weakened immune systems. Furthermore, he also reports studies that have followed pesticide levels in pregnant women’s blood and found their children to score four to seven percent lower on IQ tests compared to their classmates (Chang). Organic foods are a wise choice for certain populations. Most people choose organic products believing they are sustainable. Organic farms yield 20-50% less produce compared to conventional farms, making organic farming a less efficient use of land. For example, organic potatoes use less in terms of fertilizer production and/or energy, but require more fossil fuel for plowing. For example, a hectare of conventionally farmed land produces 2. 5 times more potatoes than an organic one. Subsequently, if only organic foods were available, half the current human population would starve to death (Taverene). Orgainc foods tend to cost more than conventional foods. Although organic food yields are less, prices are as much as triple the cost of conventional foods (Taverene). This is due to the greater amounts of labor involved with organic farming procedures. Organic farmers are also held legally responsible for cross-contamination by genetically engineered foods, which in turns raises costs of organic produce. Organic farming uses fewer chemicals, which in turn promotes greater farmland biodiversity. According to the Organic Trade Association, organic fields also require less irrigation, reduce pollutants in ground water and create richer soils that aid plant growth while reducing erosion. Organic methods also minimize pesticides that can end up in your drinking glass. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) reports various cities in the United States to have unsafe levels of tap water consistently for weeks at a time (DeWeerdt). Some studies show no benefit to people consuming organic foods. Although high doses of pesticide cause cancers and birth defects, there is no evidence proving the miniscule amounts of chemicals found in conventional foods are damaging to human health. Some studies released show cancer occurrences among farmers, who are often exposed to relatively high levels of these chemicals, are no more frequent than in other occupations. Furthermore, during the last fifty years, during a time when synthetic chemicals became the industry standard for food production, the average life expectancy has increased by over seven years (Chang). Organic foods claim to have more nutritional content than conventional foods. However, every fruit and vegetable has differing nutritional composition, which depends on a wide variety of factors including but not limited to growing conditions and season, fertilizer administration, and means of crop protection (i. e. , herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, etc. ) Food products from animal sources also differ in nutritional contents depending on such factors as age, breed and feeding routine of the animal. Furthermore, the nutritional compositions of raw foods increase during processing, transportation, storage, and cooking before consumption (DeWeerdt). Locally grown food decreases the transportation period, resulting in less carbon emissions to the environment and less oxidization to the produce, therefore providing better nutritional content (Chang). Furthermore, organic food usually tastes better, contains no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides, which are known to cause cancer, and are more often locally grown. Furthermore, the USDA describes organic food as, food produced by farmers who promote the use of renewable resources and the conservation of water and soil to improve the quality of the environment for future generations (USDA). Organic foods are not always better than conventional foods. It must be considered the bacteria and toxins remaining on organic produce, the environmental effects and chemical additions in order to make an adequate decision of what type of produce to purchase. After studying the USDA food pyramid logo, it is apparent that the federal government encourages consuming more fruits, vegetables, and grains without any evaluation of the current farming procedures that manufacture these foods. The food pyramid also suggests an apple is an apple and that we should be eating more apples and less processed foods, sugars and fats. (Michael).

Howard Stringers Sony Leadership

Howard Stringers Sony Leadership The report is an evaluation of the organization structure implemented by Sir Howard Stringer in October 2005. The transition of Sonys organization structure from Transnational structural to multidivisional structure has been analyzed in detail. Goold and Campbells five tests have been conducted to determine the appropriateness of Sir Howard Stringers structural choice given his desire to make Sony a more innovative and flexible organization. The risks and benefits of the structural choice has also been assessed. The report displays the cultural web of Sony before and after Sir Howards arrival. It was derived that the Reconstruction type of strategic change had been used to bring about the transformation in the organizations culture. Consequently, Sir Howard adopted the Education and Communication and the Collaboration/Participation styles of strategic change implementation. In conclusion, it can be seen that the stock share value has increased during 2005-2007 which means that Howard Stringer was doing a good job at implementing his change. Introduction As a part of this report let us start by introducing Sony Corporation. SONY Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics, video, communications, video game consoles, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Sony was founded on 7th May 1946. The representative corporate executive officers at Sony as of today as Howard Stringer(Chairman, CEO and President), Ryoji Chubachi (Vice Chairman) and Nobuyuki Oneda (Executive Deputy President and CFO). (Sony Global (2009) has provided the above information). Sony Corporation (commonly referred to as Sony) is a multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and one of the worlds largest media conglomerates with revenue exceeding  ¥ 7.730.0 trillion, or $78.88 billion U.S. (FY2008). Its name is derived from sonus, the Latin word for sound. Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and the parent company of the Sony Group, which is engaged in business through its five operating segments-electronics, games, entertainment (motion pictures and music), financial services and other. Sonys principal business operations include Sony Corporation (Sony Electronics in the U.S.), Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Ericsson, and Sony Financial. As a semiconductor maker, Sony is among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders. The companys slogan is make.believe. (Wikipedia (2009) provided information regarding Sony Corporation). Company Strategy Vision (2005): make Sony cool again Vision (2009): make.believe When Howard Stringer joined as the CEO of Sony Global Japan he made new strategies and used those strategies to restructure the organization to be in-line with these strategies. Firstly, he looked at the core competencies of the company and focused mainly on the electronics, games and entertainment sector. He established a growth strategy saying, Our target is for the Sony Group to achieve consolidated sales of over 8 trillion yen and an operating profit margin of 5% (electronics 4%) by the end of fiscal year 2007. NewsBlaze (2005) published the company strategy from the fiscal year 2005 to 2008 as given in Appendix C of this report. The three-year revitalization plan/strategy was as follows (in brief): Restructuring the Electronics Organization Eliminated the corporate silos and bring more focus on competitive growth. Improving Sonys Profit Structure Cost Reductions Sale of Real Estate, Stock and Non-Core Assets Strengthening Sonys Current Electronics Business Focus on areas of the Electronics business by bringing profitability in television by the second half of 2006. Focusing Resources on Growth Strategy Making the HD World and Major Profit Pillar Launching of a range of high-definition products in 2006. Focusing on Intelligent Interoperable Products Developing network-enabled products and applications Strengthening Technology Development Creation of Home and Mobile Platforms Concentrating Investment on Semiconductors and Key Component Devices Next-Generation Display (OLED) Enhancing Software Development Group Convergence Strategy Pursuit of mobile entertainment Establishment of Cell Development Center Group Strategy by Individual Sector focus on: Games Entertainment Motion Pictures Music Mobile Phones Financial Services Network Services, Retail Retail Business Note: Refer to Appendix C for a detailed Company Strategy. Organizational Structure Corporate Structure of Sony Corporation From the analysis on the organizational structure that Howard Stringer was trying to implement in 2005 we can see that it was clearly a multi-divisional structure. This structure has been further worked on since 2005 and there have been slight changes to the same. Multi-Divisional structure (M-form) The multi-divisional structure is also known as the product structure where the divisional structure groups organizational function into a division. Each division works as an independent section within the company and the divisional structure contains all the necessary resources and functions within it. Each Division will have its own sales, engineering and marketing departments. (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2009). Howard Stringer was attempting to implement the multi-divisional structure. He had assigned Ryoji Chubachi to handle the main Electronics business and Chubachi had implemented the multinational matrix structure. We will not go into details of the matrix structure but will explain it below in brief. In case of the Multinational Structure of the organization we can see that there were a few business units that were put together in order to increase their responsiveness in the market. There were five committees created across all these business units and business groups. This gave a better integration of knowledge, flexibility and the ability to analyze these units across its procurement, technology, product strategy, sales and productive business outcomes. Strategy and Organizational Structure When Howard Stringer took over the Sony Global Corporation in 2005 he gave strategies for each product in the company. The strategies are stated above in the Introduction section of this report. As per the strategies implemented we can see clearly that he had devised different strategies for each core product that Sony was providing and so he also divided the companys organizational structure the same way. Thus, we see that the company is become more flat and each division is reporting to the Headquarters. As in a multidivisional organization such as Sony, the divisions become flexible as in the sense that they are able to merge, add or close divisions. This is apparent in the fact that Sonys Mobile division merged with Ericsson to produce Sony Ericsson range of mobiles. It can also be seen that Sonys Music Entertainment division had a 50-50 joint venture with Bertelsmann Music Group naming Sonys Music division as Sony