Wednesday, May 27, 2020

The Closed Door in The Island of Doctor Moreau and In Memoriam - Literature Essay Samples

In presenting the concept of the closed door, it advocates the very opposite idea that, once, the door was open. With this knowledge there comes a possibility that perhaps a closed door can be opened again, suggesting that there are two sides to a doorway. If this metaphor is continued, the ‘closed door’ can be seen as the boundary, a common theme among 1890’s writers. Both texts – Tennyson’s ‘In Memorium’ and Wells’ The Island of Doctor Moreau –challenge this ‘closed door’ staying as it is. Tennyson’s poetry almost seems as if, through the power of language, he wishes to open this door that separate the living and the dead, himself and Hallam. Wells uses this idea of the ‘closed door’ less philosophically, and more as a metaphor to suggest a permanently open door; this is one that bridges the otherwise separate gap between beast and man, epitomized in Dr Moreau’s vivisection. Whilst each writer explores crossing this boundary through their words, they both fail to realize the responsibility that accompanies their actions. Whether it is reaching for the dead, or attempting to turn beast to man, all actions have consequences. And this is what epitomizes both texts as fiction of the 1890’s; a sense of the progressive yet fatal that comes with opening the door to a new century. H.G Well’s opening quote presents an image of the ‘closed door’ as physical. Yet, in the context of Tennyson’s poetry, it becomes symbolic of a boundary between past and present. James Spedding suggests Tennyson to be ‘a man always discontented with the Present till it has become the Past, and then he yearns toward it and worships it.’ In Memorium presents an obsession with the boundary between these two binaries. As Spedding suggests, Tennyson can neither exist in content in the present, nor fully reach the ideals of his past. This creates a self-inflicted purgatory as part his grief, enhanced by his physical return to Hallam’s house, mirroring the mental journey he takes in to this past memory: Dark house, by which once more I stand [†¦] Doors, where my heart was used to beat Alongside the suggested metaphor, the spiritual is shown also in a material door, that leads to the dark house. As the speaker is physically unable to pass through the door, Tennyson is unable to fully enter the boundaries of the living. In refusing to fully exist, this almost suggests a willingness to sacrifice his own life in order to drag the past to the present that he is so discontented with. This concept is fostered by the detachment from Tennyson’s mental and physical state. In stating his heart ‘used to beat’ within these boundaries, it suggests that in all other locations, that are not active representations of Hallam’s life, his heart cannot. In this yearning for the past, the narrator also actively rejects the present. He ‘[stands]’, whilst others continue moving through life around him, suggesting an inability to also move emotionally beyond his grief. Therefore, this ‘closed door’ becomes one that Tennyson both yearns to reach back through, yet simultaneously cannot. As previously explored, the symbol of the ‘closed door’ is multi-faceted. In H.G. Wells’ fantastical novel, it comes to represent the boundary between beast and human. After centuries of debate, one of the defining features that separate man from animal is language. However, Wells’ science fiction challenges this in suggesting the boundary –in essence, the closed door –between language and communication is not as set as previously portrayed. As Dr Moreau continues his vivisection, the Beast-Folk are introduced to the human language. Yet, as they start to recede, as does their understanding. Can you imagine language, once clear-cut and exact, softening and guttering, losing shape and import, becoming mere lumps of sound again? (Wells, p.93) This ever-developing image presents the reader with a further metaphor; the ‘closed door’ between realism and science fiction is emphasized by the inquisitive. Wells implies that this is a world full of creatures that one can only ‘imagine’; the readers themselves cross a boundary from the realistic to the imaginary in the act of reading. Additionally, this literature alludes to the fear of degeneration. With a new century approaching, this implies the fear that the human language will recede to a beast’s ‘mere lumps of sound’. This fear means that ‘[imagining]’ could fast become reality. One must then consider if language is connected to understanding. Garner suggests that ‘a man cannot think without words’. This implies that one cannot reach the intellectual level of humanity without the ability to form words out loud. Yet, it perhaps also suggests that if a creature, such as Dr Moreau’s beasts, were to speak words, it could achieve this intelligence, and thus become more human. This concept begins to bridge the gap between man and beast, and the door is flung open through these experiments, whether humani ty is ready or not. Yet, the degeneration of language to mere ‘softening and guttering’ ‘lumps of sounds’ perhaps suggests otherwise. Moreau has given these creates the ability to speak, but that is all. As beasts, they cannot reason or think independently, and mind remains separate from voice. Therefore, what is seemingly a process that will unite beast and man in understanding only separates them further. Despite Moreau’s best efforts, the door between the animal and human realms remains shut. Thus far, the ‘closed door’ has been