Human Resource Management Analysis: Sony's Strategic Approach

This essay provides an analysis of Sony's human resource management (HRM) practices, focusing on its evolution from a small electronics company to a global multinational corporation. The paper examines key aspects of Sony's operations, including its productivity, product development, core values, skill sets, strategic planning, and work culture, in the context of HRM theory. The essay explores how Sony has adapted its HRM strategies to face market competition, emphasizing the importance of employee treatment, training, and diverse work environments. It also discusses the internal factors such as technology and organizational structure that directly affect Sony's HRM. The analysis aims to offer insights into how Sony can further improve its strategies to enhance productivity and maintain a competitive edge in the industry. The essay includes references to relevant HRM theories and practices to support its arguments.

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The following essay will discuss and analyze the human resource management theory on
relation tone of Asia’s largest company Sony. The company was once a humble company selling
electronic goods and services (Green,2016). Kazuo Hirai, the President and CEO of the company
lead it through its major transformations from a startup to a multinational giant. This paper will
broadly discuss the various aspects of Sony in relation to its productivity, efficiency, products,
services, core values, skill sets, strategies, missions, work culture, market competition and apply
the human resource management theory to develop strategies in order to give a tough
competition to the rivals (Manning&Butcher,2013).
Sony was established in 1946 after the Second World War in Tokyo. Its initial name was
Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corp. by Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka. It launched its
U.S. branch in the year 1960. The launch of the Walkman was a game changer for Sony.
However, even after the era of tapes and CDs, Sony has been able to retain its market position
and clientele. In order to avoid competition from the rival firms, it is important to give
importance to the ever-evolving human resource management. According to the then chairman
of Sony, Akio Morita the success of the giant company was simply in the way they treat their
employees. The basic structure of any company should be that of freedom and open-mindedness
with more emphasis on performance and skills (Bratton&Gold,2017). Some companies have
developed Employer Value proposition or EVP that define the value of the employee’s work.
The EVP introduces the ‘x factor’ that clearly states what the company offers its employees and
expects from them. The company should also provide management based training to the
employees. In order to face rivalry from other companies the foundation of the company should
be strong. The foundation of any company comprises of its employees and staff members. The
strategic recruitment, planning and selection of candidates can also help on the growth of the

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company. An efficient and skilled staff will help Sony in facing competition from the rivals.
Proper education and training of the employees is an important aspect when it comes to human
resource management. The company can offer attractive incentives to its employees in order to
enhance quality and performance. Employees are the stairs that lead to a company’s success.
Hence, their well-being should not be ignored (Warner,2014). Providing them health related
benefits like health insurance and other coverage can motivate them to work. Sony, being an
international company, is located globally. Therefore, the work culture is diverse in nature. There
are people coming from every background and ethnicity. The company must strive to respect
every employee no matter what is their religious or cultural background. The internal factors
directly affecting human resource management of Sony are technology, structure, size, work
culture and organizational strategy. In fact, technological functions is one of the most astounding
power of any company. Technology helps in cutting the production costs, improves efficiency
and increases the access to its clientele. Productivity of Sony will increase once it has all the
right information.
These are the specific methods that Sony should adopt in order to survive competition
from the rival firms and increase its productivity.

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References
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Green, S. (2016). Sony. Bellwether Media. 221-228.
Manning, M. L., & Bucher, K. T. (2013). Classroom management: Models, applications, and
cases. Pearson.
Warner, M. (2014). In search of Confucian HRM: theory and practice in Greater China and
beyond. In Confucian HRM in Greater China (pp. 9-34). Routledge.