Vertical Integration at Sony Essay Example

Vertical Integration at Sony Essay Example Vertical Integration at Sony Essay Vertical Integration at Sony Essay Vertical Integration Back in 2002, Sony geared themselves toward a vertical strategy as reported by Rob Weisenthal, VP and CFO of Sony Corp. of America, â€Å"Under the USA umbrella, we undertook a number of vertical initiatives for each operating division. These have already produced significant operational streamlining and financial performance improvements. † As discussed in his release, Weisenthal talked about Sony Pictures Entertainment and their strategy to restructure television operations, where core programming competencies were focused on. Film and television digitalization efforts have been expanded and have engineered a significant reduction in their corporate overhead. In addition, he mentionted that Sony Music has made long strides in manufacturing consolidation, overhead reduction and the huddling of international offices. Between the two sectors of operation Sony has saved an average of $125 million by integrating its operations in a vertical fasion. In addition to these vertical initiatives, under the Project USA umbrella, Sony has begun a set of horizontal initiatives across the operating companies that will result in the creation of several shared platforms. Each of our divisions will share in the scale economics for all common services. These platforms include (2002): Logistics: The logistics platform will enable integrated supply chain management. All operating divisions are working towards greater consolidation of manufacturing, distribution, and transportation operations. Purchasing: The purchasing platform will increase buying power through joint purchasing contracts. This initiative has already resulted in significant savings in expenses related to travel, part-time personnel, usage of external consultants and legal fees. Media-Buying: With respect to media buying, Sony consolidated media planning and spending dollars of U. S. and Canadian operations for Electronics, Music, and Pictures divisions with Universal-McCann. Savings amounted to $20 million in this fiscal year alone (2002-2003). IT Infrastructure: And finally, Sony is the midst of consolidating our IT infrastructure (including Data centers, voice and data networks, and Web infrastructure) to increase the operating efficiency and utilization of our systems. Project USA will be largely completed by the end of this fiscal year (2003), both the vertical initiatives and the creation of these shared service platforms. The project is on course to lead us to meaningful margin enhancement and increased operating efficiencies across our divisions. Overall, we anticipate over $400 million of annualized savings from the overall project including the initiatives at Electronics. We began generating savings this past fiscal year and it will take three years for the full impact to kick in,† Weisenthal reported. Surprisingly, after extensive research it was found that, more currently, Sony is taking small steps to flatten out their supply chain with a horizontally integrating strategy. According to an article titled, Sonys semi biz to pivot from vertical to horizontal, written by Yoshiko Hara at Electronics Supply Manufacturing, Sony Corporation â€Å"is steering its semiconductor business from vertically integrated operation to ‘fab-lite’ operation that would involve outsourcing production of the Cell processor. This move is a significant turnaround from Sonys previous strategy to develop and manufacture core chips internally. Well invest in semiconductors on an asset-lite policy, which puts much weight on the investment efficiency, said Yutaka Nakagawa, executive deputy president of Sony in charge of the semiconductor business. Well focus more on the competitive areas. It seems that this tactical approach is meant for the short run, and lacks the vision needed for long term sustainability. Sony used to plan, design, manufacture and implement processors in its own game machines, including the PlayStation line; Sony used to have great success with its game processors due to its vertical structure but now the future is uncertain. Future Vertical Integration According to the article, Sonys semi biz to pivot from vertical to horizontal, Sony plans to keep its research and development teams running strong, but will outsource key manufacturing processes. Even if outsourced, game processors will continue to be one of Sonys main semiconductor products. The company intends to boost all the investment on Cell processor from the game business. Sony has invested a total of 460 billion yen (about $3. 8 billion) on semiconductors over a three-year period. Of this amount, 200 billion yen ($1. 7 billion) was spent on the Cell processor. In the coming three-year mid-term period beginning next April, We are considering decreasing investment in semiconductors greatly, Nakagawa said. Under the new policy, Sony intends to focus on three areas- imagers, game LSIs and system-on-chip LSIs for audio/video devices. Sony has about 60 percent market share in the imager market and is now reinforcing CMOS sensors as well. One hundred and fifty engineers were shifted to the imager section from audio/video sections to boost development. In the audio/video area, system-on-chip LSIs for TVs and Blu-ray Disc next-generation DVD products will be reinforced, but non-profitable chips such as GPS-integrated chips will be discontinued. Sonys semiconductor sales are expected to increase by 57 percent from 490 billion yen ($4. 1 billion) to 770 billion yen ($6. billion) next fiscal year, ending March, owing to the demand from game consoles and sales of imagers. About 70 percent of its sales are for its own products and 30 percent of the sales come from the merchant market. Sonys semiconductor business had been losing money before turning to the black (positive) in the October through December period of 2007. Nakagawa intends to keep the business in the black and moving forward while providing the highest level s of quality products and customer service. Sources sony. com/SCA/speeches/020509_wiesenthal. shtml http://my-esm. com/sclogistics/showArticle. jhtml? articleID=197006317