considered as an emotional, intellectual, and spiritual barrier. Yet, it must also be considered a construct that forms a social barrier, between the wider world and the culture that each writer creates. Tennyson creates an enclosed experience of grief, and Wells’ presents the reader with a perverted Eden. Both of their environments are closed off from the outer world, yet also come to represent larger experiences. For example, Dr Moreau’s island, seemingly separated from reality of by a ‘closed door’ can be seen as a metaphor and of the critical and strict Victorian society. I had before me the whole balance of human life in miniature, the whole interplay of instinct, reason, and fate in its simplest form. (Wells, p.77) Wells claims that Dr Moreau’s island, and the struggle between man and beast, can represent ‘the whole balance of human life’. This suggests that vivisection, whilst not physically, is perhaps more prominent in our everyday lives than ever previously thought. A civilized person must conduct a type of perverted vivisection in their own lives; they must fight against brute instincts, and choose reason in order to adhere to the ideals of a Victorian society. Yet, perhaps the most interesting point to note is perspective. Thus far, each protagonist has been considered as on either side of a ‘closed door’, yearning to reach the other side. In this instance, Prendrick is wholly detached, and viewing a concept as one, rather than separated by this boundary. Additionally, this suggests a difference in Wells’ narrative perspective. Prendrick’s extended vision almost suggests an elevated, God-like status. It could then be argued that whether this boundary remains or not, is based upon the individual, and their assumed power. Therefore, in this context, the ‘closed door’ becomes about familiarity, or lack of. The islandà ¢â‚¬â„¢s physical separation from society allows a detached, and subsequently more critical, view of society. And this is a commentary that seems not only sophisticated, but familiar, as if a piece written in a newspaper. Yet, despite this, it cannot be forgotten that there are many ‘closed doors’ still separating Moreau’s island from civilization; not only the boundary between fiction and reality, but that of science and reason. Wells’ statement addresses this metaphorical door as ‘closed’, a binary that suggests it’s opposite as ‘open’. And it is suggested by both texts that perhaps the natural order would either be an open door –a complete epiphany of knowledge –or closed, where all mysteries remain untouched. However, it is arguably not important whether this boundary is metaphorical or physical, and in what scenario. Perhaps what both Wells and Tennyson imply is the need for this ‘closed door’ to in fact remain partially open. Without this possibility of discovering the hidden –whether it be scientific, emotional, or social –then existence would certainly be mundane. Therefore, to achieve this ‘balance’ in our lives, one needs to accept that we cannot entirely shut off what we fear. There will always be the beast within man, and grief in the everyday existence; the door will never fully be shut, and this should be wholly accepted.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Study of Supply Chain Management of Hindustan Unilever...

A Project Report On â€Å"Study of supply Channel Management of Hindustan Unilever Limited.† [pic] Submitted By Partho mukherjee PGDM (operations) Sem 3rd under the guidance of mr. Vivek swami sinhgad institute of business administrationresearch S. NO. 40/4A+4B/1 NEARPMCOCTROI POST, KONDHWA –SASWAD ROAD, KONDHWA (BK) PUNE-411048 CERTIFICATE This is to certify that Mr. /Ms PARTHO MUKHERJEE student of SINHGAD INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH; Pune has completed report of â€Å"STUDY OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT OF HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED† academic year†¦show more content†¦3. To understand the way how they make smooth their processes. 4. Which channel level is adopting by company? 5. What is the benefit to the customer from company`s channel management? SUMMARY I am doing my management thesis on Distribution Channel management of Hindustan Unilever Limited. For smooth running Channel management is very important to every firm. Now a day’s FMCG sector is booming sector. In India there are very few organized retailer like PG, ITC, and HUL etc. In it Hindustan Unilever Limited is one of the leading Organized Retailer. There are four types of P`s Product, Price, Place and Promotion. In this four P`s Place means Distribution . Distribution Channel management means, this is one of the P from 4 P`s. frequently there may be a chain of intermediaries; each passing the product down the chain to the next organization, before it finally reaches the consumer or end-user. There are alternate channels of distribution channel may be available. I. Direct sell. II. Agent III. Distributors IV. Retailers. V. Brokers. Distribution channels can thus have a number of levels. There are four types of distribution channels. I. Zero level. II. One level. III. Two level. IV. Three level. Research Methodology Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. The Research Methodology includes the various methods andShow MoreRelatedOperations strategy of HUL1694 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿ COMPANY OVERVIEW HUL or Hindustan Unilever is a corporate giant in the fast moving consumer goods industry in the Indian market which was formed in 1933 as Lever Brothers India Limited. Its headquarter is in Mumbai, India. The company provides employment for more than 41,000 employees. With its 20 plus brands it announces its presence to various consumer segments. HUL covers about 6.4 million outlets in all over the country. The HUL products have made their presence in our country so strongRead MoreSummary of Indian Companies1550 Words   |  6 PagesITC Limited ITC Limited is an Indian public conglomerate company (25.4% owned by British corporation, British American Tobacco) headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Its diversified business includes four segments: Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Hotels, Paperboards, Paper Packaging and Agri Business. 