An Analysis of the Performance of Sony Corporation


Elaboration, 2017

12 Pages


Excerpt


Contents

Introduction

Performance analysis

Performance analysis of Sony Corporation

Obtaining job description of individual employee

Gather resumes

Reviewing employee performance appraisals

Performance gap analysis

Performance intervention strategy

Performance intervention evaluation plan

The role and implications of culture

Recommendations

References

Introduction

Sony Corporation is one of the leading manufacturers of electronic products in Japan founded in 1946. Since then, Sony Corporation has expanded its business to the United States and several other countries globally (Sony historical statistics, 2001). Currently, the company has diversified its business to include customer and professional electronics, financial services, gaming and entertainment industry. It is the leading manufacturer and supplier of electronic products. In early 2017, Sony Corporation was ranked 105th in the list of Fortune global 500 companies. Initially, the financial performance of the company grew to great heights up until March 2012 when it recorded a net loss of over $6 billion which was attributed to its numerous product lines in the entertainment value chain.

Performance analysis

Performance analysis is a discipline which involves a comprehensive and detailed observation of an organization’s in a bid to improve its performance (Elliot, 2007). It is also a process that is done so as to improve decision making processes in an organization, and primarily deliver the desired objectives of the organization. Performance analysis of a business organization comprise of processes, measurements, methodologies and systems that is used by business organizations to measure and manage the achievements that are quantifiable. Performance analysis provides organizations with framework which they can adopt to set their objectives, measure the actual performance against the desired performance (Gagne, et al. 2013). Business performance analysis therefore refers to various techniques and methodologies that is used to quantify organizational performance over a particular period. The analysis can be done in any sector of business as long as all key performance indicators are considered in the analysis. Key Performance Indicators (KPI) depicts the performance of a particular sector of an organization (Elliot, 2007). It allows for a detailed review to be carried out independent of external factors.

Performance analysis comprises of the following:

- Identifying the needs of the business organization
- Performance needs of the business organization
- Work environment of the business organization
- Capability needs of the organization and its employees

Performance analysis of Sony Corporation

The first step of conducting a performance analysis of Sony Corporation is to conduct an assessment to in order to identify specific needs of individual employee, group or employees or the needs of the organization. This is done by completing a number of analyses that will bring forth the divergence or discrepancies between the actual performance of Sony Corporation at the moment, and the desired performance as enshrined in the objective of the business organization (Broad, & Newstrom, 2012). After assessment, it is also important to clarify the desired results, develop boundaries of the issues and analyze factors that enhances or inhibit the performance of the business organization. Therefore, there is a dire need to have an in-depth understanding of what is happening in the organization and to bring into light the issues that requires attention. It is also important to clarify the desired results and understand what inhibits the realization of the desired performance (Gagne, et al. 2013). Business organizations conduct performance analysis for the following reasons;

- Evaluate the progress of particular tasks, or jobs
- Determine the status of the organization, in both financial and non-financial aspects
- Design strategies for employee development in terms of strengths and skills

The analysis enables the organization to understand the abilities and competencies of each and every employee in the organization. It also helps in enhancing and promoting the interests of the employees in the organization.

The following are the steps to be taken in conducting performance analysis in Sony Corporation

- Determining the desired business outcomes. It is important for performance analysis practitioners to understand the expected outcomes of Sony Corporation in terms of employee performance product performance and organizational performance.
- Link the desired outcomes with the behavior of the employees. The behavior of employees affects the performance of the business. Well behaved employees tend to perform better than employees with disruptive behavior. On the other hand, culture plays a critical role in ensuring performance. A good corporate culture binds the employees to work together in harmony and to achieve a common objective therefore enhancing the performance of the employees (Gagne, et al. 2013).
- Identifying trainable competencies. Employee competencies play a critical role in the performance of both employees and the organizations. Sony Corporation being an electronic manufacturing company comprises mainly Information Technology practitioners, and Electronics and Electrical engineers among others. These employees require constant on job training in order to be informed with the technological advancement. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the employees acquire quality competencies in their area of expertise (Ford, & Weissbein, 2007). By assessing individual employee’s competencies, it will be easy to understand which employee requires further training on particular area of competence.
- Evaluating core competencies of employees in Sony Corporation. Competencies are defined as patterns of behavior skills, knowledge, and abilities of employees needed to perform a given task or job. These competencies are important because it ensures success of an organization, improves employee performance, measures the level of responsibility and improves collaboration and teamwork (Gagne, et al. 2013).