BMG Music Entertainment and in August 2008 Sony bought Bertelsmanns 50% shares and Sony renamed its Music division as Sony Music Entertainment. Ergo, it is apparent that because of Sonys multidivisional structure each division is able to work as its own company which is flexible enough to have joint-venture projects as in the case of Sony Ericsson and the company is also able to make the decision of buying over another company such as the Bertelsmann Music group. When Howard Stringer took over Sony he also closed down a chain of restaurants and other non-core business companies that Sony owned. With a multidivisional structure in place Sir Howard Stringer was able to control and oversee each division from a distance by monitoring the business performance of each division. If we look at the advantages of a multi-divisional structure we can see that because the structure is divided by product lines it allows each division to grow and specialize on their competences. We can see that each division has actually become its own company like the Sony Electronics Inc., the Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. As we will see in the redundancy test later in this report we can see that each of the companies that are based in each country have their own head offices. This means that there are many parent levels in this organization which means that many of the supporting departments such as HR and IT will be redundant but due to the large organization structure of the company Sony needs these headquarters to be set-up. Although the knowledge sharing and cooperation between the business units become very limited but Howard Stringer has tried overcoming this by placing five strategic committees across the business units which are the product, technology, production, procurement and sales. Thus standardizations and centralization has helped to reduce effort and poor coordination. Also, with Howard traveling around Sonys operations at a rate of 30,000 air miles a month (Nakamoto 2006) is building spirits and reflecting in the eyes of the employees all around Sony. Goold and Campbell Tests We will use the Goold and Campbell last 5 tests to determine the appropriateness of Howard Stringers structural choice given his desire to make Sony cool again (Clayton 2005). The Specialist Cultures Test: The Organization Structure: Specialist Culture test In the Specialist Culture test we placed Sony between Good and Very Good as Sony has an Engineer-driven culture (Edwards, Lowry, Ihlwan, Hall 2005). Sony is an engineering culture (Paczkowski 2008) says Howard Stringer and they really take care of their engineers. Engineers have the freedom to think and come up with new designs. When a certain project was untaken engineers from all the different departments met in one place to finish that task. This shows that there is no organizational contamination of the specialist engineer culture test. The Difficult Links Test Shared know-how Links Sony holds Knowledge-sharing sessions and several other activities company wide. They host forums to enable interactive discussion about the company news and they engage their employees in company developments and in-the-Know at all times as claimed by them on their website. Sony also provides all documents, policies, lessoned learned and all other types of documents on their intranet sites. Shared Tangible Resources Links Though with a multidivisional organization with so many parent companies the amount of duplication of work increases but after Sir Howard Stringer came into Sony he divided all core businesses by products into separate units that would report to the Corporate office and setup a corporate RD unit to reduce the duplications and also brought in standardized engineered products to help the reduction of cost. Pooled Negotiating Power Links Sonys Mobile division merged with Ericsson to produce Sony Ericsson range of mobiles. Ericsson had the latest mobile technology and Sony had the vast experience in consumer electronics and entertainment like music, pictures and games. Bringing them both together in a 50-50 joint venture gave Sony power in the market. This would help both the companies generate economies of scale. It can also be seen that Sonys Music Entertainment division had a 50-50 joint venture with Bertelsmann Music Group naming Sonys Music division as Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Financial analysts covering the merger anticipated that up to 2,000 jobs would be cut as a result, saving Sony BMG approximately $350 million annually (Wikipedia, 2009) Coordinated Strategies Links After Sir Howard took over he put together the Electronics Unit which consisted of: The Semiconductor Business unit Core component Business Unit BP Business Group Audio Business Group Digital Imaging Business group VAIO Business Group Video Business Group TV Business Group Connect Company He strategically placed all these units and groups together in order to establish Sony as a leading player. They wanted to develop a semiconductor and core components group thus they put these two relevant new business units under the Electronics Unit. With this new engineering structure Sony wanted to increase their internally sourced components, centralize their engineering functions and reduce their cost by consolidating and cutting down their manufacturing sites. Vertical Integration Links By coordinating the flow of its internally sources components and by standardizing designs through out the company Sir Howard has managed to reduce cost and enhance product development. New-Business Creation Links Vertical integration is very obvious in the Sony business as they try to enter the digital