Sony chief executive Kazuo Hirai has been struggling to turn around its television and smartphone businesses

With an increasing competition in the television and smartphone industries, Sony has been struggling to generate profits. Apple and Samsung, in particular, have been its major competitors as they are now leading the electronics industry. Consequently, Sony is unable to return dividends to its shareholders and plans to cut staff in the mobile phone unit by 15% to reduce costs.

Sony’s Early Downhill

Using the Ishikawa diagram, we can infer that Sony’s bankruptcy is partly due to local competition and limited distribution in countries with its target market such as China and US. Recently, Sony has culled 5,000 jobs from its computer and television unit. This affects Sony’s key resources and cost structure in its Business Canvas. Although Sony can reduce costs by making its employees redundant, this might also result in a negative corporate image, which can therefore dampen consumer’s confidence in even more.

Recapturing the Market

In conclusion, Sony needs to weigh the consequences in its decision to resolve this issue because of the potential gradual brand deterioration of the company. In the short-term although it seems that Sony’s profit margin is increasing due to lower costs, it will still experience falling market share, as consumers switch to other competitors. Thus, Sony can try improving its competitive advantage through launching new, innovative products to capture the market again.