While the times of technology are changing considerably, and new products are coming out based on the demands of consumers. There has been a variety of manufactures on board with technologies rapid changing environment. Some of the major manufactures encompassed in this movement are: Samsung, Sony, LG, and of course Apple. All of which are trying to compete with each other on numerous parts of the electronic industry.

I recently came across an interesting article in the wall street journal, that involved the (former) Sony Chief Executive stepping down and giving the role to a new Chief Executive named Kazuo Hirai. In my perception what was most interesting about this article was the fact that Sony’s old Chief Exec. was this charismatic man from great Britain who in 2005 managed to become the CEO, yet couldn’t turn around Sony’s electronic business. Now this was interesting to me on various occasions, in your perception why was Sony’s Gaming/Entertainment division prospering, while the rest of its electronics and accessories were at a decline.

Hirai made his name in the PlayStation video games division, once a key profit driver for Sony that fell into the red for four consecutive years until he took the reins and pulled it back into the black two years ago. His incentives are to specifically drive the growth of Sony’s core electronics businesses — primarily digital imaging, smart mobile and games; to turn around the television business; and to accelerate the innovation that enables the company to create new business domains.

Once upon a time ago, Sony used to be the worldwide leader in innovative technology, with its release of the Playstation 2 (which, at the time was the biggest gaming console release in the world). What happened?!

I decided to reflect on this article with you all for various reasons. Throughout the quarter in operations management we had talked about the various processes that encompass a supply chain, and briefly on how in many aspects of business ‘supply chain is everything’. I couldn’t agree more, although in my personal opinion I believe that Sony is doing the right thing in appointing a new CEO, who may very well understand its consumers better.  The word of the evening is “innovation”, as Sony innovated the consumer electronic industry (gaming) in functionality for its products. I firmly believe the same ‘idea’ must be implemented in order for Sony to sustain growth.

With a new CEO its going to be interesting to see the overhaul Sony partakes in, and what it could become. Dead Or Alive Sony needs an overhaul.

 

 

 

Being a student encompasses much trial, tribulations, and stresses along the way, but we endure such circumstances to reach a pivotal point in our lives, graduation. As students we are faced with various outlooks on how we can decide to manage our lives, feelings, and futures, we do so by a variety of ways: we stress, we take upon various hobbies, or we concentrate on our work. These notions and stressors can directly affect our output and productivity.

Now, as students we are all aware of the concept of time management. But now we become more aware of how important the concept of time really is. Two weeks ago we discussed various concepts of planning, and realized the importance of planning before execution. This week, it’s apparent we discuss the importance of forecasting and how this pertains to us as students. I had stumbled upon an article that seized my interest; it was an indirect article regarding something that all of us are slightly familiar with: Forecasting.

The article was titled “The Pros and Cons of New Grads Starting a Business”.  This was interesting to because many of us students implement forecasting on a smaller/more minimal scale. Forecasting is the process of predicting a future event, and is regarded as one of the most important tools in making business decisions. The article discussed why it may be a good idea (for you aspiring future graduate entrepreneurs) to pursue entrepreneurship, as well as various reasons why such a path shouldn’t be endured.

But the main point that resonated with me was not just from the article, but from class as well forecasting techniques are just that; forecasted projections of what may happen. When we did our forecasting projections in class it was noted and interesting to see that many of the different groups went about the solution in various ways; all in which reached different outcomes. Overall, there was no solid number that predicted an exact true projection. In research; the demand forecast for our economy depicts that there are more and more individuals going into business for themselves rather than applying for jobs straight out of college (due to economic conditions). As these were early techniques of forecasting; we notice that such a technique can aid in fields such as inventory, production, finance, and basic day-to-day business operations.

What are some instances where you, as students implemented forecasting both in ‘personal’ day to day operations along with the ‘workplace’ operations?  Is there a select few of people who are considering in starting a venture? Or who already have a venture that utilizes these techniques?

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220673