world they are buying companies and doing joint ventures to meet the specific needs of their customers and that is to bring the mobile, music, gaming and video entertainment together. Sony is in a good position to do a backward or forward integration in case it decides to do so. The structure is flexible enough to accommodate that. The links are best handled through self-managed networking among units n top management should leave this up to the unit rather than impose to-down coordination process. The Redundant Hierarchy Test: The Organization Structure: The Redundant Hierarchy Test The reason we have placed them between satisfactory and good is because although the company had many parent levels in the organization they were able to reduce the redundancy through standardizing they internal sourced components. Sony also standardized its designs across the different units and in its core business which was the Electronics Business they had five committees across each group which were the product, technology, production, procurement and sales. This centralization has helped to reduce effort and poor coordination. Also, with Howard traveling around Sonys operations at a rate of 30,000 air miles a month (Nakamoto 2006) he tends to increase the communication gap between the different groups and companies at Sony. The Accountability Test The Organization Structure: The Accountability Test The reason we have placed them between good and very good is because in the multidivisional structure the overall structure of the company is flat. Thus, most of the units are directly reporting to the corporate office. This increases the responsibility and accountability of each unit heads. The Flexibility Test The Organization Structure: The Flexibility Test The reason we have placed them between good in the case of its flexibility is because Sonys structure after Sir Howard Stringer had made it flexible for the company like the Sony Mobile business unit to merge with Ericsson Sonys Music Entertainment division had a 50-50 joint venture with Bertelsmann Music Group. Sony also sold many of its non-core assets like the restaurant chains etc after its restructuring since it made it easy by moving these non-core business units out of the way to concentrate on the core business. The Risk and Benefits of the Multidivisional Structure As we found out through our analysis that Sony Corporation has a multidivisional structure and Goold and Campbells five tests of good general design principles helps us to see what risks and benefits that Sony Corporation faced when Howard Stringer took over. The Benefits   In Electronics group Sony placed centralized decision-making power over key areas under the Electronics CEO. This change assures coordination and focus across newly defined business groups. Exact horizontal coordination in main areas- product planning, technology, procurement, manufacturing, and sales and marketing-will allow fast and streamlined decision making across product lines. Concentration on particular business area (Games, Entertainment, Electronics, Mobile phones) Flexible (Sony Corporation can focus its resources on different business groups, which depends on market situation, add, close or merge divisions ) Specialization of competence (We can see that each division has actually become its own company like the Sony Electronics Inc., the Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.) Ability to give clear direction and make a working environment that draws out the unique talents of employees and helps them to reach their full potential Encourages general management development Ownership of strategy (As per the strategies implemented we can see clearly that he had devised different strategies for each core product that Sony was providing and so he also divided the companys organizational structure the same way) Investment in core businesses Sony divisions enable to work in tandem for their mutual advantage (to develop new-age products).    The Risks Conflicts between divisions Additional cost of the center Difficulty of co-operation between business groups (due to the large organization structure of the company the knowledge sharing and cooperation between the business units become very limited but Howard Stringer has tried overcoming this by placing five strategic committees across the business units) Divisions might grow too large (as we said before each division has actually become its own company like the Sony Electronics Inc. or the Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and there is a risk of them grow too large) Power is centralized As CEO Sir Howard Stringer recalled in a 2005 New Yorker article, the engineers started to suffer from a damaging not invented here syndrome, even as rivals were introducing next-generation products such as the iPod and Xbox. As a result of their belief that outside ideas were not as good as inside ones, they missed opportunities in such areas as MP3 players and flat-screen TVs and developed unwanted products-cameras that werent compatible with the most popular forms of memory, for instance. Looking at the above risks and benefits we can see that though there were a lot of risks in the structure Sir Howard needed to make a decision and he made this decision with the help of allies in the company and he also took help from persons who were made in-charge of changing the IBM structure many years back. They were successful in doing so and since Sir Howard was declared President of Sony Global we can say that he is still in there and is still fighting and restructuring to put Sony back on to globe again. Sony is today coming up with new customer focused products rather