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Visualization and interpretation of the parent-subsidiary network 4 3.1 Betweenness Centrality 5 3.1 Density of Network 7 3.3 Degree Centrality 8 4. Analysis of the organization’s Network 8 4.1 Locational aspects 8 4.2 Activity aspects 9 4.3 Size aspects 9 5. Implications for the innovation strategy of Unilever 9 5.1 Meeting consumer needs 10 5.2 IntroductionRead MoreLux Marketing Mix9703 Words   |  39 Pagesyouporn.com ABSTRACT Hindustan Unilever Ltd. is a well-known and largest FMCG company in India. HUL has always revamped its products to meet the changing needs of the consumer without compromising on the quality. This report deals with one of its premier brands LUX. HUL leads the market in the toilet soap category with 54.3% market share. Lux has inched up to be on par with Lifebuoy in HULs soaps portfolio. The Lux brand now has an almost equal market share as Hindustan Levers largest sellingRead MoreIntroduction to Fmcg Industry8866 Words   |  36 Pageselectronic products. White goods in FMCG refer to household electronic items such as Refrigerators, T.Vs, Music Systems, etc. In 2005, the Rs. 48,000-crore FMCG segment was one of the fast growing industries in India. According to the AC Nielsen India study, the industry grew 5.3% in value between 2004 and 2005. http://www.chillibreeze.com/articles_various/fmcg-in-india.asp Creating a strong brand identity, leveraging new product categories and growing the customer base are core concerns for consumerRead MorePG India Supply Chain Analysis11039 Words   |  45 PagesSupply Chain Strategy, Performance and Risks: Tools and Techniques Introduction â€Å"Our Purpose works to unify us in a common cause and growth strategy. It is powerful because it promotes a simple idea to improve the lives of the world’s consumers every day. Pamp;G grows by touching and improving more consumers’ lives in more parts of the world...more completely.† - Pamp;G â€Å"At Pamp;G, we touch lives in small but meaningful ways. Billions of them. Every day.† Procter amp; Gamble Co. is a multinationalRead MoreSustainable Tea at Unilever10669 Words   |  43 PagesrP os t 9-712-438 REV: DECEMBER 21, 2011 REBECCA M. HENDERSON FREDERIK NELLEMANN Sustainable Tea at Unilever op yo To survive and prosper over the long term, learn how to adapt your business model by making it servant to society and the environment. Not the other way around. — Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever In 2010 Unilever announced its commitment to a new â€Å"Sustainable Living Plan†, a document that set wide-ranging company-wide goals for improving the health and well-being

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Sony Playstation 3 Case Study free essay sample

Page COMPANY BACKGROUND2 SWOT ANALYSIS3 STRENGTHS 3 WEAKNESSES4 OPPORTUNITIES6 THREATS7 Threat of Competitor7 Threat of Buyer7 Threat of Suppliers7 Threat of Substitutes8 Threat of New Entrance8 Other threats8 PROBLEMS / ISSUES9 Lose of Market Share 9 Unethical Business Strategy9 Product Disadvantage/Defect10 Expensive Product, High Manufacturing Cost and Negative Profit11 Differentiation12 Over Confidence12 Longer Software Development Cycle12 Heavy Criticism from Media13 SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS14 Market Strategy14 Product Strategy14 Promotional Strategy15 Pricing Strategy15 Distribution Strategy16 CONCLUSION17 Exhibit 118 Exhibit 218 COMPANY BACKGROUND Sony Corporation was founded in Tokyo, in 1945, by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, as the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation (Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (TTK)). The company built Japan’s first tape recorder called, the Type G. Then in early 1950s, TTK convinced Bell Laboratories to license its new transistor technology and became the first company to successfully apply the technology to consumer’s radios. In August 1955, TTK released the Sony TR-55; Japan’s first commercially produced transistor radio followed with Sony TR – 72 which was successful in both domestic and overseas market till early sixties. In 1958, TTK changed its name to Sony (derived from Latin word ‘Sonus’ for sound and English slang word sonny (to address a boy)). The company later expanded into televisions, stereos and home entertainment products with successful range of products such as Betamax (video recorder), Walkman (world’s first portable music player), Trinitron (television, Vaio (laptop) and the most successful Play Station 2. Over the years, Sony has introduced these standards: Standards| Years| Standards| Years| Umatic| ~1968| Digital Betacam| ~1990| Betamax| 1975| miniDV| 1992| Betacam| 1981| DVD with others| ~1995| Compact Disc with Philips| 1982| DVCAM| 1996| . 