Page 213 - Introduction to Business

CHAPTER 5 Managing and Organizing Business 187

Case in Point

Managerial Human Relations Skills and the Success
of the Sony Corporation

What is today the giant Sony skeptical of doing business with such a small
Corporation, maker of video cameras, televisions, unknown Japanese company, into giving them the
and electronic equipment of all kinds with $70 billion transistor manufacturing license. Ibuka then worked
per year in sales and 170,000 employees, was through various friends at MITI, the Japanese
founded just after World War II on May 7, 1946. The government’s powerful Ministry of International
company’s success is due in large measure to the Trade and Industry, and got official Japanese
managerial human relations skills of its founder government approval of his endeavor. In short order,
Masaru Ibuka. Ibuka worked well with others and Sony Corporation started manufacturing transistor
made a point of staying in touch with friends. He radios, and Ibuka and his friend Morita were running
made a special point of staying in touch with a a company successful beyond even their wildest
young protégé he worked with during the war named dreams!
Akio Morita and wrote Morita at his home in
Source: Sony Corporation Website, www.world.sony.com,
Kosugaya, Aichi Prefecture, to come join him in September 25, 2003.
Tokyo in his new business venture. Ibuka and Morita
became the “dynamic duo,” leading Sony for many
Questions
decades. In 1952 Ibuka made his first trip to the
United States. He was anxious to expand his fledg- 1. Why are patent rights so important to high-
ling business into areas beyond making tape technology companies like Sony?
recorders and was looking for opportunities. A friend 2. What are some ways companies in the United
he had in the United States told him that the Western States build good relationships with government
Union Corporation (then the parent of Bell agencies along the lines of the positive relation-
Laboratories) was possibly interested in licensing its ship Sony developed with MITI?
patent rights for manufacturing the transistor to other 3. How has the conduct of international business
companies. Ibuka and his friend got in touch with changed from the time Masaru Ibuka first visited
Western Electric and, using their interpersonal skills, the United States in 1952?
more or less charmed Western Electric, which was

Careers in Management

A very wide range of managerial careers are available, particularly to individuals
with college course work in the field. Most major corporations and government
agencies have management training programs. In many of these programs, the
individuals hired will rotate among various parts of the organization for a couple of
years to get a feel for where they might best fit over the long run. Most colleges
and universities have some sort of career services office that can help students
look for managerial positions, as well as plan long-term careers in management.
Alumni of your school already placed in managerial positions can also be very
helpful. In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics,
www.bls.gov/oco, prepares occupational outlook surveys and handbooks for vari-
ous managerial careers. These government data provide comprehensive informa-
tion regarding how much employment in given managerial roles is expected to
increase to 2010 and beyond, as well as expected salaries for persons holding these
positions. Thus, this government information can be very helpful in planning spe-
cific managerial careers.

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