Sony Corporation Research and Development

Sony Corporation Research and Development Sony Corporation is an international company that was established in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, the companys headquarter is located in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The company was originally called Tokyo Telecommunication Engineering Corp which started with as little as $1500. Ibuka and Morita decided to operate the firm internationally in the 1950s and changed the name to Sony since the name Tokyo Telecommunication Engineering Corp was already taken at the time. The first product Sony released onto the market was a transistor radio in 1955 which was the first one in Japan at the time; some other key products developed by Sony are the Headset stereo walkman in 1979, Compact Disc Discman in 1984 and Mini Disc system which was launched in 1992. Today Sony offers a wide range of electronic equipments such as home and portable audio system, digital cameras, DVD players, televisions, video game console, mobile phones and both home and portable computers. The company has become extreme ly successful today; according to its consolidated financial results, its sales and operating revenue were 78.88 billion US dollars in 2009. So just what makes the company so successful despite operating in such a competitive industry and starting with so little fund? To answer this question we will examine the organisation, management and research and developments of the company as well as any strategic alliances and collaborations with other firms. Before we look at the research and developments carried out by Sony Corporations, I would like to quickly mention the recent trend of RD activities in the UK as well as the global. According to the DIUS review, the 850 largest corporate in the UK spent over â‚ ¤21.6 billion on RD activities in 2007, which was an increase of 7% compared to the previous year, 2006. Globally, 1,400 of the worlds most active companies invested over â‚ ¤274 billion in 2007, which increased by 9.5% from the previous year. These data suggest that Research and development becomes more and more popular to companies all over the world as companies starting to understand the importance of RD activities RD is vital to the survival of a company due to the increasing competition from rivals in all kind of industries in the world. Companies need to constantly improve the design and performance of its products in order to stay ahead of its competition. By having better products with better design, performances and more importantly products that suits consumers taste than rivals, a company can gain a larger portion of the market shares, therefore making more profits. Research and development activities can usually be separated into two main categories, they are internal RD and non-internal RD. Internal research and development is basically any RD activities that are carried out or managed by the company itself. On the other hand, non-internal research and development are RD activities that arent operated by the company itself, strategic alliances and collaboration with other companies is a good example. Sony Corporation employs both internal and non-internal RD activities which we will be discussing shortly The below diagram demonstrates the amount of money spent in RD by Sony Corporation from 1998 to 2007. As we can see from the diagram, RD expenditure has increased gradually from 375314 billion yens to 514483 billion yens from 1998 to 2003. And from 2003 to 2007, the amount on money invested in RD fluctuates between 514483 billion yens to 543937 billion yens. Sony Corporation spent around from 5.8% to 7.8% of their sales and operating revenues on RD during this period of time. So just what did Sony Corporations RD focuses on?   According to the companys fact book that was published in 2006 on its website, it stated that the companys RD will be focusing on four main areas, they are: Platforms for home and mobile electronics Semiconductor technologies Devices technologies and Software technologies To improve the platforms for home and mobile electronics, Sony focuses on developing products that support the high definition content. In semiconductor technologies, Sony focuses on developing electronic applications for Cell, which is a very powerful microprocessor.In devices technologies, Sony is focusing on developing Blu-ray disc technologies which is designed to enhance High Definition vision to the next level. Finally for software technology, Sony focuses on developing software that helps consumers to operate electronic products in a more user friendly way. Other software focuses are codecs and Digital Rights Managemnet (DRM) which is designed to protect products such as music, video and ebooks. Sony Corporation has a total of three developments group and four research centres around the world. There 3 groups and 4 centres are under Sonys direct control, they are: Technology Development Group – this department involves in developing common element technologies and newly launched products in order to expand the business. Display Device development Group – this department involves in developing new display for the next generation of products Core Technology Development Group this department involves in developing new devices for the next generation of products Materials Laboratories – this department involves in finding new advanced materials to produce more superior products which in turn increases the competiveness of the company. Information Technologies Laboratories this department focuses on researching in new information in order to produce products that set apart from rivalrys products 6)A-cubed Research Center – this department involves in research of image signal processing technologies Sony Computer Science Laboratories   The seven departments we have just looked at is operated by Sony Corporative Headquarter directly, which means they are in-house RD, we will next look at the non-internal RD activities carried out by Sony, its strategic alliances and collaborations with other major companys Sony has a large number of different strategy alliances and collaborations with different companies. In this essay, it will be focusing on two of the most well known examples, they are Sony Ericsson and Sandisk. Sony Ericsson was established in October 2001, it was a joint venture of Sony