5 inch Floppy Disk| 1982| Digital8| 1999| Video8| 1985| Universal Media Disc| ~2003| DAT| 1987| HDV with JVC| ~2004| Hi8| 1988| Blu-ray Disc with Panasonic and others| 2006| MiniDisc| ~1990| | | In 2006, Sony had an annual net income of $ 1 billion on 64. 5 billion revenues. Their revenue in 2010 was $ 77. 2 billion. Their h ighest revenue recorded in 2008 which is close to $ 90 billion. SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS Sony has a strong brand name with varieties of successful product such as Walkman, Trinitron T. V and PlayStation (PS). This was proved by Sony becoming the first company to successfully apply the technology to consumer adios. By the late 1950s, Sony also had become one of the world’s leading producers of radios. Then, Sony expanded into televisions, stereos, and other home entertainment product. Sony had a long history of product innovation that had resulted in well-known brands, such as Betamax, Trinitron, and Walkman. Sony’s PlayStation also well-known among consumer when PlayStation 2 (PS2) had become the world’s bestselling video game console with more than 100 million units sold. Sony is financially strong and able to invest in new products and technologies. In 2006, their annual net income was $ 1 billion on 64. billion revenues. Their revenue in 2008 was close to $ 90 billion and in 2010 was $ 77. 2 billion. The financial strength will make Sony strong and can withstand any circumstances. One of Sony’s greatest strengths is their ability to produce innovative, quality products. Begin with tape recorder in 1945. Then, Sony had extended their product by producing the transistor radios by the late 1950s; Betamix tapes in 1975; the Walkman portable music player in 1979; the VHS players in 1988; the Compact Disc (CD) in mid 1990s and the PlayStation 3 in 2006. Since the company was established, Sony had produced many different products in the World market. They have made an impact in the video game market, the PC market, and especially the television market and there are still numerous others. Their Play Station 2 enjoyed a huge success in the market thus made Sony as a leader in gaming industry. PS3 system is powered by the Cell Broadband EngineTM, revolutionary microprocessor that leapfrogs the performance of existing processors giving the PS3 system supercomputer like power and performance. It also equipped with a built in Blu-rayTM Disc player so users can enjoy high definition gaming and movies. Blu-ray offers developers unprecedented storage capacity so they can fully express their creativity and pristine picture quality at 1080p, the highest definition resolution available today. It supports a broad range of displays from conventional or standard TVs to the latest full HD flat panel displays. As well as gaming it also allows users to access internet and allow them to play video or audio files. The PS3 system comes standard with Giga-bit Ethernet and a pre-installed upgradeable Hard Disk Drive (HDD) so user can download a variety of content as well as access online games and services over the networks. WEAKNESSES Sony’s biggest and most recent weakness is their lack of innovation with PS3. Sony focused on digital technology when building the PS3 and it has the ability to export video in high-definition. It is not compatible with common devices. This technology can only be viewed on a high definition TV so a lot of people will not even be able to see the full potential as what it has to offer. One of Sony’s biggest weaknesses is their reluctance to adapt the competitor’s technology. This can be seen in the case of Betamax where it has more quality than VHS but shorter recording time. Customers prefers longer recording time and chose VHS. Finally Sony abandoned Betamax and adapts JVS’s VHS technology. Same scenario happened with Walkman that loses out to Apple’s I Pod. Sony was also reluctant to license out its technology to competitor and therefore their product was produced and marketed by Sony only where else their competitor licensed out their product and produced and marketed by various parties. Another downfall to the PS3 is the price. The Sony PlayStation 3 was the most expensive console ever launched, with a price tag of $600, or $500 for a stripped down version with smaller hard drive and no wireless module. In fact, the basic console cost Sony almost as much to make as the premium model. Despite Sony’s willingness to subsidize each console purchase, many users complained that the PS3 cost $200 more than the Xbox 360. Besides, the product uses the Blu-ray format which means that the games sold for PS3 also expensive. Sony could not produce the planned number of PS 3 consoles within time. Most people were disappointed because of delayed in launched of PS3. Sony also unable to manufacture the anticipated one million consoles needed to meet market demand. By the time the PS3 was launched in North America on November 17, 2006, retailers had fewer than 200,000 units to distribute. The weakness of the PS3 is even deeper when considering the range of video game selections. Customers lamented the PS3’s lack of interesting games, spotty support for PlayStation 2 games, and uninspiring online capabilities. The PlayStation 3 launched with only 15 titles, the majority of which were franchise games that had previously been available for the Xbox 360. The majority of games available are all first-person shooter games, which appeal to a particular market. There are few games that appeal to a different section of video games. Even though Sony advertised that the PS3 would be â€Å"backward compatible† with virtually all of the â€Å"thousands of great games. In reality, only