than products that are innovative but it is not what the customer wants. The Cultural Web Before Howard Stringer Organizational culture sometimes influences the organizations strategy if taken for granted. Culture has played a role in Sonys current financial difficulties. They had power blocks which hindered the flow of communication and corporation between the management, designers, production and marketing. The Cultural Web, developed by Gerry Johnson and Kevan Scholes in 1992, provides one such approach for looking at and changing your organizations culture. Using it, you can expose cultural assumptions and practices, and set to work aligning organizational elements with one another, and with your strategy. The Cultural Web identifies six interrelated elements that help to make up what Johnson and Scholes call the paradigm the pattern or model of the work environment. By analyzing the factors in each, you can begin to see the bigger picture of your culture: what is working, what isnt working, and what needs to be changed. The six elements are: Power Structures: Sony had a culture, were long serving executives have very strong influence on the organization. At their annual general meetings all these executives take up the front seats whiles the lower ranks are relegated to the back. Many of the working seniors did not even discuss their share values and did not have the involvement in the business. Control Systems: Sony emphasized on budget plans and emergency fixes as their main control systems. Quality was not really emphasized, they believed in getting the work done with the least amount of cost. Lower level staffs were not awarded for their achievements or bonuses given at the end of the year. All these were aimed at controlling cost. Organizational Structure: They had the functional/Transnational type of organization where the CEO sits at the top and all functional heads report to him. They believe in top management taking all the decisions without the involvement of the junior level engineers. These caused lack of communication and co-operation between the various units and more of delegation to get the problem solved. Stories: Sony had gone through continuous restructuring for the past 9 years to improve their financial positions. Sony was not customer focused. They did not invest in non-core businesses and lacked new-age products even though they had very good and talented engineers. Although Sony believed in harmony of the people and the company but with all this restructuring the morale of the employees was down and this was evident when there was a comment that there is sparkle in the eyes of the employees after Howard Stringer took over. Rituals Routines: As per the Japanese culture of respect Sony had a ritual that it never fired its high rank executives even after retiring. The senior managers were made Advisor (Gunther, 2006) and each of them had their own secretary, a car and driver and they also had the authority to second-question people who were actually working at Sony. At Sony the ritual was that if an engineer came to know about a fault in the product they would let the seniors know they would just fix the problem and just do it. Thus seniors were not involved in the business Symbols: There was a symbol of seniority when the company never really retired its senior managers and also in the fact that during annual meetings the seniors would be given the preferred and best seats in the hall while the others were given uncomfortable seats to symbolize the importance that Sony gave to its senior managers. To create the harmony they want and give employees a range of different health and wellness programs. Some of those (as taken from the Sony Site) are as below: They provided On-site fitness centers On-site flu shots On-site cafeterias Wellness fairs 100% medical and dental plans Health risk assessments Gym discounts Stop Smoking programs Nutrition information Ritual Routines Respect for senior managers Work in Harmony giving employees the best working environment. Seniors never got fired. Engineers got the freedom to do what they wanted to. Engineers did not inform senior managers of faults they just fixed it. Stories Continuous restructuring Morale was down Believed in the harmony of the environment and the peoples freedom of working in that environment Symbols Senior management given big pays No one really gets retired Health related programs and discounts available. Complete Medical covered. The Paradigm Respect for Seniors Emphasis on Harmony through-out the company Health and wellness programs, discounts and medical coverage Engineer-driven Culture New innovative products Power Structure A lot of power was given to seniors in the company who were not involved in the day to day work. Less responsibility on the shoulder of the seniors managers as responsibility was not taken Control Systems Budgets Emergency Fixes Organizational Structures Transnational Branches/devolved Delegative leadership style Engineer-driven culture Figure 7- Cultural Web before Howard Stringer became CEO of Sony Global Sony Corporation mainly focused on giving the best environment to its employees especially its engineers who were the minds behind the innovations. A high level of respect was kept between the senior and junior employees in the company. Various Health and wellness programs and benefits were available for employees. Sony was an engineer-driven culture which put what the engineers thought and innovated before what the customers wanted or what the market demanded. The Cultural Web After Howard Stringer Power Structures: Howard was made the new CEO thus giving power of the company to him. He was able