Introduction Toshiba Corporation is a Tokyo-based, diversified manufacturer and also a marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products. The company is also a marketer for communication equipments and systems and also household appliances. The company was actually formed by merging two companies, Shibaura Seisaku-sho (Shibaura Engineering Works) by Tanaka Seizo-sho and also Tokyo Denki (Tokyo Electric Co. ) by Hakunetsu-sha in 1939 to form an integrated electric manufacturer, Tokyo Shibaura Denki (Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co. , Ltd. ).
The company name was officially known as “Toshiba” in 1978. Toshiba’s brand statement is to deliver technology and products remarkable for their innovation and artistry – contributing to a safer, more comfortable, more productive life. They also bring together the spirit of innovation with our passion and conviction to shape the future and help protect the global environment which is our shared heritage. They also want to foster close relationship, rooted in trust and respect, with the customers, business partners and communities around the world.
Toshiba’s basic commitment – “Committed to People, Committed to the Future” has promised to provide the people with cutting edge technology products that provide excellence in functionality, durability, reliability and also environmentally friendly features. They are determined to help create a higher quality of life for all people and to do their part to help ensure that progress continues within the world community. They endeavor to serve the needs of everyone by implementing forward-looking corporate strategies while carrying responsible and responsive business activities.
Furthermore, they strive to create products and services that enhance human lives by continually developing innovative technologies. They are committed to seek new approaches that help realize the goals of the community which includes ways to improve the global environment. 2. Contents 3. 1. Detailed Assessment and Planning To succeed in the business world, an organization or company must always go through detail assessment and planning.
A thorough analysis before introducing a new brand also depends on 5 factors (moral influence, doctrine and law, weather, terrain and generalship of commander), as well as the 7 considerations including influence on leadership and greater abilities. A strategic plan is also needed to win the market. Most importantly, an organization must also know than in the business war, it is all about deception. When an organization is capable of controlling the market, the organization must also feign incapability.
When they are good at deployment of units, they must also feign that they are incapable. When the organization is near their goal, feign that they are far from it. This is more like a psychological game to confuse the competitors and gain the upper hand. 3. 2. Waging War In the waging war, an organization must identify the economic nature of their competition and how success requires them to make winning pay, which in turn, requires limiting the cost of competition and conflict.
An organization will try to control the resources that have been used by their business rivals, create a good reward system and organize events that will keep up the morale and spirit of the employees in the company and treat staffs that have crossed over from rival companies well. This would allow him to gain access to valuable information that might help to clinch the million-dollar deal or snatch market share from their rival, dealing a possible fatal blow to it.
An organization operating in a foreign market should seriously consider relying as much as possible on local resources which include all the factors of production (labour, capital, management, raw materials, technology, etc). If these resources can be sourced locally, it is definitely cost and work efficient for the organization. Moreover, sourcing locally, especially in the areas of depleting resources, would not strain the supplies of the organization. Such efforts would also be helping the development of other sectors of the local economy, contributing to the building of goodwill with the local government.
For instance, many Japanese overseas companies have been practicing local sourcing. They have traditionally refused to employ top management personnel locally. Almost all the top level positions in the Japanese overseas companies are held by Japanese. Over the years, this has resulted in unhappiness and resentment on the part of the local employed staffs. Realising the problem, the Japanese began to change their perception and practice local sourcing. In a business war, it is advantageous to go for swift victory and not prolonged campaigns.
Any prolonged campaign will deplete the resources and dampen the morale of the attacking troops. Same way as the goal-setting in war, no organization would set goals without specifying when they can be accomplished. In short, no organization can ever enjoy being engaged in a long campaign against competitors. 3. 3. Forces To conquer the market, an organization must move at full force. Besides managing their co-workers and launching out promotions, the organization must also consider direct and indirect forces to gain perfect momentum and timing.
When entering into a new market, the first, most important thing an organization should do is to set up a marketing campaign correctly. The marketing campaign must build up momentum, having constant and continuous exposure of targeted products and brand to the new consumers. Repetition helps consumers to remember a new brand and product better. Ways to make the consumers remember products and brands are logos, jingles, slogans and many more. Timing is also very important. This is because bad timing can kill but good timing can make one prosper. There are two aspects for correct timing, one is knowledge and the other is experience.
