Business the Sony Way: Secrets of the World's Most Innovative Electronics Giant

Rating:
Summary: An embarrassment to the Sony Corporation
Review: Had Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita read this book before its publication they would have been appalled at the way it describes their organisation. This book is without a doubt the most unprofessional attempt to characterise a business empire. It is poorly written and poorly researched. The author's horrific use of the English language, combined with an obvious lack of business understanding to qualify her statements, makes this an extremely terrible read.

By the fourth chapter, I had to throw the book away as I was disgusted that I had paid money to read it. Thinking I was buying a 'business book' (as the title suggests) "Business the Sony Way" is simply an overview of the corporation predominately based on secondary sources and is by no means an attempt to critically examine the processes and methods Sony uses to stay ahead of its competition. For readers who are into this genre I would recommend "Sony" by John Nathans, "The Toyota Way" by Jeffrey Liker or "Jack" by Jack Welch.

To support my arguments about this disgraceful dialogue, I would draw your attention to the most silliest comments I've ever read in a book. Here are my top five which made me laugh the most;

5. "With each new generation of PlayStation game consoles, new features are introduced." Page 112
4. "The challenge then lies in achieving both levels of localisation well" page 51
3. "When they were both at work, Ibuka and Morita took lunch together" page 31
2. "Sony has taken risks with its hiring, with a view to find talented employees" page29
1. "...Sony did not grant me interviews with its executives..." page 1