The following are steps that should be taken at Sony Corporation in order to evaluate the core competencies of employees.

Obtaining job description of individual employee

This will involve reviewing responsibilities and duties of each employee and their qualifications required for the position the employee is holding at Sony Corporation. Other additional assignments that are not in the job description and are given to the employee by the organization should also be considered (Rossett, & Gautier-Downes, 2011). It is also important to involve the supervisor to provide information on individual skills of the employee, note the skills and rank appraise the employee.

Gather resumes

The resumes of each employee are then compared with the results obtained from job skill testing and the skills stated in the resume. If the skills match, then the employee is proficient but if they do not match, the competency of the employee is questionable and therefore there is a need for the employee to have skill assessment test.

Reviewing employee performance appraisals

It is important to review past appraisals of the employees of Sony Corporation. The skills thus should be listed down and identify the ratings of each employee. By doing this, it will be easier to identify core competencies of each employee (Rossett, & Gautier-Downes, 2011). Moreover, it will also assist in determining employee performance and the reason behind their poor performance.

- Determining performance gap After determining the core competencies of each employee in Sony Corporation performance gap is then determined
- Prioritizing the training needs of employees at Sony Corporation. This is done by selecting the training needs from the most urgent to the least urgent training needs of the employees.

Performance gap analysis

Performance gap is the difference between the present position of an organization and the intended or desired position. Performance gap analysis enables a business organization to determine how far it has come towards achieving its objectives and goals (Ford, & Weissbein, 2007). It therefore determines how far the organization needs to go in order to achieve its objective. Performance gap analysis is conducted so as to close the gap between the desired objective and the present status of the organization. In evaluating how to improve Sony Corporation, the performance of employees is an important consideration. The overall performance of the company is also important, therefore, performance gap analysis is a means of determining where the performance gap exists in Sony Corporation or with its employees.

Performance intervention strategy

There is a relationship between performance gap/cause analysis and the performance intervention strategy. Intervention strategy is considered as an opportunity for improvement or change (Clark, 2010). An effective change initiative is the one that produces the best results at the lowest cost possible. Before implementing an intervention strategy, it is important to design the strategy first (Ford, & Weissbein, 2007). Therefore, designing a return on investment is important for a successful intervention strategy. After analyzing the performance gap, an intervention strategy is then formulated in order to address the gap. The following is a table stipulating the performance gap at Sony Corporation and the possible intervention strategies that should be adopted.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

There are several performance intervention strategies that reduce the performance gap in a business organization and its employees (Baldwin, & Ford, 2008). Therefore, it is important to select an intervention strategy that will enable Sony Corporation to accomplish and attain the desired results with the highest Return on Investment (ROI). Therefore, there is great significance in determining the strategic plan of an organization and how the interventions strategy will affect the organizational culture at present and in the foreseeable future.

An intervention plan that is suitable for Sony Corporation will be the ROI

As a performance intervention practitioner, it is important to decide the type on intervention strategy (Ford, & Weissbein, 2007). The following are the types of intervention strategies.

- Using in-house intervention
- Outsourcing intervention
- Using custom intervention
- Off-the-shelf intervention

Performance intervention evaluation plan

Designing an evaluation measurement strategy is important so that it is possible to determine whether the performance of an organization has been met. The following is an evaluation of performance intervention plan

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

In designing evaluation plan to measure end results after intervention strategy has been implemented it is important to measure the Return on investment. It is also important for performance practitioners to calculate the Return on Investment which then will allow the strategic evaluation of performance intervention at Sony Corporation. It is also important to provide the management of Sony Corporation with solid information on the effect of performance intervention and the Sony Corporation’s strategic plan. The primary concern for HPT practitioners is how to provide results-based reports to the management so as to support their contribution performance interventions and strategic plan.