Knowledge allows the organization to determine a range of time when opportunities are about to happen so that they can make preparation to take the opportunity. Because timing is like shooting an arrow, an organization can have knowledge of the wind direction, the bow’s strength, the angle to shoot at and many more, but when it comes to practical, which is releasing the arrow, it takes a great deal of experience. 3. Discussions 4. 4. Detailed Assessment and Planning – War Is a Deception The capability of Toshiba to launch Satellite Pro L630-2005U laptop successfully in Malaysia is a valid example of deceptive marketing approach.
Toshiba had surprised their competitors and managed to obtain at least 40% of the market share in the 16 inches laptop segment in 2008. Toshiba had invested heavily in research and development (R&D) to incorporate Bluetooth technology into Satellite Pro L630-2005U laptop. However, they kept a low profile by not publicise or advertising about it. Toshiba deceived their competitors by making them thought that they were pulling out from the market and overtaken by their rival, Samsung. All key managers had been informed not to disclose the company plan to the public before launching the new product.
Mass production of this model was being carried out was carried out. In 8 months time, Toshiba finally ready to flood the market. With a competitive price and a good sales commission offered to the distributors, Toshiba had able to conquer and dominate the market overnight. Toshiba also established rapport and good relationship with the local government sector. With the introduction of PORTEGE R700 – S1310 laptop, the government agencies are keen to place in their orders due to the availability of ready stock for immediate distribution. 4. 5. Waging War
The high cost of waging war in “Art of War” is analogical to the high cost of financing organization operations in today’s business operations. For instance: i. The cost of capital, high bank interest and base lending rate (BLR). ii. High fixed costs to maintain the buildings, fixtures and rentals. iii. Surging variable costs due to increasing labour cost (hiring foreign workers) and the soaring price of raw materials due to the increased fuel price iv. Other operating costs such as insurance, medical fees for staffs, advertising cost, utilities cost, etc. For instance, . Resistance to Change – Reward System Toshiba launched the new Laptop Satellite Pro L630-2005U in Malaysia with a low price and low profit margin. Many sales team members were sceptical about its success and worried that the company might end up in a big loss. However, Toshiba had resolved the problem by offering their employees with an excellent reward system. As such, Toshiba offered good incentive to the employees. As a result, employees were motivated and managed to achieve company’s sales target by exceeding 5%. b. High Operating Cost – Cost Improvement Programs
High cost production was a key issue that caused Toshiba (United States) to be less competitive in the market. Hence, the company had undergone a lean exercise by reducing their operational costs via several methods as followed: * Reduce production operators through semi-automation * Reduce material costs by purchasing in bulk-form * Reduce warehouse rental cost by implementing JIT (Just-in-Time) concept * Improve factory efficiency by practicing “5-S” system, the Japanese concept for housekeeping and tidiness General types of reward adopted by Toshiba include: Monetary award (bonuses, allowance, incentives and profit sharing scheme) * Flexible working hours * Golf Club membership for key managers * Free medical benefits, study loan and examination leave (sabbatical leave) * On-job training, external courses/programs to upgrade and improve employee’s skill * Retirement plan 4. 6. Forces – Momentum and Timing In 2003, Toshiba had penetrated China market at the right timing with its 29 inches LCD Television. During the launching period, Sony and Samsung LCD Television were available in the market.
Launching of Toshiba’s LCD Television in China had aroused market excitement due to its assured quality and reasonable price which were more preferable by various consumers. Upon the launching of the product, Toshiba was able to make the following analysis: i. The environment is consumer preferences and perceptive, government tax and pricing implications. ii. The nature of competition is market structure, number of competitors and their product acceptance by the consumers. iii. The strengths and weaknesses of company and competitors (Sony and Samsung).
Trade Secrecy Problem Many Toshiba professionals such as electronics design engineer were being head hunted by competitors due to higher salary and fringe benefits. This was a threat to Toshiba as competitors were able to gain proprietary knowledge of Toshiba LCD television colour circuit control technology from the head hunted engineer. a. Forming Alliance – Creating Business Partners When Toshiba tried to build high inventory to launch their LCD television in China, key components supplies were not able to meet their demand planning due to their line capacity problem.