a few titles worked properly on the system. OPPORTUNITIES Due to PS3 includes a standard hard drive, a high definition Blu-ray optical drive, HD video output, Bluetooth wireless controllers, WiFi wireless networking likely as a Personnel Computer, therefore Sony must truly convince a customer about the advance features of PS3. Customer can utilize the Blu-ray function for watching movie and can save and also back up anything on the console. This is also a technology for future generation. Sony still has the opportunity to increase their sales by introducing more exciting games as it’s the keys of success. Sony must be able to provide quality game titles to the platform. Customer felt down by Sony’s because they promises for better looking games. However, it didn’t meet a customer expectation. Therefore, Sony must consider the customer’s preference before introducing new games titles. The PlayStation 3 has a lot of reputation due to its predecessors. Its predecessors, the acclaimed Playstation 2 (PS2), had already become the world’s bestselling video game console with more than 100 million units sold. By using the success of PlayStation 2, Sony can easily market their products. Sony also could penetrate to new market target. Currently, the target market for the PlayStation 3 was 18 to 35 year old male gamers with above average education and high degree of comfort with new technology. Sony could penetrate their market to beyond these age group and females to increase the sales. They should produce the games that can suit these group and it will give them an opportunity to increase their market share. THREATS To understand further the threat faced by Sony, the threat analysis was done based on Porter’s five forces: Threat of Competitor Sony top competitors in the gaming industry are Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360. The PlayStation 3 sales have fallen behind. In early 2007, PS3 had dropped to fourth place in the United States (see Exhibit 1 and 2). Worldwide, the Nintendo Wii outsold the PS3 by a ratio of two to one, and total global PS3 sales through to March 2007 numbered 1. 5 million units, compared to 5 million units of the Nintendo Wii and more than 10 million units of the Xbox 360. Threat of Buyer The PlayStation 3 was targeted to only a certain group of people that are from age range of 18 – 35 years old with above average education and a high degree of comfort with new technology. Therefore the product can only be sold to this particular group and they posed a threat to Sony. If this group of people decided not to buy the PlayStation 3, then Sony will fail in the market. It’s actually became a fact where after some time users noticed the PS 3 is no better than Xbox 360 and Wii and started buying the latter due to cheaper price and easy to use. Returns were piled up in outlets that were selling PlayStation 3 and sales became slow. Threat of Suppliers Due to the advanced graphics engines and processors utilized in PlayStation 3, it increased the burden of the software developers (suppliers) and took onger development cycle. Besides this the cost of development is very high. The developers also couldn’t stretch their development cost on multiple platform rather than single platform due to Sony’s reluctance to license out it’s technologies to others. Therefore only a small number of companies are willing to take the challenge to develop the software for PlayStation 3. This would eventually make Sony dependant on their suppliers and the suppliers may hold Sony for ransom if things does not work out well. This is a major threat that Sony should aware of. Threat of Substitutes Prior to the launch of PlayStation 3, public were in the opinion that PS 3 is a very advanced console and is totally different from those available in the market. The murder of few people and chaos during the launch in North America is solid evidence that consumers wants to buy this console at whatever cost. It looks like there is no substitute for PS 3 and it will enjoy a huge success. But after the product was launched and users found it more or less same as Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, the sales of PS 3 dropped. Both Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii are seen as substitute for PS 3. In fact Xbox and Wii outclassed PS 3 in sales. Therefore the threat of substitute (Xbox and Wii) is another major setback for Sony. Threat of New Entrance Since the manufacturing costs are high and require high technology, PlayStation 3 does not really face any threat of new entrance. Those who want to venture into this business must have high capital and the skill (technology) to produce a console equivalent to PS 3. Therefore the threat of new entrance can be ruled out. Other threats In May 2011, Sony expected to lose total of $ 3. 2 billion for the year due to effects of the Japanese earthquake. The forecast of $ 3. 