Articles of Confederation Essay

With intentions of creating a united nation, colonial leaders developed the Articles of Confederation. Although the Articles of Confederation helped lead the United States to the creation of the Constitution, it did not provide for an effective government from 1781 to 1787, do to its lack of power to control commerce and impose taxes, the failure to amalgamate its people as a country, and its inability to enforce laws. Though its overall ineffectiveness, the Articles of Confederation (the Articles) had several positive results. One positive effect was that kept the states united during the war. This helped greatly in successfully dealing with western lands. The Land Ordinance of 1785 distributed land in an organized manner among the states. Another purpose for this was to create land for education. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 led to western expansion, forbid slavery north of the Ohio River. Although there were disputes about the distributions, the land was generally divided fairly. (Doc E) The Articles of Confederation preserved sovereignty and the republican ideology held on to by the Real Whigs of the colonial era. This would allow for the equality of the thirteen states having the right to vote on different aspects of the Articles. One of the major issues that was not incorporated in the Articles of Confederation was their power to control a monetary system. This included imposing taxes on the states and regulating commerce. This flaw allowed various states to create different laws concerning taxes that would conflict with each other. A growing problem at the time was that every state had their own money system which created troubles when using money from state to state. With each state having their own money, and having no value from state to state, the market value of United States Exports declined sharply from 1775 when exports were booming, to 1787. (Doc B) Another major factor in this was the increase in cheap British imports. In addition to the fact that the Articles did not give the central government the power to have a central monetary structure and force taxes on the states, the pre-war debt rose. Money owed to soldiers for service was unable to be paid largely due to their inability to maintain a stable income that would come through taxes. Doc. C) Congress had hoped that each state would comply with the tax quota they had â€Å"requested† from each state. From that, they would receive about one-fourth of these requests. Along with the monetary imperfection under the Articles of Confederation, the states failure to unify led it to be ineffective for the United States government. For example, when dealing with western land, the government did not have much authority and states we continuously gaining and loosing land. (Doc E) This threatened the accord of the states. An example of being unable to come together would be Rhode Island when they declined to attend the Constitutional Convention because they believed that oust their state power and would lead to the creation of a stronger central government. They also disagreed with Congress in that they were able to propose an impost on imported goods. This was mainly applied to the commercial states, Rhode Island being one of them. (Doc A) One of the major reasons why the Articles proved to be ineffective was the lack of a strong central government. One power the government was entitled to but never implemented heavily on the states as they should have was the authority to sign treaties with other countries. In some cases they failed to even do this. For example, the southern portion of the Mississippi River was being controlled by Spain and although the government attempted to fix this issue, they were unable to do so and rolled over. (Doc F) Along with Spain, Britain still held forts in western land and in lower parts of Canada that influenced the United States greatly by disrupting trade. This became an issue because of the debt held on to by the US and the money owed to the British merchants by the American merchants. (Doc D) This issue came into perspective because of the abused rights given in the Treaty of Paris. (Doc D) Out of the Articles of Confederation, many great things were brought to the attention of the United States government that was able to be put forth toward the establishment of the Constitution. But in doing so provided the United States with an ineffective government from 1781 to 1787. Their incapability to regulate commerce and enforce taxes on the states was a major factor in the unsuccessful government under the Articles. Also, the lack of unification amongst states and people influenced this. The powers granted within the Articles of Confederation to the government regarding foreign affairs were established but then were not deeply enforced, showing a weak command. Despite the Articles of Confederations ineffectiveness on the United States government, it proved to help in the creation of the Constitution in a positive way.

The Story Cinderella Through a Marxist’s Eye

In a Marxist view, a capitalistic society equates economic status to social status. The story of Cinderella by Charles Perrault highlights a number of these views. Cinderella’s stepfamily longingly desired to keep their social standing. They are willing to but Cinderella into poverty by making her their slave. By doing so, they ensure their social and economic standing. The prince has a similar need to keep his high-class standing but requires a bride to maintain these necessities. The prince reaches his goal by marrying Cinderella to create a possible heir to his throne. Cinderella’s stepfamily and the prince sustain their economic power by upholding their social status. In a capitalistic society, there is a dependency on having a lower class in order to maintain the higher class. Since Cinderella’s stepfamily has a lot of money and she has nothing, they maintain their economic status by demoting her to slavery. In the beginning of the fairy tale after her mother dies, her father remarries to maintain his economic status. Cinderella is unfortunate when soon after his death she is plunged into poverty. Throughout the story, her stepfamily continues to live in luxury while keeping Cinderella in squalor. While her stepsisters slept in expensive beds and were dressed in lavish fashions, Cinderella had to sleep in a bed made of straw and wear old dirty rags. The stepmother requires Cinderella to be kept in poverty in order to maintain their economic and social status. Cinderella will never have the chance to rise to the higher class since she does not earn any money. Unless someone existing in the higher class takes her out of her poverty, she will continue to exist within the lower class. In this time period, people were defined within society by how much money they acquired. The prince’s social standing of being in the ruling class is also dependent on economic wealth. In order for his family to stay in power he needs to have an heir to the throne. He hosts an extravagant ball at his castle to find a suitable bride and all the ladies in the town were invited to attend. Cinderella wanted eagerly to go the ball, but knew she was not wealthy enough to look the part. Cinderella is fortunate enough to have help from a supernatural force, called her fairy godmother, to transform her into appearing like she was from the high-class society. Her beauty was so intriguing that the prince fell in love the moment he looked at her. Once he finds Cinderella from the help of his servants, she is pulled out of slavery and into the ruling class. The prince enables his family to maintain their economic and social status by marrying Cinderella. He now will have an heir to the throne and his family will be preserved in the royal society. The struggle between the higher and lower classes of society is prominent within Marxism. Charles Perrault highlights this ideology in the fairytale of Cinderella. Cinderella’s stepfamily wants to keep their maintain their economic and social standing. They make Cinderella their slave and instantly plunge her into poverty. Their economic standing is ensured as soon as she is put the lower class. The prince similarly keeps his social standing when he finds a bride. The prince and Cinderella get married therefore maintain his economic and social status and ultimately creating a possible heir to his throne. In the story Cinderella economic status is ensured through differences in social statuses. Marxist views uphold this society and therefore capitalism is sustained.

George Huxley s Brave New World - 869 Words

There can only be the powerful where there is the weak; without flaw, there is no such thing as aptness. Authority is identified through triumph and attainment, while outlining a structured classification of supremacy. Humans discriminate against unethical eminences thus isolating a domain of antagonism. Grievous power blossoms from the heart of centralism only to conceptualize the inexorable weakness which follows; the destruction of the individual. Aldous Huxley, an English novelist and philosopher, writes about the effects of a fictional world â€Å"under the iron curtain†. His inventive novel, Brave New World, evaluates the incompatibility between the savage and human which possess dangerous clashes to a community with resilient†¦show more content†¦The scene where the director is ‘educating’ the future generation of the World State, he emphasizes the importance of this propaganda technique as, â€Å"The greatest moralizing and socializing force o f all time.† These influential phrases are presented to the youth during sleeping hours. In addition to the way the overlord, Hitler, would give his most moving, promotional speeches in the late hours of the day to increase the authoritative power of the address onto the individuals who were viewing. Discrimination inside the World State occurs in few forms. Huxley prioritized the elimination of colored skin inside of the upper class generation of the World State citizens. Similarly, Hitler performed mass extermination of Jews during his reign, resulting in the ‘pure’ race. Another form representing the resentment against individuals with non-pure skin, demonstrating totalitarianism. John, a prime specimen of savagery, grasps the reasoning behind his stay in the World State, to be observed. In this scene, he refuses to be objectified by a crowd of paramount individuals. â€Å"The men were furious at having been tricked into behaving politely to this insignifican t fellow with the unsavory reputation and the heretical opinions. The higher their position in the hierarchy, the deeper their resentment.† (Pg. 173).