Assistant Restaurant Manager Cover Letter Sample

Assistant Restaurant Manager Cover Letter Sample SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Hospitality's a competitive industry, but luckily the applicant who wrote this cover letter has both a degree in Hospitality Management and experience as a server. In his cover letter,Charliestrives to show that he's ready to move into a managerial position. Read on to see how Charlie presents his skills and experiences in the restaurant industry. Then check out the breakdown of what his cover letter does well. Cover Letter for Position of Assistant Restaurant Manager Charlie Putnam5 Mountain RoadCentreville, VA 20122 May 1, 2016 Ms. Talia RichardsonRestaurant ManagerTapea Restaurant Group56 Main St.Centreville, VA 20122 Dear Ms. Richardson, As I was growing up, Friday nights always meant dinner at Tapea. Your dining room was like a home away from home for me and my family, and we came back weekly for the amazing food, comfortable atmosphere, and warm customer service. As I graduate with a degree in Hospitality Management from Johnson and Wales in May, I would be thrilled to join the ranks of my favorite restaurant as Assistant Restaurant Manager, an opportunity I saw posted on your front window. Please allow me to share how my background makes me a great fit for the role. Over the past few summers, I worked as a server at Solera, a Spanish restaurant in Providence. In this position, I developed excellent customer service and organizational skills, as well as close attention to detail. I also went beyond my duties as server to help planfunctions for parties of 50 to 100 people. In particular, I led the planning ofa graduation party last June. My experiences taught me a great deal about all the moving parts that must come together for a restaurant to stand out in the competitive hospitality industry. Beyondmy professional experiences, I’ve gained industry knowledge through my studies in Hospitality Management. My classes and practicums taught me the ins and outs of budget management, conflict resolution, and team leadership. For my thesis project, I created an employee handbook that contained workplace policies and training instructions. In a managerial role, I would seek to inspire a sense of pride and ownership of responsibilities among my fellow employees. I would carry on Tapea’s dedication to a truly great dining experience for its guests. I believe that my knowledge and experience, along with my outgoing personality and strong work ethic, make well suited to the Assistant Manager position with Tapea Restaurant. As a lifelong patron, I have firsthand experience with your great customer service and amazing menu (the garlic chicken croquettes are actually addictive). I look forward to learning more about the position and can be contacted anytime by phone or email. Thanks very much for your time. Sincerely, Charlie Putnam Charlie Putnamcharlie.putnam@gmail.com555-555-5555 Does Charlie's cover letter show that he's ready to take on the role of Assistant Restaurant Manager? Assistant Restaurant Manager Cover Letter: The Breakdown In his cover letter for the Assistant Restaurant Manager position, Charlie expresses his excitement about the prospect of working for Tapea Restaurant. He tells the hiring manager that he grew up going to the restaurant and knows it well. Then he goes on to focus on his professional experiences and academic studies as they relate to the new job. In the first part of his argument, Charlie talks about his experiences working in the restaurant industry. Not only has he worked as a server, but he also helped plan large functions and events. Beyond working in a restaurant, he also studied Hospitality Management at school and learned about management responsibilities, like preparing a budget and team leadership. From his cover letter, it's clear that Charlie understands the duties of Assistant Manager and feels equipped to take them on. Hopefully, the qualificationshe describesin his cover letter will be enough to land him an interview and set up a job for after graduation! Before you head to additional cover letter samples, consider a brief note on format. A Note on Format Charlie's cover letter shows a traditional format, with his name and information at the top, the current date, and the hiring manager's contact details. These headers work well if you're sending your letter as a hard copy or Word attachment. If you're pasting your letter right into the body of an email - an approach that's fine, if not expected, for lots of jobs - then you can leave out these formatting features and start right in with the salutation. Similarly, if you're applying through an online portal and pasting your letter into a text box, then you probably don't need to worry about the format. Consider how you're sending your cover letter, along with any additional application instructions from the organization, and let that guide your formatting. What's Next? Care to read another? Check out this next cover letter sample for the position of Head Content Editor. Are you looking for other kinds of cover letters? Check out our full guide for five more samples, along with tips for how to write yours. If you're writing a cover letter, don't waste time staring at a blank page. This cover letter template and guide will help you get the ball rolling.

Paper topic as below dont need til 2nd april 2010 Essay

Paper topic as below dont need til 2nd april 2010 - Essay Example ‘Madam Bovary’ a very famous novel by Gustave Flaubert, published in 1857, gives a detailed picture of the social status of women in the nineteenth century through the travails of Emma Bovary, as she passes from an impoverished childhood as the daughter of an illiterate farmer, to adulthood as the wife of a capable but lazy doctor, and later on, to her relationships with her lovers. Like Isabel, Emma is trapped in the middle class social norms and longs to escape. However, the similarities between the two characters end here. Emma uses her only power, her body, to rebel and tries to cut the suffocating social bonds of her era, while Isabelle uses her mind and spirit to remain free. At the end of each novel, the leading female protagonists are found to be unhappy and disillusioned with their lives. This article will discuss these two similar, yet so different, female characters keeping in view the social aspects of their times. It will examine their similarities and diffe rences and compare their methods, in their rebellion against the stringent social norms of the nineteenth century Europe. In the story â€Å"Portrait of a Lady† set in the 1860’s America, the chief protagonist Isabel Archer is portrayed as a free spirited girl, from an affluent family, who having lost her mother when very young had been brought up by her father in a rather haphazard way. He had allowed Isabel to become educated and had always fostered her independence. Under such circumstances, Isabel had become extremely strong willed, confident, was well read and a little bit of a narcissist. In their hometown in Albany, in America, Isabel had managed to earn herself quite a name as an intellect and an intimidating personality. Unwilling to settle down for a marriage that would undermine her free spirit and not willing to compromise at any cost, Isabel decides to travel to Europe with her aunt Mrs. Touchett, after her father’s death.