Thus, Toshiba persuaded their key suppliers to form business partnership with a promise to give them price increase if they were willing to invest in buying additional machines to boost their capacity. As a result, Toshiba managed to launch the product on the right timing. b. Competent Employees – Training and Development To outdo competitors, Toshiba required a team of knowledgeable and high-competency employees. Continuous hiring to replace resignation is not a good solution. Hence, Toshiba has decided to set up a training center in China, catering for the development needs of their employees. . Recommendations Following are the recommendations for Toshiba to further excel in the future: 1. To protect their intellectual property, they must patent their rights for electronic circuit design and technologies. 2. Toshiba should perform SWOT analysis in a regular basis to assess their strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. They must understand the current situation of their competitors as well as their consumers’ demands in order to be more competitive in the market. 3. Joint-venture with other competitors such as Samsung could be a wise decision to dominate the market. 4.
Toshiba must maintain flexibility in their production so that their production can cope or handle with any unexpected sales demand. 5. 5. Conclusion Toshiba has been and still is a big competitor in the electronics industry, because of the way they plan, work and introduce their products. They make sure to never take the market for granted and will always make a thorough analysis before introducing a new product. A well laid out strategic plan accompanied by an amazing product, is what helps them win the market. This was proved when they used the deceptive marketing approach to introduce the Satellite Pro L630-2005U laptop in Malaysia.
Toshiba makes it a point to first understand their competition. They also believe that the employees are the source of their success. That is why they make it a point to keep up the morale and spirit of the employees. They provided amazing reward systems for their employees. Toshiba believes that winning is not only a matter of name or recognition, but also reducing cost and losses. This was proven when they entered the US market and practised cost improvement programs. Toshiba’s ability to change their organization based on the foreign market they are operating in, is one of the factors which have helped them in the foreign market.
They make sure to grab opportunities to make the production more effective and efficient. They practised local sourcing in foreign markets. This not only helped reduce cost but also gain trust from the employees. Employees are a key factor in the success of the company. That is why Toshiba made an employee training centre in China. To further ensure their ground in the foreign market they made alliances with local businesses. Through this assignment, we have learnt that it is important to always be ahead of the competitor and never underestimate them, even after you have succeeded.
It is very important to understand the competition. Employees are a very important factor as well, to the success of the company, so reward them fairly for their work. Lastly, it is important to always be improving and never let your guard down because the business war is never ending. 6. References Bing, Z. (2006). China TV Market Trends by Technology. Retrieved February, 22, 2011 from http://www. displaysearch. com/cps/rde/xbcr/displaysearch/China_TV_Market_Trends_by_Technology. pdf. Cheah, C. M. (2011). UBMM1011 Sun Zi’s Art of War and Business Strategies Lecture Notes. Kampar, UTAR. Giles, Lionel. 2011). The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Retrieved February 17, 2011, from http://suntzusaid. com/artofwar. pdf. Jameson, Frank C. (2009). Toshiba Vs Samsung – Comparison of the Leading LCD TVs. Retrieved February 19, 2011, from http://ezinearticles. com/? Toshiba-Vs-Samsung—Comparison-of-the-Leading-LCD-TVs&id=2501972. Toshiba. (2003). Annual Report 2003 – A View to the Future. Retrieved February, 22, 2011 from http://www. toshiba. co. jp/about/ir/en/library/ar/ar2003/05e. pdf. Toshiba. (1995). Business Domains. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www. toshiba. co. jp/worldwide/about/company/index. tml. Toshiba. (2011). Corporate Profile Toshiba Today. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www. toshiba. co. jp/worldwide/about/corporateprofile. pdf Toshiba. (2010). Employment Opportunities – Compensation and Benefits. Retrieved February, 22, 2011 from http://www. toshiba. co. jp/saiyou/international/benefits. htm. Toshiba. (1995). History. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www. toshiba. co. jp/worldwide/about/history. html. Toshiba. (1995). Toshiba Brand Statement. Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www. toshiba. co. jp/worldwide/about/commitment/brand. html. Tronnes, D. 2010). Case Study: Toshiba Division Substantially Improves Its Bottom Line Through An Aggressive Supply Chain Management Program. Retrieved February, 22, 2011 from http://www. manufacturingnews. com/news/editorials/tronnes. html. Watson, J. (2011). Energy. Retrieved February 17, 2011, from http://suntzusaid. com/book/5. Watson, J. (2011). Laying Plans. Retrieved February 17, 2011, from http://suntzusaid. com/book/1. Watson, J. (2011). Waging War. Retrieved February 17, 2011, from http://suntzusaid. com/book/2. Williams, M. (2010). Toshiba cuts sales targets on continued weakness.
