Sir Howard Stringer. Perhaps not the name you would expect for the CEO of Sony Corporation. He was previously the head of Sonys U.S. music and film operations. Stringer took over what some have argued is one of the most bureaucratic organizations in the world. At the time, Sony consisted of multiple, diverse business units that, for the most part, operated independently and without regard for one another. As a result, Sonys performance had slipped dramatically in both profits and market share. Indeed, the once proud and respected technology giant was now considered a laggard (= who makes slow progress), and its 160,000-employee workforce lacked the ability to work together toward common goals. One of the major reasons for Sonys problems was the development of silos (=generally refers to the large structures) or fiefdoms (=a territory or sphere of operation controlled by a particular person or group) that divided up the companys business. Many of these silos were created by separating workers according to the type of work that they performed. In Sonys case, one of the biggest problems originated from separating hardware engineers from software developers. Sony grouped its hardware engineers together to encourage them to be creative and focus on major technological advances. This strategy worked very well for a long time as Sony developed hardware, like the Sony Walkman, that was smaller and lighter than that offered by its competitors. However, significant environmental changes required better integration between the hardware engineers and software developers. Specifically, consumers began to want their various electronic devices to talk to one another and be easier to use than ever before. Both of those new demands required hardware engineers and software developers to collaboratesomething that Sony had inadvertently discouraged. One of the greatest capitalizers on this networking trend was Apple, whose iPod became perfect example of everything people wanted in a portable, personal music player. Much of this appeal emerged because the iPods software allowed even the most computer illiterate user to download and network digital music. Apple had beaten Sony at its own game. One of the biggest disappointments for Sony was its development of the digital-based Network Walkmantwo years prior to the creation of the iPod! However, because Sonys engineers and software developers didnt communicate or work together, the Network Walkman was unbelievably complicated to use. The way Sony organized its workersits organizational structurehad essentially kept the company from taking advantage of the biggest shift in music media in the past 20 years. Even today, Sony has an incredibly complex organizational structure. Entertainment units are split by geographic regions and operate completely independently of one another. Consumer electronics divisions each have their own marketing departments that often compete for the same customer! However, using the same structure that cost it in its competition with Apple also allowed Sony to finish producing the most advanced gaming system in the world: the new Playstation 3. Stringers challenge is to find a way to organize Sony to take advantage of what many believe is the greatest accumulation of assets in the entertainment industry. He has to find a way to structure the organization so that it builds synergy between all different divisionswhile preparing Sony to react to the next big change in entertainment.

Read the above-mentioned case and answer the following questions: A. The case was critical of Sonys organizational structure in terms of its inability to compete effectively with its competitors. Would there be instances when that type of structure might actually be better?