Philips vs Matsushita (Summary)

Before the Industrial Revolution, production was small-scale and was performed in homesteads using basic, hand-operated machines or hand tools. Industrialization brought high-powered machines that were more efficient and enabled mass production. The laborers were attracted to towns by the prospects of paid labor and

As Dynacorp outgrew its functional structure it began to experience common disadvantages of such organizational types. These disadvantages include unresponsiveness to changes in the market and to customers. Restructuring to Front/Back revealed a structural disadvantage that is identical to the functional structure: poor integration between market needs and technology development. An additional disadvantage incurred due to the restructure was inadequate integration and synergy between the front and back ends.

Newly invented machinery quickened the cultivation of crops and manufacturing of goods, with more laboring working demands

The reason I am interested in this section is because I want to know why people decided to change everything to machinery. How did they think to build factories? How long did it take them to be more equipped in the type of technology that was made?

While it was foreseen that the company would initially take financial setbacks because of the reorganization, it was not believed that the financial risks would be drastic. However, the impending report that Mr. Elesser has to present to the board will detail a net income that will be nearly 26 million dollars in the red for 2004 (see exhibit 2)3. The blunt force restructuring met resistance on numerous fronts. First of all, the various components of the company did not operate under the same uniformed leadership objectives. Each division was set up to look out for their own interests and markets. When the restructuring plan that focused on a more centralized management process, many of the things that worked for one division did not necessarily work for other divisions of the company. This left some divisions at a severe disadvantage. Another obstacle that worked against the restructuring was the employee unions in which the company had to deal. The unions were not on board with the various downsizing and restructuring methods. In addition, the company had to deal with a couple of different unions which posed a problem with negotiating tactics. Benefit costs were also a significant investment that did not hold up well under the auspice of restructuring.

The performance of each company is different from time to time based on their two different international strategies. Philips, for instance, showed poor struggles between national organizations and product divisions since there was no centralized decision –making terminal. In the end, the national organizations held the power because they were in control of the assets. Being in control of assets, the national organizations had more influence on the management team. Also the lack of clarity between the two’s responsibilities did not allow Philips to function effectively as a whole. They did have one thing going for them though. Philips was able adapt to changing markets based on their localization strategy. They

Then, machines began to do this and other jobs. Soon the Industrial revolution spread from England to Continental Europe and North America.

Cities begin to focus on new industries, which had higher skilled jobs such as printing, mining, and metallurgy, which allowed for the development of advanced tools and new machinery

The main differences between Matsushita and Sony’s products are that, Matsushita product line is more involved in the household appliances market as it is the world leader in this category, while Sony strives to be the globe’s technological leader and has a product line that is driven by advanced consumer electronics. “While companies such as Matsushita concentrates on being customer intimate, Sony has differentiated itself by focusing on product leadership.” Matsushita is the largest home appliances and household equipment (HAHE) producer in the world. Some of Matsushita’s products include: microwave ovens, refrigerators, irons, fax machines, air compressors, automatic washers and dryers, vacuum cleaners, air

Ghosn’s philosophy of change leadership was already developed at Michelin based on three principles: “assume nothing (find answers within the company); work fast; and earn trust and respect with strong results.” He diagnosed the complications that Nissan had as internal. His initial analysis was that the “company culture emphasized narrow, functionality based thinking at the expense of a larger strategic view.” Based on this analysis he formed cross functional teams bringing executives from all statuses and geographical locations to brainstorm and recommend solutions within three months. The plan was clear and straightforward: reduce procurement costs; reduce debt; and close plants that weren’t viable and introducing new models. These

The arrival of Gerald Kleisterlee in 2001 brought organizational changes to Philips that is evident in the marketplace today. The new CEO restructured the company by outsourcing mobile phone production to CEC of China and the production of VCRs to Funai in Japan. This was followed by the outsourcing of TVs, CD players and components with simultaneous movement of remaining in-house production to countries like China, Poland and Mexico, who had lower costs. He also sold off several businesses, including the core semi-conductor business. What evolved was Kleisterlee’s vision for a new Philips – a lifestyle company centered on health and well-being – which organized around healthcare, lighting and consumer lifestyle.

Schultz tried to make changes in order to adapt to the new competitive context. He tried to reduce costs to be able to compete with their low

On April 1, 1993 Louis V. Gerstner took over as IBM’s chairman and CEO. Gerstner was able to recognize the flaws in IBM’s model to have the company being run as several independent parts from one another. From the beginning he was able to recognize that “IBM was greater than the sum of its parts … and the entire

Philips has thrived on its technological prowess, which is a result of their strong focus on research and development. Specifically, Philips maintains a product-focused strategy and their highly decentralized National Organizations allow them to adapt to different market conditions globally. Human capital has historically been a key resource for the company, as they focused on caring for their workers and coordinating business efforts in a cross-functional environment (i.e. technical and marketing managers working on projects together), but frequent leadership turnover and seemingly endless turnaround efforts have weakened this valuable capability. It is arguable, however, that the cross-functional culture is still active at Philips and most of the top management team has completed foreign tours of duty.

This paper details each change undertaken by the organization by highlighting the different pressures identifying the problems the organization met and ultimately detailing the solutions that General Motors implemented.