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Killiana1a said: [...] On to your bullet points:
[...] 1) "A bigger workforce" This is not an asset at all especially in Japan where they have the 2nd highest life expectancy after one of the Nordic countries (Iceland, Sweden, Finland or Denmark I cannot remember at the moment). With a larger workforce, you have a larger liability in wages and benefits, especially when they hit the 40 plus age range when they start to develop chronic medical conditions. Not a valid point because a bigger workforce is not only a liability in terms of dollars, but bigger workforces have been shown throughout the history of business to paralyze companies in dynamically changing markets where if you don't restructure and fundamentally change your way of business today, then you will be extinct tomorrow. The consumer electronics industry is a dynamically changing market. Just consider the iPod versus the Walkman. 2) "More annual customers" This is an asset due to Sony being a consumer electronic conglomerate with everything from PS3s, television sets, record labels and what not. Very valid point, but it is not a valid point when you are solely comparing Microsoft's Gaming Division to Sony's Gaming Division because it is unfair to compare apples to pomegranates. 3) "A much more diversified product range and mix" See the above. 4) "More revenue" Revenue is not profit. Profit is remaining revenue after a company pays off it's liabilities and taxes. Throwing the "more revenue" argument around is equivalent to arguing invididual citizens in one country are better off than those in another because their country has a higher gross GDP when it is GDP per capita that matters. In this case it is the company with the highest profit who is in the best position to lead and respond to the market. Microsoft may be smaller as a whole, but they are more agile and able to put out new products faster because they are not depending, like Sony, on one of 5 plus different consumer electronic divisions to post a profit so it can subsidize other unprofitable divisions (as they did for the PS3 from 2006-2009). |
1) Workforce like that of Sony in Japan or MS in USA has a high share of highly skilled and educated people, it's definitely a strength, while in countries where education, compared to national gross product, is below average, and people are ageing, like in the Italian heavy industry, a big workforce is more like you say, a liability. Sense of duty, BTW, makes Japanese workers a world apart.
2) and 3) Not directly related, but it helps Sony keep its good name even when some of its divisions aren't faring well.
4) Big revenue is important anyway: it means that Sony moves a lot of money, creating a lot of revenue and possibly profit outside of itself, so there are a lot of people and enterprises outside Sony for which Sony's health is very important.
Oh, yes, I could give one to each VGC user, I'd become rich anyway selling the others. 