2 billion loss was quite different to earlier projection of a profit of $857 million for the year. This projected loss may weakened Sony’s financial strength and restrict them from investing in new technology and to expand their business at the moment. PROBLEMS / ISSUES Sony’s problem in making the PlayStation 3 a success can be relate back to even before the launching of Play Station 3. Several major problems faced by Sony are as below:- Lost of Market Share Back in 1980s, Sony has enjoyed success with its Betamax, Trinitron and Walkman. However the company was very protective of its intellectual property and reluctant to license its technology to competitors. As a result, Sony products often lost market to inferior technologies offered by competitors. Sony also unwilling to adapt technologies from others to suit with the consumers need and aspiration. Sony’s Betamax video tape format is a good example where it provided higher definition video but it has shorter playing time compared to VHS introduced by JVC. Customers prefer longer playing time compared to quality and Sony unwilling to adapt JVC technology. Eventually Betamax lose out to VHS. In 1990s, Sony opted to promote its own proprietary ATRAC format over the more popular mp3 standard. The decision allowed Sony’s rivals to capture most of the portable music market. The most celebrated Walkman loses out to I pod introduced by Apple. In fact Sony’s employees themselves were frustrated by the company’s unwillingness to support other format. Unethical Business Strategy In 2005, Sony’s copy protection scheme made them to install what was known as a rootkit on many of its music CDs without informing their customers. The rootkit software installed itself on the computer when CD was inserted. Besides disabling the owner’s ability to copy music, it also exposed the computers to serious security risks and in some cases allowed Sony to remotely monitor the user’s actions. Sony was charged in court and found guilty. It caused irreparable harm to Sony’s reputation within music industry. It may also influence the sales of PlayStation 3 as some customers might question Sony’s transparency to customers on software used by them in their product. Product Disadvantage/Defect History proves that Sony always faced problems with their new products. Besides the earlier problem with Betamax and Walkman, Sony’s Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD) systems were incompatible with most stereos because of Sony’s copy protection scheme. Another product gave them problem in early 2007. Sony distributed 25 million DVD with a new copy protection technology known as the Advanced Regional Copy Control Operating Solution (ARccOS). However ARccOS unintentionally prevented movies from being played on many DVD players. As for gaming devise, in 2003, Sony introduced PlayStation Portable (PSP) but it fared poorly. Its built in memory could not even hold one album in mp3 format and customer had to purchase additional proprietary memory from Sony. PlayStation 3 too has its disadvantage. Many users complained on Sony’s decision to not include the video cables needed and to eliminate rumble (a vibration feedback feature) in PlayStation 3. Consumers had to buy additional controller which is very expensive compared to those offered by Nintendo. Sony was found guilty of infringing on a rumble patent and was ordered to pay $90. 7 million in damages. Lots of forum (internet) discussed about the problem faced with PlayStation 3. In Intuitive. com, they complained that the device runs way too hot and when the internal fan kicks in, the background noise is so high. Other forumer complained that it cannot play normal DVD, PlayStation 3 is not loading, stopped working after 1 year, always faulty after warranty period etc. Based on article in Wikipedia, a 2009 study by Square Trade, a warranty provider, found a 2 year failure rate of 10% for PlayStation 3. By early 2007, return outstripped sales and store shelves became overstocked with unsold consoles. Expensive Product, High Manufacturing Cost and Negative Profit Another problem faced by Sony is that it couldn’t afford to sell its PlayStation 3 for cheaper price due to higher manufacturing cost. Sony is very concern about the quality of their product and thus tries to produce high quality products. Eventually this lead to a higher manufacturing cost because the components used are of high quality and expensive. It’s proven with Betamax which is more expensive than VHS, PlayStation Portable priced nearly twice than competing handheld device from Nintendo, while SACD proves costly due to higher manufacturing cost. PlayStation 3 consoles had built in support for Blu-ray content which is of higher quality and capacity compared to HD-DVD which was supported by Xbox 360. However this makes the manufacturing cost are higher and the product was sold with expensive price. Besides that the video quality for both formats was comparable. The PlayStation 3 was the most expensive console ever launched with a price tag of $600 and $500 for stripped down version. Play Station 3 cost $200 more than Xbox 360 launched by Microsoft. Sony claimed that although their product cost more, but it has staying power up to 10 years. They failed to understand that technology always change and consumer won’t stick to one particular product for 10 years especially in entertainment and gaming industry. In fact the PlayStation 3 launched within few years after the launching of PlayStation 2. The high retail price will be a major hurdle for PlayStation 3 to be successful in the market. Based on number of units sold in November 2006, December 2006 and January 2007, PlayStation 3 was far behind X Box360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2 and Play Station Portable. Although the consoles are expensive, Sony could not make profit out of it. According to sources in Wikipedia, every PlayStation 3 units were sold at estimated loss of $250 contributing to Sony’s games division posting an operating loss of US$ 1. 