International Management 8th Edition by Fred Luthans,Jonathan Doh

Exercise 10

Sony is a multinational corporation that sells a wide variety of goods in the international marketplace.These range from electronics to online games to music-and the Japanese MNC is even in the entertainment business (Sony Pictures Entertainment), producing offerings for both the big screen as well as for television.Visit the MNC's Web site at www.sony.com, and read about some of the latest developments in which the company is engaged.Pay close attention to its new offerings in the areas of electronics, television shows, movies, music, and online games.Then answer these three questions: (1) What type of cultural challenges does Sony face when it attempts to market its products worldwide? Is demand universal for all these offerings, or is there a "national responsiveness/ globalization" challenge, as discussed in the chapter, that must be addressed? (2) Investigate the Sony credit card that the company is now offering online.Is this a product that will have worldwide appeal, or is it more likely to be restricted to more economically advanced countries? (3) In managing its far-flung enterprise, what are two cultural challenges that the company is likely to face and what will it need to do to respond to these?