Plugged-in boss puts spark back in Sony
By Raymond Zhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-08-23 10:16
Talking about how to reconcile this multi-centre entertainment platform,
Chubachi clarified that the centre is where the display, the television, is
located. "It has got to be the living room. But it will extend beyond the living
room - into the study, the office, and even outdoors, where IPTV and mobile
equipment will come into play. It is also where opportunities will arise in
abundance."
Opportunity is also the buzzword when it comes to Sony's
China operation.
Sony is in "Phase 3" of its growth in the Chinese
market, said Chubachi. It started by setting up a production base in southern
China. In 1996, Sony China was founded, marking a shift in the company's
perception of China "as a market."
"We are now at phase three, when we
are training local talent and developing local technologies. We're integrating
R&D, production and marketing," said Chubachi. "On top of it, we want to be
a good corporate citizen and are actively involved in many charity and public
service projects."
The 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2007 Women's
Football World Cup are also events that will benefit Sony's promotion of its
products such as flat-panel screens. "Sony China will grow in tandem with the
Chinese economy."
As a matter of fact, Chubachi sees Sony more as an
Asian company, at least one with Asian management style. Of the 160,000
employees globally, 50,000-60,000 are Japanese and 25,000 Chinese. "Some say our
style is Western oriented. I cannot comment on it because I have not worked
outside Sony. But we try to incorporate the best from both worlds."
He
cited examples of executive titles that have only English names. At one point,
Sony had 30 presidents, and now "we have only one."
Even the Japanese
word for "company" was replaced by the English equivalent. But some of these
were reversed when "we found the original terms were more accurate. There's a
lot in our culture that is worth keeping."
The sharpest criticism of Sony
in recent years was for its supposed "synergy" between software and hardware. It
did not give rise to an iconic product like iPod, which was created by a nimble
market player like Apple.
Chubachi explained that Sony employs the model
of "vertical integration," which has the benefit of value-added features, but
also carries the limitation of less compatibility. "Consumers want to go across
platforms," he said, "so we have worked to solve the problem by enhancing
compatibility such as adding MP3 and AAC features to the new line of
Walkman."
Chubachi admitted that he was surprised by the success of iPod,
"especially in a product field where the Walkman is a benchmark." But he is not
worried. With the recovery across all Sony product lines, "we are confident that
we'll take back the position of market leader that the Walkman used to
occupy."
Chubachi has not used an iPod, but he has three different
Walkmans. And he may write about their cool features in his
blog.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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