97 billion in the fiscal year ending March 2007. This is another big blow for Sony and a major problem that they have to overcome. Differentiation Despite all the heavy advertisement and euphoria prior to the launching of PlayStation 3, it does not live up to the expectation. Generally PS3 is no different from other available similar product in the market. The PS3 launched with only 15 titles, the majority of which franchise games that had previously available for the Xbox 360. Professional reviewers called it mostly unoriginal. Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii had higher ranking titles. PS3 even could not even compete with earlier version that is Plays Station 2. Many users feel PlayStation 3 is not much different from Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii and prefer to buy the latter due to cheaper price. In fact Play Station 3 could not even beat the sales of its predecessor, PlayStation 2. Even the editors of the Official Play Station Magazine said they felt let down by Sony’s promises for better looking games. They felt PlayStation 3 offered only few advantages over the Xbox 360 and all the Play Station 3 games look just the same as they do on the Xbox 360. Over Confidence Sony seems to live in past glory. They are very proud of their product and confident that whatever new products introduced by them will be an instant hit. The success of PlayStation 2 might have influenced them to be over confident. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was launched a year earlier than PlayStation 3, which means Sony has a year to learn from Microsoft’s mistakes but they failed to do so because they are confident with their technology and felt PlayStation 3 is superior to Xbox 360. Longer Software Development Cycle Another setback for Sony was the longer software development cycle for PlayStation 3. The complexity of the advanced graphics engines and processors utilized in PlayStation 3 made the software development stretched to 36 months. Certain games such as Final Fantasy XI took about six months to port to Xbox 360 but could take up to 3 years to port to PlayStation 3. This is another disadvantage of PlayStation 3 compared to its rival products. Most of the developers reluctant to undertake the developing project for Play Station 3. It will also delay their production of the consoles and might not meet the demand. This is one of the factors why Sony had to delay its launch of PlayStation 3 and despite producing the anticipated 1 million console, they were only able to produce less than 200,000 consoles. Heavy Criticism from Media Earlier Sony has tarnished its reputation with two lawsuits against them by U. S. federal Trade Commission and Immersion Corporation. Their failure to launch the PlayStation 3 on schedule and expensive price of this product received heavy criticism from media. Their advertisement slogan for PlayStation 3 was â€Å"Play Beyond† became a joke in internet with one spoof titled â€Å"Pay Beyond† became widely circulated in internet. The PlayStation 3 was given number eighth spot on PC World magazine’s list as of â€Å"The Top 21 Tech screw-up’s in 2006†, where it was criticized for being late, expensive and incompatible. Business Week summed up the general opinion by stating that it was more impressed with what the PS3 could do than with what it currently does. The bad reviews and criticism by media may jeopardize the PlayStation 3’s sales and success. This might be one of the reasons why there was lack of demand for PlayStation 3 during the launching in Europe in March 2007. Besides that one of the game in PlayStation 3, Resistance: Fall of Man garnered a â€Å"mature† rating from the Entertainment Software Review Board (ERSB) for intense violence, Blood and gore and strong language. The latest setback was on April 20, 2011 (source from an article in Wikipedia) where Sony shutdown the Play Station network for a prolonged interval revealing in April 23 that this was due to an internal intrusion in their system. Sony revealed that the personal information of 77 million users might have been taken, including names, addresses, countries, e mail addresses, birth date, PSN login, passwords and PSN online ID. This latest setback further damaged Sony’s image and reputation especially in gaming industry. SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Market Strategy In order to recapture the market, Sony should take a survey of the market needs and expectation and develop a product which will suit the market. They should always be transparent with customers and should give out information on the technologies used in their product and the risk that customers may faced. This will avoid Sony being branded as using unethical business strategy and thus will build customer’s trust on them. In fulfilling the expectation of the market, Sony should not hesitate to adapt the technology of their competitor like how they did for their Betamax where in the end Sony adapted JVC’s VHS technology. Sony should not be overprotective of their technology and should start to license its technology to competitors. By doing this, Sony’s product will be marketed by not only by Sony but also others who obtained the license from Sony. Initial market target for PlayStation 3 was 18 – 35 years old male gamers with above average education. Sony should develop games that can attract those beyond these age group and woman so that it will increase their market share. Product Strategy Sony should start reviewing its product’s compatibility issue and resolve it. They should ensure their product suits most of the common devices used by customers. For example, Play Station should fit to the most of the computers as what Microsoft did with their Xbox 360. Using a simpler technology will shorten the