to make changes but very smartly Howard made Chubachi his right hand man since he was aware that he was the first non-Japanese CEO of the company. His power can be seen in the fact that Howard is now President of Sony in 2009. Control Systems: There was a more cost control in the company through reduction of employees in many of the sites. Manufacturing companies were consolidated and shut down in many areas. Rewards and bonuses based on group performance (not seniority) after Howard Stringer had taken over. Organizational Structure: With the structural changes that Howard had made to the company Sony had a flatter structure. Management was made to be more involved in each of the business units of the company. There was more responsibility given to senior and middle management. Stories: As per Chubachi, it was said that since Sir Howard had taken over there was a sparkle in the eyes of the employees. The over all morale of the company was better. After Howard came people were still not sure if they knew where they were leading to but they understood the company strategy which was to make the company cool again. People were more excited. Rituals Routines: After Howard came he dissolved the advisory board that consisted of 45 senior mangers who had a say in the company even after they had retired. Main customer who had used Sony products for a long time where now giving their inputs on the Sony products. Engineers were given more appreciations. Success was being celebrated through Award ceremonies, Christmas parties, training programs and knowledge sharing sessions. Symbols: After Howard came he dissolved the advisory board that consisted of 45 senior managers who had a say in the company even after they had retired. Each of them had a secretary, a car and driver and probably many other benefits. The gap between the senior management and the juniors was being reduced. Ritual Routines Good communications Customer involvement Appreciations Giving praise Celebration of success Stories Reduced Gap between the senior managers and juniors. People were more aware of the company strategy. Symbols Senior management who had retired where not taken care of by the company. Promotions based on group performance The Paradigm Respect for Seniors Emphasis on Harmony through-out the company Health and wellness programs, discounts and medical coverage New innovative products Power Structure Engineers given limited power Management given more responsibility along with current power. Restructuring of power in the company Control Systems Budgets Partnership agreements Financial controls Organizational Structures Multi-divisional Units based on market priority and business needs. democratic leadership style Figure 8- Cultural Web after Howard Stringer became CEO of Sony Global From the above cultural web we can see that Sony did not undergo major paradigm changes but did move from a transnational structure to a multi-divisional (Electronic department was a matrix) structure. Sir Howard Stringers Change Management Change management is also known as Change control. It is usually referred to the process by which the change of a system/process/organization is implemented in a controlled manner. If we look at the above Cultural Webs before and after Sir Howard Stringer took over Sony we can see that in order to bring the changes as per the paradigms shown above he had to adopt a Change Management program. Organizational change management processes include techniques for creating a change management strategy which is getting everybody involved in the change process. Engaging senior managers as change leaders, they become the sponsors of the change program. You also need to build awareness of the need for change (communications) getting everybody to understand why the need for change. Developing skills and knowledge to support the change (education and training), helping employees move through the period of change (coaching by managers and supervisors), and methods to sustain the change (measurement systems, rewards and reinforcement). Howard Stringer had instituted all these processes for his change management, but due to the dominance culture that existed before Howard Stringer took over, he had some resistance against his change management programme. There were forces for change and forces against change. Using Kurt Lewins force field analysis tool will help us analyse some of the driving and restraining force in Howard Stringers change management. These were some of the forces for and against his change management. Positive Forces ( + ) He came from a different culture and a different way of doing things Customers want new products Improve speed of production and raise volumes of out put Involvement of all employees using the bottom-up approach Experience and talented engineers It was a long-term strategy Introducing new technologies Reducing cost Dominant values where they believe in top management taking all the decisions They believe in the status quo, the normal way of doing things Negative Forces ( ) Not customer focused Fear of losing their position or become redundant Uncertainty not sure if the change program will work or not As per Johnson and Scholes in their book Exploring Competitive Strategy they have provided a framework for strategic change. Diagnosing the change situation à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Managing Styles and roles à ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Levers for managing change In the case of Sony it is evident that Sir Howard adopted the Reconstruction type of strategic change. In this type of a change the paradigm does not fundamentally change but there will be majo