Tokyo and tech through the eyes of a split pea

Sony Scraps (some?) Advisors

Gen beat me to it but it’s true – Sony finally clears out some of the old guard, which it should have done years ago. In a culture highly regarded for the respect it gives (gave?) for the elders (especially at the advisors’ generation), it was difficult for division Presidents and SVPs to make independent decisions.  Some may speculate that only a non-Japanese could have done it without incurring the wrath of Japanese revenge – hence Howard’s appointment.  For me, I find it somewhat amusing that while there is mention of Ando and Idei in most of the news sources picking up on this newsbite, nobody mentions Ohga-san’s corner office, 3 secretaries, driver, and doctor on-call.  No joke.  Bet you didn’t know that, you fund manager you.

Thing is, with hiring policies like these, there’s still a lot of change needed.  Are these numbers caps or targets? With a policy of hiring to find a job rather than hiring to fill a job, HR is only perpetuating the problems which have led to an overabundance of products, product lines, and people.  Once again, we see a clear example of process trumping principle.