Admn 417 Assignment 1
Assignment 1
This case addresses Sharp's concern regarding their business model going into the future, as they are quickly losing momentum after being a world leader in their industry for the previous decades. An integral part of the re-evaluation deals with whether or not Sharp should expand its business into other countries. The decision maker in this case Mikio Katayama, President of Sharp Corporation. An engineering graduate, he was an unusual success with the company by being able to clearly communicate his visionary ways, and also being the youngest to lead the company (Lehmberg, 2011).
Sharp was a electronics business that focussed on 3 major categories including: audio-visual and communicative equipment, health and environment equipment, and information equipment. The heart of Sharp's efforts came from their desire to create products whose features were one of a kind and could not be replicated (Lehmberg, 2011).
Among one of Sharp's biggest strengths was their role in developing LCD technology. They have been involved with the technology since 1968 and when other companies concluded that LCD had too many complications to have mainstream use, Sharp moved forward working on it. By the mid to late 1990's, Sharp began manufacturing LCD TV's for the retail market. It was a difficult time to enter such a market from a different direction, especially considering Sharp was not a major player in the current CRT technology which boasted bigger screen sizes and better quality for a significantly less price. Although their LCD TV's were still fairly expensive, Sharp's attempts to that market were more successful than other competitors such as Hitachi and Pioneer. Sharp also benefitted from being able to manufacture high volumes of units in a cost efficient way (Lehmberg, 2011).
Behind the scenes for this company that had become a leader in LCD technology was their operating model that made a point to emphasize domestic manufacturing. They aimed to keep the vast
This case addresses Sharp's concern regarding their business model going into the future, as they are quickly losing momentum after being a world leader in their industry for the previous decades. An integral part of the re-evaluation deals with whether or not Sharp should expand its business into other countries. The decision maker in this case Mikio Katayama, President of Sharp Corporation. An engineering graduate, he was an unusual success with the company by being able to clearly communicate his visionary ways, and also being the youngest to lead the company (Lehmberg, 2011).
Sharp was a electronics business that focussed on 3 major categories including: audio-visual and communicative equipment, health and environment equipment, and information equipment. The heart of Sharp's efforts came from their desire to create products whose features were one of a kind and could not be replicated (Lehmberg, 2011).
Among one of Sharp's biggest strengths was their role in developing LCD technology. They have been involved with the technology since 1968 and when other companies concluded that LCD had too many complications to have mainstream use, Sharp moved forward working on it. By the mid to late 1990's, Sharp began manufacturing LCD TV's for the retail market. It was a difficult time to enter such a market from a different direction, especially considering Sharp was not a major player in the current CRT technology which boasted bigger screen sizes and better quality for a significantly less price. Although their LCD TV's were still fairly expensive, Sharp's attempts to that market were more successful than other competitors such as Hitachi and Pioneer. Sharp also benefitted from being able to manufacture high volumes of units in a cost efficient way (Lehmberg, 2011).
Behind the scenes for this company that had become a leader in LCD technology was their operating model that made a point to emphasize domestic manufacturing. They aimed to keep the vast