development cycle and Sony can produce their consoles within shorter period of time. Sony should take serious action in overcoming all the problems related to PS 3 consoles as highlighted by users and media. Unless they resolve these issues, they will never be able to sell it successfully. Besides resolving the technical problems of PS3, Sony should also find a way to differentiate its product from competitor. The success of PlayStation 2 had automatically built high expectation on PlayStation 3 and customers were expecting something new from those available in the market. In order to meet these expectations, Sony should come up with more titles, new games, user friendly console etc. Sony managed to overcome some of the product issues by introducing a slimmer model in July 2010. Promotional Strategy Sony should adapt a modest promotion strategy. The heavy criticism on PlayStation 3 is because the public compared the product’s capability against what Sony promises during their promotion and marketing campaign. During the promotion, Sony claimed that PlayStation 3 was equipped with an IBM cell processor touted as a â€Å"supercomputer on a chip† which can outperform many of the latest PC processors and can delivers up to 10 times the performance of a typical home computer. In fact, they claimed that PS3 has twice the processing power of Xbox 360. They also claimed that PlayStation 3 has the ability to closely mimic human reasoning and movements. But public felt cheated when the actual product capability does not live to promises made by Sony thus bad reviews and heavy criticism were thrown at PlayStation 3 and Sony. Sony should test the actual performance of the product and be genuine in their promotion and marketing campaign. They should also launch their product simultaneously in all continents. PlayStation 3 was launched in North America first and then in Europe. But due to the bad reviews in US, the Europe demand dropped where prior to the launch, retailer in United Kingdom cancelled more than $20 million worth of orders. Pricing Strategy It’s a fact that PlayStation 3 is a very expensive console compared to its competitor, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. Therefore Sony should find a way to reduce its price to be on par with its competitor which will increase its sales. In order to achieve this, Sony should start using cheaper components and simpler technology to reduce its manufacturing cost which will eventually reduce the price of the product. Unnecessary accessories or gadgets which are actually not required by users should be removed to bring down the cost and price. By August 2009, Sony managed to reduce the manufacturing cost by 70% and reduce the price of Play Station 3 to $300. This eventually increases their profit and boosts the sales of PlayStation 3. Distribution Strategy One of the reasons why Sony failed in selling more consoles during the launch in North America was because of the delay in production which cannot meet the high demand. Sony should produce the required unit before the launching so that every order will be fulfilled. Those who are frustrated for not getting the console and could not wait for it started buying Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. This is a lost of sales for PlayStation 3. Sony should also be ready to license out its technologies to competitors. By doing this their product will flow into the market through various channels. CONCLUSION For long Sony has enjoyed success in entertainment industry through variety of product introduced by them. They enjoyed huge success with Play Station 2 but this is not the case with Play Station 3. Generally Play Station 3 was outclassed by Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. Although Sony managed to overcome most of the product’s technical issues and reduce the price by August 2009, it was still behind Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii in terms of number of units sold by March 2011. Below data clearly shows that Sony could not beat the sales of Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii:- Worldwide sales figures 1. Wii 86. 01 million as of 31 March 2011  (2011 -03-31)[update] 2. Xbox 360 55 million as of 4 June 2011  (2011 -06-04)[update] 3. Play Station 3 50 million as of 31 March 2011  (2011 -03-31)[update] The initial setback during launching as discussed earlier and issues faced with the product’s compatibility and inefficiency has already tuned the mindset of users that Plays Station 3 is no better than Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. If Sony keeps on placing hope that Play Station 3 will climb up to number one spot, they will fail to achieve that. Sony should introduce a new product and differentiate it against those available in the market to recapture the market and customers confidence level. The new product should be more advanced than Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, easy to use, cheaper, more new games titles and meet the expectation of the customers Exhibit 1 Company| Platform| Unit Sold ($)| | | Nov-06| Dec-06| Jan-07| Nintendo| Wii| 476,000. 00| 604,200. 00| 435,503. 00| Sony| PlayStation 2| 664,000. 00| 1,400,000. 00| 299,352. 00| Microsoft| Xbox 360| 511,000. 00| 1,100,000. 00| 294,000. 00| Sony| PlayStation 3| 197,000. 00| 490,700. 00| 243,554. 00| Nintendo| DS| 918,000. 00| 1,600,000. 00| 239,000. 00| Sony| PSP| 412,000. 00| 953,200. 00| 211,000. 00| Nintendo| Game Boy Advance| 641,000. 00| 850,000. 00| 179,000. 00| Nintendo| Game Cube| 70,000. 00| 64,000. 00| 24,000. 00| Exhibit 2