The role and implications of culture

Culture in every organization directs the way employees interact with each other, it also defines the way they complete the assigned tasks. Organizational culture comprises of various values, rituals, beliefs that govern the way an organization operate (Rossett, & Gautier-Downes, 2011). Corporate culture binds the workforce together. However, in times of organizational change, the challenge for any organization is to change the culture because the employees in the organization have become accustomed to particular culture.

An effective organizational culture enables the employees to be like-minded and hold same ethical values, professional ethics and beliefs that align well with the objectives and goals of the organization (Rossett, & Gautier-Downes, 2011). Strong organizational culture enhances teamwork and thus helps in avoiding conflicts among the employees in the organization. It also enhances communication of responsibilities and roles. It enables the employees to know what the management expects of them and how their performance will be assessed. For Sony Corporation, it is very important for the management team to ensure that the current culture is strengthened so that teamwork among the employees is enhanced.

There are varying impacts of organizational culture especially on employee motivation and performance level. In every organization, employees work hard to meet the organizational objectives if they feel part and parcel of the organization (Rossett, & Gautier-Downes, 2011). Therefore Sony Corporation should ensure that its organizational culture is all inclusive especially considering the fact that the company draws its employees from various parts or the world. However, it is also important to note that different cultures in an organization can impact the performance of the employees because it can cause rivalries among the employees. On the other hand, organizations must also engage the incumbent and the new employees with same beliefs and organizational values that constitute to the culture of the organization so that they can all assimilate to the company to strengthen the performance of all the employees.

Recommendations

Below are the recommendations are made basing on an assessment of Sony Corporation

i. There is a need to assign responsibility to performance interventions strategies so that they can ensure that the intervention strategies implemented are monitored.
ii. There is also a need for Sony Corporation’s human resource management to asses the competencies of all the employees.
iii. Further training of employees to be carried out so as to enhance their job skills and knowledge.
iv. There is also a need to strengthen the organizational culture to accommodate divers employee background.

References

Baldwin, T.T. and Ford, J.K. (2008). Transfer of training: a review and directions for future research. Personnel psychology

Broad, ML. and Newstrom, J.W. (2012). Transfer of training: action-packed strategies to ensure high payoff from training investments. Reading MA: Addison-Wesley.

Clark, R.E. (2010). The CANE model of motivation to learn and to work: a two-stage process of goal commitment and effort. International journal of educational research.

Elliot, P. (2007). Job aids. In Harold D. Stolovitch and Erica J. Keeps (eds.) Handbook of human performance technology, second edition. San Francisco CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Ford, J.K. and Weissbein, D.A. (2007). Transfer of training: an updated review and analysis. Performance improvement

Gagne, E. D., Yekovich, C.W. and Yekovich, F.R. (2013). The cognitive psychology of school learning, second edition. New York NY: HarperCollins College Publications.

Gagne, R. M. (2015). The conditions of learning, fourth edition. New York NY: Rinehart and Winston.

Gery, G. (20111). Electronic performance support systems. Cambridge MA: Ziff Institute.

Harless, J.H. (2001). Job aids workshop: collection of self-instructional lessons and practical exercises. Newnan GA: Harless Performance Guild.

Rossett, A. and Gautier-Downes, J. (2011). A handbook of job aids. San Diego CA: Pfeiffer and Company.

Stolovitch, H.D. and Keeps, E.J. (2012). Handbook of human performance technology. San Francisco CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Sony historical statistics (2001).

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/fr/historical.html

Excerpt out of 12 pages

Details

Title
An Analysis of the Performance of Sony Corporation
Course
Strategic Management
Author
Year
2017
Pages
12
Catalog Number
V380247
ISBN (eBook)
9783668586765
ISBN (Book)
9783668586772
File size
415 KB
Language
English
Keywords
CASE STUDY, Sony, assessment, analysis
Quote paper
Robinson Kipkemoi (Author), 2017, An Analysis of the Performance of Sony Corporation, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/380247

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