Ethics Research Paper #1

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Research Paper #1
Sony Corporation and Society
Centennial College School of Business
Ethics and Stakeholder Management
MGMT 703
Andre Havro
300988686
Submitted to:
Edmund DelSol
May 21, 2018

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Sony is one of the biggest Japanese multinational corporations with a great economic
responsibility and operates in some diverse markets, such as consumer electronics goods, mobile devices,
entertainment (music record, TV channels and film studios), financial, game and network services. When
the founders of Sony Corporation, Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka, decided to start the company, in 1946,
their concern with society was already one of the pillars of the company. In one of the company's first
documents, Masaru Ibuka wrote: “the first and primary motive for setting up this company was to create a
stable work environment where engineers who had a deep and profound appreciation for technology could
realize their societal mission and work to their heart's content” (Sony Corporation, 2018). Nowadays, we
can see some of the initiatives to achieve the society’s expectation in a technological, environmental, and
sociocultural fields that can improve the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and keep the desire of
Sony`s founders related to providing the best relationship between the firm and stakeholders.
As the one of the innovative market leader, Sony is affected by the technological factors every
day. The company invests millions of dollars in R&D to follow the constant changes in this market and
thereby provide the best experience for your consumers. However, throughout the history the company did
not perform very well, losing several positions among the innovating companies, being behind of brands
like Apple and Samsung. Sony has been developing innovative products, services and content, yet it cannot
keep pace with the change in technology and often loses the market because it takes a lot of time to launch
and believe in the product itself. Sony launched its eBook Reader long before Amazon, however, according
to Author Earnings report (2018), Amazon Kindle had more than 80% of the English-language market
share in 2017, followed by products from Apple (10%), B&N Nook (3%), Rakuten Kobo (2%). “According
to estimates from Forrester Research, Sony had only sold about 50,000 of its Readers before Amazon
entered the game with the Kindle” (Johnson, 2010).
Driven by the expectation of society to seek companies more sustainable and committed to the
environmental cause, in 2010 the company started an internal environmental plan calls “Road to Zero” that
aims to reduce to zero the impact of the company on the environment by 2050. Every five years they revise
the target and analyze the partial results considering all the impacts of products life cycle. One of the

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promises is to reduce the annual energy consumption of its products by an average of 30% by the fiscal year 2020.
One year after the “Road to Zero” plan was launched, the company was ranked in the tenth position in Greenpeace's
Guide to Greener Electronics, that analyze the environmental impacts from the world`s leading consumer electronics
companies. As other companies like LG, Google, and Acer, Sony got a D+ score, the second-worst position on the
total ranking. However, in 2012 they fixed some issues and continue to invest to improve the production process, as
a result, they achieve the eight position on the Greenpeace Guide.
Even though Sony has the sixth best brand recognition in the world, according to Global RepTrak 100
survey (Reputation Institute, 2018), the company needs to be in constant contact with the society. To keep this
visibility and engage the stakeholders, Sony Corporation not only develops high-quality products, yet look for the
local community needs and sustain around the world some museums and foundations, as well support international
organizations and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). These initiatives keep the firm close to the community
aware of the lifestyle changes and other social trends, as changes in society can affect the business. A game business
like PlayStation has a great impact on society and can be an opportunity to improve this relationship.
With these often successful initiatives, Sony reduces the gap between the expectations demanded by society
and the performance of the company facing the challenges demanded by the stakeholders. According to the CEO
Kazuo Hirai (Goodman, 2018), “Sony products need to have functional and emotional value”. Despite some
mistakes in the development and launch of its products, Sony has been committed to making internal changes to
retake its image as an innovative company and bring back the wow aspect that creates fidelity from customers
experiences.
Essay Body: 717 Words

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References
Author Earnings. (2018, May 23). February 2017 Big, Bad, Wide & International Report: covering Amazon, Apple,
B&N, and Kobo ebook sales in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Retrieved from
authorearnings.com: http://authorearnings.com/report/february-2017
Goodman, J. (2018, January 17). CEO Kaz Hirai on Sony turnaround: 'My job has been to revive pride in what we
do' | Technology | The Guardian. Retrieved May 22, 2018, from Guardian News and Media Limited:
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jan/17/sony-ceo-kaz-hirai-aibo-ces-2018
Johnson, J. (2010, October 03). How Sony Lost Its Way. Retrieved May 22, 2018, from Gizmodo Media Group:
https://gizmodo.com/5477633/how-sony-lost-its-way
Reputation Institute. (2018). Global RepTrak 100 - 2018 (Reputation Institute) | Ranking The Brands. Retrieved
May 22, 2018, from Global RepTrak 100 - 2018: https://www.rankingthebrands.com/The-Brand-
Rankings.aspx?rankingID=248&year=1206
Sony Corporation. (2018). Sony Global - The Founding Prospectus. Retrieved May 22, 2018, from Sony
Corporation - Corporate Info: https://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/CorporateInfo/History/prospectus.html