Global People Resourcing for Sony Group: A Human Resource Planning Report

For this assignment, you are required to develop an individual report based on the question from Sony case study

Sony group is one of the largest producers of consumer electronics in the world. The Japan-based brand has products under the following segments: Mobile Communications, Game & network services, Imaging products & Solutions, Home Entertainment & Sound, Semi-conductors, Components, Pictures, Music, Financial services and all other businesses.

The success of Sony relies on its highly skilled talent workforce. The total number of employees in the Sony group as of on Nov, 2019 was 114, 400. The value of the talent has been recognised and promoted on a corporate level at the organisation, as nearly one-fifth of Sony Group’s directors and business executives are non-Japanese nationals/

The World Economic Forum’s Agenda series suggests that Japan’s population has shrunk by nearly one million in the past five years, noting the first ever decline since the country’s census began in 1920. In order to thrive, the country’s shrinking economy now has a higher dependency on resourcing people globally from other countries. Under pressure from businesses battling the tightest labour shortage in decades, Japan’s government has finally been forced to relax its tough immigration policy. Last year in Dec, 2018, the administration of prime minister Shinzo Abe approved legislation that opened the door to as many as half a million foreign workers by 2025, in what some are calling the end to Japan’s traditional opposition to large-scale immigration.

Under the new legislation, foreign workers will be divided into two categories. Those with skills in sectors experiencing labour shortages will be allowed to work for up to five years but cannot bring their families with them. Those with more advanced skills will be able to bring family members and renew their visas indefinitely, and may eventually apply for permanent residency. Members of both groups must pass a Japanese-language exam.

In line with the shrinking and ageing population, Sony group must undertake broad range of human resource planning strategies to enable its local workforce to grow and gain an international exposure and at the same time to give exposure to international workers that may be working in Japan or in other countries about the corporate culture and Sony value system.

With regard to the case study ‘Global people resourcing for Sony group’, you are required to write a report to include the following five parts (each part carries equal weighting):

Identify TWO key contextual issues (gig economy, employment laws, digital working, national cultural  and institutional variations, globalisation etc.) that Sony group must develop a strong awareness of, and

analyse why those issues are pertinent to the organisation.

Outline things to be considered by the resourcing team when forecasting future demand for human  resources for Sony Group globally, and discuss TWO major implications that need to be considered by the resourcing team when performing HR planning in a global context  

Suggest two approaches to job design which aim to improve Sony’s international employees’ productivity and wellbeing, and justify your selection of the approaches

For this assignment students are required to develop a individual report based on the above-mentioned questions. Following is the prescribed report structure that will be provided to students on the same date of the release of assignment questions: