UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

M.COM. PART - I (FIRST SEMESTER)

ACADEMIC YEAR 2012 - 2013

A PROJECT ON : SHARP CORPORATION- STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

PROJECT BY MR. PANCHAL HIREN SURESH ROLL NO. 47 DIVISION : B

PROJECT GUIDE PROF . SHRIRAM DESHPANDE

MITHIBAI COLLEGE OF ARTS, CHAUHAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE & AMRUTHBEN JIVANLAL COLLEGE OF COMMERCE & ECONOMICS. VILE PARLE (WEST) MUMBAI - 400 056

DECLARATION

I, MR. PANCHAL HIREN SURESH student of MITHIBAI COLLEGE, studying in M.COM (PART I) Roll No. 47, hereby declare that i have completed my project, titled SHARP CORPORATION- STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT for the subject - STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT in the academic year 2012 - 2013. The information submitted here is true and original as per my research and observation.

DATE OF SUBMISSION 8TH OCTOBER 2012. SIGNATURE OF STUDENT (MR. PANCHAL HIREN SURESH)

CERTIFICATE THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT MR. PANCHAL HIREN SURESH, STUDENT OF M.COM PART I OF MITHIBAI COLLEGE, HAS COMPLETED THE PROJECT ON APEC - TRADE AND INVESTMENT LIBERALIZATION IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2012 - 2013. THE INFORMATION SUBMITTED IS TRUE AND ORIGINAL TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE.

SIGNATURE OF PRINCIPAL

SIGNATURE OF PROJECT GUIDE (PROF. SHRIRAM DESHPANDE)

COLLEGE SEAL

SIGNATURE OF EXTERNAL EXAMINER

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

At this juncture, I would extend my gratitude to a number of people without whom this informative project would have been impossible. Every work that is appreciated is supported by various hands. This project would just not be complete without the valuable contribution from various people whom i have interacted with in the course of its completion. I would like to sincerely acknowledge my guide PROF. SHRIRAM DESHPANDE for providing me with an excellent and splendid opportunity to present this project on STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT which definitely has given a further professional approach. I am extremely grateful to the University of Mumbai for having prescribed this project work to me as a part of the academic requirement in the MCOM -PART 1 course lastly, I would like to appreciate the management and staff of MITHIBAI College, MCOM-1 for providing the entire state of the art infrastructure and resources to enable the completion and enrichment of my project.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Title STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ELEMENTS OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT SHARP CORPORATION - INTRODUCTION MISSION & VISION OF SHARP PRODUCTS OF SHRAP CORPORATION BACKGROUND OF SHRAP IMPORTANT MILESTONES IN SHRAPS HISTORY SWOT ANALYSIS OF SHARP CASE STUDY : SHARPS LCD BASED INNOVATION CASE STUDY : SHARPS CLOBAL TOP STRAYEGY BIBLIOGRAPHY

Page no. 6 9 11 13 15 16 20 24 27 35 39

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
Strategic Management is all about identification and description of the strategies that managers can carry so as to achieve better performance and a competitive advantage for their organization. An organization is said to have competitive advantage if its profitability is higher than the average profitability for all companies in its industry. Strategic management can also be defined as a bundle of decisions and acts which a manager undertakes and which decides the result of the firms performance. The manager must have a thorough knowledge and analysis of the general and competitive organizational environment so as to take right decisions. They should conduct a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), i.e., they should make best possible utilization of strengths, minimize the organizational weaknesses, make use of arising opportunities from the business environment and shouldnt ignore the threats. Strategic management is nothing but planning for both predictable as well as unfeasible contingencies. It is applicable to both small as well as large organizations as even the smallest organization face competition and, by formulating and implementing appropriate strategies, they can attain sustainable competitive advantage. Strategic Management is a way in which strategists set the objectives and proceed about attaining them. It deals with making and implementing decisions about future direction of an organization. It helps us to identify the direction in which an organization is moving. Strategic management is a continuous process that evaluates and controls the business and the industries in which an organization is involved; evaluates its competitors and sets goals and strategies to meet all existing and potential competitors; and then reevaluates strategies on a regular basis to determine how it has been implemented and whether it was successful or does it needs replacement. Strategic Management gives a broader perspective to the employees of an organization and they can better understand how their job fits into the entire organizational plan and how it is co-related to other organizational members. It is nothing but the art of managing employees in a manner which maximizes the ability of achieving business objectives. The employees become more trustworthy, more committed and more satisfied as they can co-relate themselves very well with each organizational task. They can understand the reaction of environmental changes on the organization and the probable response of the organization with the help of strategic management. Thus the
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employees can judge the impact of such changes on their own job and can effectively face the changes. The managers and employees must do appropriate things in appropriate manner. They need to be both effective as well as efficient. One of the major role of strategic management is to incorporate various functional areas of the organization completely, as well as, to ensure these functional areas harmonize and get together well. Another role of strategic management is to keep a continuous eye on the goals and objectives of the organization. Two Approaches to Strategy The idea of strategy has received increasing attention in the management literat- ure. The literature on strategy is now voluminous and strategic management texts grow ever larger to include all the relevant material. In this book our aim is not to cover the whole area of strategy that would require yet another mammoth tome but to present a clear, logical and succinct approach to the subject that will be of use to the practising manager. We do not attempt a summary of the eld, rather we present what we see as a useful framework for analyzing strategic problems based on our own experience of teaching the subject on a variety of courses and to a variety of audiences over the years. Our premise is that a rm needs a well dened sense of its mission, its unique place in its environment and scope and direction of growth. Such a sense of mission denes the rms strategy. A rm also needs an approach to management itself that will harness the internal energies of the organization to the realization of its mission. Historically, views of strategy fall into two camps. There are those who equate strategy with planning. According to this perspective, information is gathered, sifted and analysed, forecasts are made, senior managers reect upon the work of the planning department and decide what is the best course for the organization. This is a top-down approach to strategy. Others have a less structured view of strategy as being more about the process of management. According to this second perspective, the key strategic issue is to put in place a system of management that will facilitate the capability of the organization to respond to an environment that is essentially unknowable, unpredictable and, therefore, not amenable to a planning approach. We will consider both these views in this text. Our own view is that good strategic management actually encompasses elements of each perspective. There is no one best way of strategy. The planning approach can work in a stable, predictable environment. Its critics argue that such environments are becoming increasingly scarce, events
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make the plan redundant, creativity is buried beneath the weight and protocols of planning and communication rules. Furthermore, those not involved in devising the plan are never committed to its implementation. The second approach emphasizes speed of reaction and exibility to enable the organization to function best in an environment that is fast-changing and essentially unpredictable. The essence of strategy, according to this view, is adaptability and incrementalism. This approach has been criticized for failing to give an adequate sense of where the organization is going and what its mission is. Critics speak disparagingly of the mushroom approach to management.

ELEMENTS OF STRATEGY
Denitions of strategy have their roots in military strategy, which denes itself in terms of drafting the plan of war, shaping individual campaigns and, within these, deciding on individual engagements (battles/skirmishes) with the enemy. Strategy in this military sense is the art of war, or, more precisely, the art of the general the key decision maker. The analogy with business is that business too is on a war footing as competition becomes more and more erce and survival more problematic. Companies and armies have much in common. They both, for example, pursue strategies of deterrence, offense, defense and alliance. One can think of a well developed business strategy in terms of probing opponents weaknesses; with- drawing to consider how to act, given the knowledge of the opposition generated by such probing; forcing opponents to stretch their resources; concentrating ones own resources to attack an opponents exposed position; overwhelming selected markets or market segments; establishing a leadership position of dominance in certain markets; then regrouping ones resources, deciding where to make the next thrust; then expanding from the base thus created to dominate a broader area. Strategic thinking has been much inuenced by military thinking about the strategy hierarchy of goals, policies and programmes. Strategy itself sets the agenda for future action, strategic goals state what is to be achieved and when (but not how), policies set the guidelines and limits for permissible action in pursuit of the strategic goals, and programmes specify the step-by-step sequence of actions necessary to achieve major objectives and the timetable against which progress can be measured. A well dened strategy integrates an organizations major plans, objectives, policies and programmes and commitments into a cohesive whole. It marshals and allocates limited resources in the best way, which is dened by an analysis of a rms unique strengths and weaknesses and of opportunities and threats in the environment. It considers how to deal with the potential actions of intelli- gent opponents. Management is dened both in terms of its function as those activities that serve to ensure that the basic objectives of the enterprise, as set by the strategy, are achieved, and as a group of senior employees responsible for performing this function. Our working denition of strategic management is as follows: all that is necessary to position the rm a way that will assure its longterm survival in a competitive environment. A strategy is an organizations way of saying how it creates unique value and thus attracts the custom that is its lifeblood. To understand the strategy of a particular rm we have to understand, unless we are in a start-up situation, what factors have made the rm what it is today. This involves answering questions such
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as: How did the organization reach its present state? Why is it producing its particular range of products and services? What kind of products or services does it intend to produce in the future the same or dif- ferent, and, if different, how different? If it is thinking of altering its current range, what are the reasons? Strategy usually reects the thinking of a small group of senior individuals, or even one strong leader, the strategic apex of a company. Why are the people who make up the strategic apex in this position? How do they think? Are there other (more) fertile sources of strategic thinking elsewhere in the organization that could be usefully tapped? If necessary how can one go about learning from the collective wit of the organization, the creative voice that so often remains silent? How are decisions made in the organization? What is its

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"Make products that others want to imitate." Sharp Corporation (Sharp) is a Japan-based consumer/information products company. The company is engaged principally in manufacturing, developing, designing, and marketing a range of electronic products. The companys products include PCs, audio and video products, printers and cell phones, CD and DVD players, video cameras, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners, and refrigerators, among others. It also offers LCDs, solar cells and other electronic devices. The companys subsidiary, Sharp Electronics Corporation, offers solar products that find application in both residential and commercial markets. Sharp operates through 64 subsidiaries in 25 countries across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The company is headquartered at Abeno-ku (Osaka), Japan. Sharp founder Tokuji Hayakawa coined this phrase to embody the management concept at Sharp. In 1912, he invented the snap belt buckle and three years later brought the Ever-Sharp mechanical pencil to the market. Since then, Sharp has been on the cutting edge of technology, consistently innovating new appliances, industrial equipment and office solutions, and changing the lives of people around the world. In 1962, Sharp expanded outside of Japan and established Sharp Electronics Corporation in the United Statesthe company's first overseas sales baseand in 1979 it set up the Sharp Manufacturing Company of America to create a manufacturing base in the U.S. Sharp didn't limit itself to sales and manufacturing in the U.S. In 1995, Sharp opened Sharp Laboratories of America, its U.S.-based research and development laboratory designed to take advantage of American ingenuity and research. As the array of products offered by Sharp grew, Sharp Electronics Corporation expanded to include a new sales office in Los Angeles, California, in 1996. In this same year, Sharp made its presence known on the Internet, with the creation of www.sharp.co.jp and www.sharp-world.com. As a manufacturer, Sharp contributes to society by being the first to make unique products that meet the new needs of each decade. Successive generations of Sharp leaders have, in their own way, pursued this concept by making products that contribute to society, in the process creating a corporation known and trusted around the globe.

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From the first solar-powered calculator to the largest commercially available LCD monitor, from copiers to solar cells, from air purifiers to steam ovens, and from microelectronics to microwave ovens, Sharp covers all of the needs of the contemporary lifestyle. Sharp aims to realize its business philosophy throughout all its activities. Possessing a "gene of creativity" since its foundation, Sharp will continue to offer one-of-a-kind products and new lifestyles as a corporation trusted around the world.

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MISSION AND VISION OF THE COMPANY

MISSION STATEMENT Ever since the company's establishment in 1912, innovation has been an integral part of our corporate philosophy. Correspondingly, the company's name Sharp is derived from our rst major invention, the Ever Sharp Pencil, the rst mechanical retractable pencil in the world. Our goal has been and will continue to be to win our customers' and partners' condence through honesty and creativity. We are open to new things and oriented towards our customers' and users' wishes. Today we are a leading manufacturer of digital information technologies. We not only strive to continually expand our business volume we are also committed to contributing to the culture and the well-being of people all over the world with our unique, innovative technologies. Business Philosophy We do not seek merely to expand our business volume. Rather, we are dedicated to the use of our unique, innovative technologies to contribute to the culture, and welfare of people throughout the world. It is the intention of our corporation to grow hand-in-hand with our employees, encouraging and aiding them to reach their full potential and improve their standard of living. Our future prosperity is directly linked to the prosperity of our customers, dealers and shareholders... indeed, the entire Sharp family. Business Creed Sharp Corporation and its subsidiaries are dedicated to two principal ideals: Sincerity and Creativity By committing ourselves to these ideals, we can derive genuine satisfaction from our work, while making a meaningful contribution to society. Sincerity is a virtue fundamental to humanity... always be sincere. Harmony brings strength... trust each other and work together.
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Politeness is a merit... always be courteous and respectful. Creativity promotes progress... remain constantly aware of the need to innovate and improve. Courage is the basis of a rewarding life... accept every challenge with a positive attitude. VISION OF THE COMPANY Sharps corporate vision is to become an Eco-Positive Company. By Eco-Positive Company, Sharp means a company that works with all stakeholders in creating solutions that have signicantly more positive impact on the environment than the negative impact caused by business activities. One important effort towards this vision is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its business activities, Sharp is developing and spreading the use of energy-creating solar cells and energy-saving products.

Eco-Positive Strategy Sharp is striving to realize its corporate vision by carrying out its Eco-Positive Strategy worldwide. Under this strategy, Sharp is pursuing environmental efforts from four aspects (see diagram to the left). We are placing particular emphasis on businesses (products, solar power-related business, and others) and on operations (mainly factories), since these have a direct effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Ever since operations started at the Kameyama Plant in scal 2003, Sharp has been going all out to assess and certify the environmental performance of its products and factories based on in-house standards. This system has spurred friendly competition among different Sharp business groups and has resulted in signicant advances in making Sharp greener. Through the Eco-Positive Strategy, all Sharp divisions in Japan and around the world are setting environmental goals and working togethernot just to reduce the companys greenhouse gas emissions but to increase Sharps overall positive impact on the natural environment
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PRODUCTS OF SHARP CORPORATION

Core technologies and products include: LCD panels, solar panels, mobile phones, audio-visual entertainment equipment, video projectors, Multi-Function Printing Devices, microwave ovens, air conditioners, cash registers, CMOS and CCD sensors, and flash memory. The first commercial camera phone was also made by Sharp for the Japanese market in November 2000. Recent products include the ViewCam, the Ultra-Lite notebook PC, the Zaurus personal digital assistant, Sidekick 3, and the AQUOS flat screen television. Sharp manufactures a variety of consumer electronic products. These include LCD televisions, sold under the Aquos brand, mobile phones, microwave ovens, Home cinema and audio systems, air purification systems, fax machines and calculators. For the business market, Sharp also produces ranges of projectors and monitors and a variety of photocopiers and Laser Printers, in addition to electronic cash registers and Point of sale technologies. Sharp is a pioneer and innovator in the field of multi-functional devices (MFD) having won many awards from BLI and BERTL - the two major authorities providing competitive intelligence and test reviews in the print industry. SHARP's latest products - MX2600N and MX3100N have once again broken new ground with the launch of version 3 Open System Architecture (OSA3). This feature enhances productivity further still by letting third party developers directly integrate their business applications with the MFD. Sharp Solar has for a number of years been a leading supplier of silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar cells, Now, it offers solar TV. In Q1 2010 they were rated the #1 producer of solar PV systems, in terms of revenues.

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BACKGROUND OF SHARP COPARATION

Sharp Corporation develops, produces, and markets advanced consumer electronics, business products, and electronic components. For most of the 1980s Sharp's reputation--and sales--lagged behind those of arch-rival Sony Corporation. In the 1990s, though, Sharp emerged as the leader of the liquid crystal display (LCD) industry. LCD panels are lighter and thinner than the cathode ray tube screens common in televisions, and have revolutionized calculators, computer screens, video recorders, and hand-held devices. However, Sharp is more than an LCD manufacturer. The company also does a brisk business in integrated circuits, digital copiers, fax machines, and household appliances. Although 65 percent of its sales are generated in Japan, Sharp has subsidiaries around the world. The Hayakawa Metal Industrial Laboratory: 1912-42 The company was founded as a small metal works in Osaka in 1912 by an inventor and tinkerer named Tokuji Hayakawa. After three years in business, earning a modest income from gadgets and repair jobs, Hayakawa engineered a mechanical pencil he called the 'Ever-Sharp.' Consisting of a retractable graphite lead in a metal rod, the Ever-Sharp pencil won patents in Japan and the United States. Demand for this simple and durable instrument was immense. To facilitate greater production, Hayakawa rst adopted an assembly line and later moved to a larger factory. Hayakawa's business, as well as his personal life, were dealt a devastating blow on September 1, 1923. On that day, the Great Kanto Earthquake caused a re which destroyed his factory and took the lives of his wife and children. Hayakawa endured severe depression, and it was a year before he reestablished his factory. The Hayakawa Metal Industrial Laboratory, as the company was called, resumed production of the Ever-Sharp pencil, but Hayakawa became interested in manufacturing a new product: radios. The rst crystal radio sets were imported into Japan from the United States in the early 1920s. Hearing one for the rst time, Hayakawa immediately became convinced of its potential. With little understanding of radios, or even electricity, he set out to develop Japan's rst domestically produced crystal radio. After only three months of study and experimentation, Hayakawa succeeded in receiving a signal from the broadcasting service which had begun programming&mdash a very small audience--only a few months before, in 1925. The radio entered mass production shortly afterward, and sold so well that facilities had to be expanded. Crystal radios, however, are passive receivers whose range is limited. Hayakawa felt that
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powered radios, capable of amplifying signals, should be the subject of further development. While competitors continued to develop better crystal sets, Hayakawa began work on an AC vacuum tube model. When the company introduced a commercial model, the Sharp Dyne, in 1929, Sharp was rmly established as Japan's leading radio manufacturer. The company expanded greatly in the following years, necessitating its reorganization into a corporation in 1935. The laboratory, for all its success, was not a leader in a wide range of technologies; it led only in a narrow section of the market. In addition, the company did not have the benet of nancial backing from the zaibatsu conglomerates or the government. In the realm of the national modernization effort, it was an outsider. This may have been its saving grace, however, as the government had become dominated by a group of right-wing imperialists within the military. Whatever their political opinions, the leaders of Japan's largest corporations were compelled to cooperate with the militarists in their quest to establish Japanese supremacy in Asia. Hayakawa, on the other hand, was for the most part left alone. World War II and Postwar Challenges During World War II, though, Hayakawa and his company were forced to produce devices for the military, and even to restructure, as new industrial laws intended to concentrate industrial capacity were passed. Renamed Hayakawa Electrical Industries in 1942, the company emerged from the war damaged but not destroyed. While other industrialists were purged from public life for their support of the militarists, Hayakawa was permitted to remain in business. His biggest concerns were rebuilding his company and surviving Japan's postwar recession. By 1950 more than 80 of Hayakawa's competitors were bankrupt. But Hayakawa's ofcials personally guaranteed the company's liabilities when the company suffered a critical drop in sales, and Hayakawa Electric was able to obtain the cooperation of underwriters until the rst major expansion in the Japanese economy occurred in 1952. Hayakawa considered television, a eld that had not yet proved commercially successful, a highly promising new area. The company began development of an experimental TV set in 1951, even before plans had been made to begin broadcasting in Japan. Two years later, when television broadcasting started, Hayakawa Electric introduced its rst commercial television set under the brand name 'Sharp,' in honor of the pencil. Hayakawa's good timing was essential in allowing the company to establish and maintain a signicant and protable market share.

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Innovation in the 1950s and 1960s The company started development of a color television in the mid-1950s. In 1960, with the advent of color broadcasting in Japan, Hayakawa introduced a line of color sets. This was followed in 1962 by a commercial microwave oven, and in 1964 by a desktop calculator. The Compet calculator was the rst in the world to use transistors. In 1966 the microwave oven received a rotating plate and calculators shrank with the use of integrated circuits. Hayakawa recognized the great sales potential of the United States; a sales subsidiary was established there in 1962. It served the dual purpose of facilitating sales and observing the market. By the late 1960s, the Sharp brand name had become well-established in North America. Sales in the United States provided the company with a large and increasing portion of its income. In addition, subsidiaries were established in West Germany in 1968 and Britain in 1969. Hayakawa Electric made two major breakthroughs in 1969. That year the company introduced the Extra Large Scale Integration Calculator, a device now reduced to the size of a paperback book. The other new product was the gallium arsenide light-emitting diode (LED)--in effect, a tiny computer light. Like the radio and television before them, improved versions of both the calculator and LED were subsequently introduced in future years. New Leadership in the 1970s Tokuji Hayakawa retired from the day-to-day operations of his company in 1970, assuming the title of chairman. He was replaced as president by Akira Saeki, a former executive director. Saeki oversaw an important reorganization of the company intended to establish a new corporate identity and unify product development efforts. That year, Hayakawa Electric Industries also adopted its new name: Sharp Corporation. Embracing LCD: 1986-94 President Saeki retired in 1986, continuing to serve the company as an advisor. He was succeeded by Haruo Tsuji, a 'numbers man' with an exemplary record in middle and upper management. During Saeki's tenure, Sharp had diversied into a wide range of consumer products. Eschewing the more glamorous development paths of rivals such as Sony and Matsushita, who expanded by acquiring a number of Hollywood-based entertainment companies during the 1980s, Sharp instead focused on research and development. In consumer electronics and appliances, the company engaged in a measured effort to move upmarket, introducing more expensive, but higher
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quality, products. By the late 1980s Sharp had developed a number of innovations in its product line such as a video disc player capable of reproducing three-dimensional images, a cordless telephone with a 100-meter range, and Zarus, a highly successful computerized personal organizer, capable of reading handwritten Japanese text. But the most signicant changes took place in another area of business. New president Tsuji quickly recognized the potential of LCD devices, and uninchingly focused the company's resources on developing the technology. Tsuji committed 10 percent of Sharp's total sales revenues to research and development. With this push, Sharp soon began to add LCD screens to all its products. By the late 1980s, Sharp succeeded in producing a thin lm transistor LCD--a display with impressively sharp denition that opened the door to color laptop computers and portable televisions. Sharp's LCD advances propelled the company forward. Between 1991 and 1994, Sharp's LCD business grew by more than 35 percent each year, and by the close of scal 1994, LCD screens accounted for over 30 percent of Sharp's total revenue. While rivals Sony and Matsushita watched their prots drop in 1994, Sharp's earnings rose by 25 percent over the same period. In 1995 Sharp announced that it would again increase capital investments in its electronic devices division. In particular, the company planned to pour funds into its LCD and semiconductor manufacturing operations. Sharp's goal was not merely to produce LCD screens. Rather, the company sought to place cutting-edge LCD technology at the core of the emerging multimedia eld.

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IMPORTANT MILESTONES IN SHARPS HISTORY

1912 to 1914 Companys Founder, Tokuji Hayakawa, invents a snap belt buckle requiring no fastening holes. Tokuji Hayakawa invents, manufactures and sells the Ever-Sharp Mechanical Pencil, one of the most innovative and popular writing instruments of its time.

1931 to 1936 An originally designed intermittent belt conveyor system is completed in 1936. A first in Japan, this system achieves an unprecedented level of quality and efficiency. The system's mass production capability makes it possible to build a single radio in just 56 seconds.

1937 to 1944 World War II drives demand for Sharp radio sets.

1945 to 1952 Korean War brings a boom in procurements by the US forces, boosting the Company's fortunes which had declined in the difficult period immediately following World War II. The Company successfully introduces a Super Radio Set in response to newly expanded radio broadcasting in Japan.

1960 to 1961 Company begins mass production of color televisions. The Company begins research on computers, semiconductors, ultra-short wave technology and microwave ovens. All are future product categories in which the Company excels.

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1969 to 1970 Cooperative agreement with Rockwell Corporation of the United States leads to production of extra large-scale integrated (ELSI) chips that form the core of Sharp's popular cuttingedge Microcompet calculator. The Company changes its name from Hayakawa Electric Industry Co., Ltd. to Sharp Corporation. The new name reflects the Companys broad vision and competencies.

1971 to 1972 Sharp produces the first 4-bit microprocessor in Japan. It is incorporated in a new point-ofsale terminal produced for Coca-Cola Co., Ltd. Sharp enters what is then called the photocopier business.

1976 to 1978 Sharp develops a TV employing an EL panel that is a mere 3 cm thick. This thin TV attracts a great deal of attention at electronics shows. The Company introduces the world's first card-sized, sensor-touch electronic calculator. Sharp sells the world's first "Picture-in-Picture" TV sets. Sharp enters the controller market in earnest with a "sequence controller."

1979 Sharp establishes Sharp Manufacturing Company of America (SMCA) in Memphis, Tennessee. This is the company's first overseas manufacturing facility in the industrialized world. Production of color TVs and microwave ovens gets under way the same year. Sharp begins to produce VCRs in Japan as part of an integrated audio-visual lineup of products. The Company includes an arsenal of innovative features in its new products, such as a proprietary APSS (automatic program search system) and front-loading configuration.

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1980 to 1984 Sharp becomes the first company in the world to successfully mass-produce thin film EL panels. These devices are ideal for displays in office equipment and measuring instruments. Because of their thinness, reliability and low power consumption, they are chosen for use in the US Space Shuttle.

1987 The name Sharp becomes inextricably linked with LCD. The Company creates a TFT LCD module containing 92,160 pixels, the most in the industry, and incorporates it into an LCD color TV. After a two-year development, Sharp debuts its electronic organizer (known as the Wizard in the US). The new organizers give users a calendar, memo pad, phone book, scheduler and calculator, all in a single unit. Also, users can add to the built-in functions by inserting IC cards for specific applications.

1992 Sharp completes a new facility for manufacturing the most advanced VLSI chips. Sharp releases a 16:9 widescreen, ultra-high-resolution HDTV with 1,125 scanning lines, more than twice as many as on conventional TVs.

1993 The LCD ViewCam grows into a flagship product that shows the world that "LCD is Sharp" and contributes to boosting the company image.

1994 Sharp announces development of a 21-inch TFT color LCD, the world's largest. This is 1.5 times larger than the 17-inch model Sharp introduced in 1992, showing the world Sharp's high standard of LCD technology. Sharp finally breaks the 20-inch barrier with this wallmounted TV.

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1997 Sharp launches the Environmental Protection Group and promotes a 3G1R strategy company-wide. (The three Gs stand for Green products, Green factories, Green mind, and the one R stands for Recycling business.) Sharp aims to become the No.1 environmentally responsible company from product planning, factory operation, and work processing to employee actions.

1998 Using new CG-Silicon (continuous grain silicon) technology developed through a joint venture, Sharp makes a splash with its prototype ultra high-definition 60-inch rear projector that uses three 2.6-inch CG-Silicon LCD panels.

1999 Sharp announces the worlds first 20-inch LCD TVs in February and begins sales the following month. The large 20-inch screen is the ideal size for a main TV in a home. With a thickness of only 4.95 cm, these TVs save space and use only 43% of the power consumed by conventional models.

2000 Having provided many world-first and industry-first copiers since entering the market in 1972 with a wet-type electrostatic copier, Sharp's total worldwide copier production reaches 10 million in 2000. outstanding milestone. Sharp becomes the second copier manufacturer to achieve this

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SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT analysis is considered to be one of the most effective analytical tools used assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with a business. The following table represents summary of the SWOT analysis conducted for Sharp Corporation. Strengths: Diversified product portfolio Constant focus on research and development Strong brand Wide international market presence

Weaknesses: Sluggish performance in key products such as PCs Heavy reliance on Japanese market Lack of scale of operations

Opportunities: Increasing demand for technology Expansion into new emerging markets Growing mobile phones market in Asia

Threats: Intense competition Availability of cheaper alternatives Growing environmental concern

Strengths According to Johnson and Scholas (2006) diversification of product portfolio is important as it protects company against risk of exposure in any particular line of business. Therefore, Sharp is a relatively strong in this area as it has a diversified product portfolio. The company manufactures wide range of consumer electronics, home appliances, and audio-video and communication
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equipments. Moreover, by entering into electronic components market as manufacturer and supplier the company has balanced its consumer oriented business. Sharp has a strong international market presence as well as well-recognised brand. The company has more than 20 subsidiaries operating in over 25 countries across Europe, North America and Asia. The expansion of international market presence has allowed the company to reduce its reliance on Japanese market. In 2010, the revenue from international sales accounted for 39% of companys total revenues. Weaknesses Although Sharps international market presence has increased significantly in recent years, the fact that more than 60% of companys sales account for Japanese market indicates that company is heavily dependant on Japanese market exposing its large proportion of operations to market risks in Japan. Compared to its competitors such as Sony and Toshiba, Sharps scale of operations is a relatively small in terms of revenue. The lack of scale may reduce bargaining power of the company and considering the competitiveness of consumer electronics market this can be a significant disadvantage (Kotler and Keller, 2009). The decline in sales of key elements such as PCs is another area for concern. Revenues from Japan decreased by 4%, while contribution from Europe and America declined by 12,7% and 27,8% in 2010. Opportunities Due to growing demand for consumer electronics, PCs and home appliances from first-time buyers from emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil and Russia the global electronic market has been growing steadily. This presents Sharp potential opportunity to explore these new emerging markets and expand its international market share and presence. Moreover, the growth of mobile market in Asia Pacific region, the worlds largest mobile phone market which accounts for more than 40% of global phone market, is another huge opportunity for the company considering its strong market presence in Asian mobile phone market.

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Threats Without doubt, the major threat for the company is that intense competition it faces from its competitors as companies such as Sony, Samsung and Toshiba have competitive advantage over the Sharp in terms of scale of operations and international market presence. Moreover, the emergence of Apple as a market leader in mobile phone and personal tablet market further increased the competition. Therefore, Lancaster et al (2002) argue that increased competition can result in

reduced profit margins and declined revenues which in turn could harm the companys business. In addition, the growing concern for global environment could pose another threat for the companys business increasing number of governments introducing regulations and rules requiring companies to reduce use of raw materials, the consumption of energy and omission in manufacturing electronic products.

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CASE STUDY ON SHARPS LCD BASED INNOVATION

INTRODUCTION InJuly2005,Sharp began the mass production of the worlds first dual-functionLCD, which displays information in right and left viewing directions. It has also developed an LCD, which can be switched between wide and narrow viewing angles. These innovations have given rise to a new dimension to competition in the global LCD market. With a turn over of 2,539billion by March2005, Sharp expects additional revenue of about 10 billion from these two innovations in 2005-2006, and a substantial increase thereafter. In its ninety years of existence, Sharp, through its innovations, has created new categories ofnever seen before products .The company itself came into existence through an innovation. Sharp's LCD Based Innovations To make the calculator smaller meant tackling the biggest problem, making the display smaller. The principles used in liquid crystal displays had been known for some time, but had not become a reality. Sharp engineers decided it could be done and developed the world's rst electronic calculator, better, smaller and lighter. In a single stroke, the calculator was miniaturized. Sharp engineers wanted to use LCDs to display more than numbers and letters, by displaying images. In order to make advanced displays, Sharp needed the technologies to mount thin-lm transistors on the 0.2 millimeter wide picture elements (pixels) that make up the unit. LCD production requires ultra-high precision production technology similar to those of LSIs. These ultra-high precision mounting technologies presented a huge challenge. In October, 1986, Tsuji made what was known as the "LCD shift." According to Mr. Saruda of Nikkei Research Center, "In addition to facing the technological challenge, it was the internal development of these key components for future applications that was envisioned." The idea was to give liquid crystal a new role as a kind of electronic paper that could accept electronic input. The dream then grew to include larger and larger sizes, and better and better image quality. The LCD division was established within the electric parts business unit and an LCD research center was established within the corporate development center. Located within this center is an LCD plant whose facilities are at the leading edge of technology. Because LCD's hate dust particles, at this factory the amount of dust particles is limited to less than 10 particles, each three ten-thousands of

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millimeter in diameter, within a volume of one cubic foot. That is 300,000 times cleaner than a typical ofce. In 1986, the rst TFT-LCD color TV was successfully introduced. In 1987, the 3- inch color LCD TV using TFT was introduced. In 1988, the world's rst 14-inch LCD display was developed. In 1989, the 100-inch LCD projection system was introduced. In 1992, the Sharps LCD ViewCam was introduced. Sharps LCD developments have include: 1970: set up the development center in Tenri 1973: 1st calculator using LCD display 1986: established LCD division and LCD research center 1987: introduced 3-inch LCD color TV 1988: developed the 14-inch TFT color display 1989: introduced the 100-inch LCD projection set 1991: built a new LCD plant at Tenri and in the Washington state, U.S.A. 1992: developed 17 inch TFT color display and introduced the LCD ViewCam. 1993: began construction of new LCD plant in Mie Prefecture. 1994: developed 21-inch TFT color display for multimedia use.

The 3-inch color TV resulted in the development of advanced image technology called "normally white," meaning that the LCD looks white when the power is off. It was applied to the LCD projection set to get larger picture sizes. LCD parts were applied to the TV set projector and the ViewCam. New technology helped the company to create new segments and hold a dominant position in those markets. According to Tsuji, In order to expand our LCD business, work is to achieve breakthroughs in three complementary areas. First, we intend to push development of high-level LCD technology. Second, we intend to make a breakthrough in production technology so we can offer reasonable prices. Third, we intend to push development of products that use LCDs. Advanced components produce a group of new products that generate the next generation of products out of mature products.

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In response to the current recession, Sharp was focusing again on the development of key components. In R&D, the central focus was on improving the light characteristics of LCDs through semiconductor developments for use in next generation products. While multimedia business opportunities were still unclear, Sharp planned to continue developing new and better selling products related to LCDs. The real test would come as the battle for multimedia business brings in many new competitors.

TFT Improvement Efforts TFT-LCD is Sharp's core technology. For LCDs to challenge the $10 billion CRT market, Sharp is looking to develop the next generation thin-lm-transistor by the year 2000. Between 1993 and 1995, Sharp planned to invest one billion dollars in LCD-related product R&D including the construction of the next generation of TFT-LCD. The objectives of its new development theme included reducing the thickness by half, increasing the brightness, and increasing the picture size. Sharps "next generation LCD display kinkyu project" included 42 people selected from across the organization. Eight of the 42 were immediately transferred to their new post under the supervision of the video business division manager. Team members were selected from the information technology research center, the opto- electric business division, and the IC business division. They were not necessarily replaced in their old organizations. LCDs are already much thinner and lighter than traditional CRTs. Efforts to make TFT screens even thinner were steadily producing results. The 9.5 inch color TFT for personal computers is 10 millimeters thick and weighs 590 grams. Compared to 1990, it is one half the thickness and onethird the weight. The thinnest TFT is Mitsubishi's 9.5 inch LCD with 8.9 mm thickness and 550 grams in weight. It incorporates a 3 mm diameter cold cathode tube for backlight and uses automated tape bonding for automated assembly. At the 6.4 inch size LCD, Sony builds 6.8 mm thin models. This is the thinnest product ever developed and may be used for "color" information terminal applications. Since LCD doesn't generate its own light, it needs a light source, called backlight, to give its brightness. More backlight increases power consumption which detracts from the merits of LCD. The nal brightness level represents only a few percent of the original light source. Light emitting tubes have 300 candela per square meter but TFT emits only 100 candela. Brightness depends on the area of one pixel that is "open" for light to emerge. Half of the light source's output is absorbed
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in the process. Metal parts used in TFT devices, the color lter, and polarization all restrict or absorb light. Miniaturization and micro- fabrication cannot solve this problem.

Continuing Pressure on Performance Despite strong international sales of Sharp's new ViewCam and electronic devices such as LCDs and semiconductors, consolidated overseas sales declined by 2.3 percent between scal years 1993 and 1994. During 1993, the world economy continued to have mixed results. While business activity in the U.S. was showing signs of recovery, ASEAN countries and China exhibited growth rates around ten percent. Japan's economy remained at, depressed by limited personal spending and restrained investment in new facilities and equipment. The continuing rise in the value of the yen, and the effects of an unseasonably cool summer of 1993, had further dampened Japan's economic growth. Despite favorable overseas conditions, Sharp's overseas sales were down from $7.6 billion in 1993 to $7.3 billion in 1994 as shown in Table 6. In the Japanese market, where the economy had yet to recover, innovative products like the ViewCam showed healthy growth along with electronic devices. Domestic sales increased by 4.2 percent, up from $7.1 billion in 1993 to $7.4 billion in 1994. Consolidated sales increased 0.8 percent, from $14.8 billion in 1993 to $14.9 billion in 1994. Net income increased 7.4 percent, up from $296 million in 1993 to $318 million in 1994.

Sharp also attempted to compress total assets to make the company more efcient. Total assets were reduced in the rst half of 1993, ending in September, by $245 million as compared to $500 million in the prior year. Inventories were reduced by $132 million in six months compared to $163 billion over 12 months. Inventory amounted to 1.2 months supply. As shown in Table 7, capital investments was being held around $800 million through 1993 and 1994, keeping investments within the depreciation range. For the years from 1990 through 1992, capital investment had been held around $1.1 billion. Interest bearing liabilities increased from $1.9 million to $2.3 billion by September, resulting in an increase from 51.9% to 55.1% in the debt to equity ratio as compared to 40.6% in 1985.

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LCD Technologies Liquid crystal displays (LCD) was considered to be the second semiconductor industry and was seen as the industry to sustain Japan's prominence in hi-tech products into the 21st century. If semiconductors were equated to Japanese rice, then at panel displays, like LCDs, were like a new strain of rice. It was considered an indispensable part of Japan's sustained economic growth. The liquid crystal phenomenon was discovered by F. Reinitzer, an Australian, in 1988. He found an organic substance which was between a solid crystalline and liquid state within certain temperature ranges. Unlike usual liquid substances, liquid crystal demonstrated a crystalline structure and related refraction characteristics. Depending on the crystalline states, different refraction's are possible. 1. In the pneumatic phase, the long axes of the molecules lie in a largely parallel orientation with a random distribution of molecules. 2. In the smectic phase, the parallel orientation of molecules are structured into layers. 3. In the cholesteric phase, the layers of parallel structures are stacked in a spiral structure. Reinitzer found this phase to act as a thermo-sensor. 4. In the discotic phase, a structure of plate-style molecules are combined like cylinders. This phase was discovered in 1977, but has yet to nd an application. Calculators, digital watches, portable word processors, and note PCs all use nematic liquid crystal which change their structure with the application of electric voltage. The LCD panel is formed by sandwiching liquid crystal between a set of super thin glass plates attached to electrodes and polarized lms. The twisted nematic (TN) technique is the basic method used for liquid crystal displays. The nematic liquid crystal properties are used to obtain two parallel orientations of molecules. The polarizing lms that sandwich the liquid crystal are criss-crossed when the current is off, and the liquid crystal aligns its molecules in parallel with the polarized lm. Thus the molecules are twisted at right angles between the lms. Incoming light twists at right angles through the molecules and penetrates the other side. If voltage is applied to the cell, the molecule's orientations are straightened and light can no longer penetrate the lm.

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The segment electrode method is applied in calculators and digital watches. Generally seven electrodes are placed to indicate one digit number. Depending on the combination of electrodes that are activated, a number is created. Dot matrix techniques are used to display more complicated patterns of alphabets, symbols, and graphics used in word processors or PC notebooks. Passive matrix, or simple matrix techniques are composed of vertically and horizontally paneled slim belts or electrodes and an intersection of a pair of perpendicular electrodes called dots or pixels. When both axes of electrodes get voltage, the pixel shows an "on" status. Active matrix techniques utilize a separate switch for every pixel. This provides a better image contrast than the passive matrix. The application of these technologies results in three LCD types: 1. Super Twisted Nematic (STN) is a passive matrix system that uses a twisted angle of more than 180 degrees. It is capable of making larger size LCDs than TN types. 2. Thin-Film Transistor Twisted Nematic (TFT-TN) has transistors switches located at every pixel. Its production cost is much higher than passive matrix, but it provides a much higher, sharper image that is more suitable for color displays. The larger the display, the greater the perceived difference in display quality. 3. Metal-Insulated-Metal Twisted Nematic (MIM-TN) is essentially the same as TFT-TN, except that it uses a thin-lm diode for its switching device. The quality is relatively lower than the TFTTN type, but is cheaper to manufacture.

In comparing the quality and cost of these three types of LCDs, the Table provides comparisons of STN, TFT, and MIM displays.

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LCD Technology Comparisons:

Type of LCD Quality: display contrast viewable angle response speed (ms) brightness (candella/m2) ickering voltage leaks (crosstalk) Cost: (yen) glass cutting color lter and assembly yield percentage module cost total cost

STN Passive

TFT Active

MIM Active

20:1 60 300 60 strong high

150:1 120 50 60 weak almost none

100:1 100 50 80 weak little

2,000 8,000

25,000 8,000 50% 30,000 96,000

2,000 10,000 50% 35,000 79,000

50% 28,000 48,000

The TFT-TN display uses a combination of traditional nematic liquid crystal and microscopically small, thin lm transistors. These transistor switches are located on each individual picture pixel and have a function of improving deciencies in twisted nematic. TN cannot store the picture data without continuos electric voltage to keep the image on the display. This voltage is only supplied by the transistors. TFT-TN is expensive to produce and are difcult to produce in larger sizes. A single pixel that does not work will cause the display to be scrapped. With market demand growing for more and larger
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LCDs, the number of pixels per square inch must also increase, making the problem more serious. Screens of standard personal computers comprise about 300,000 pixels. Modern television sets have 600,000 pixels. High resolution systems, like those used for CAD applications, require as many as 10 million or more pixels. An Alternative Technology One alternative to TFT-TN technology is called ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC). FLC applies a passive matrix structure and the structure is far less complicated. For example, in case of a display with 1000 x 1000 pixels, FLC needs only 2000 electrodes compared to 1,000,000 TFTs. FLC also allows for rapid switching, vivid pictures and can store data. No voltage is needed to maintain the picture. The costly TFT transistor is replaced by the material itself, thereby reducing the cost of production. This allows for high quality, high resolution applications. FLC technology has several technical hurdles to overcome before it is commercially applicable. The most signicant problem is the quality of alignment of the smectic phase, on which the technology is based. It is more sensitive to mechanical stress than the nematic phase used for TFT displays. Development of practical ferroelectric LC mixtures will be key for its technical success. The major players in the LCD market are currently concentrating on TFT-TN display technology. As shown in Tables 9 and 10, they are investing heavily in production facilities. It will be a number of years before LCDs will displace CRT displays. However, if FLC technology is developed, it could quickly displace TFT with a lower cost, high quality display that could be used for most CRT applications. Sharp had about 40 percent of the LCD market. Production sites were in Nara and Tenri Japan. Investment was planned at 80 billion yen between 1993 and 1995, to primarily increase TFT production. Capacity of TFT production was to increase to 95,000 sheets per month in 1995, with the opening of the world's largest at panel display factory in Mie Prefecture. Growth in STN production was being increased from 45,000 sheets per month. Toshiba was producing a full range of displays. Small and medium sized TFT and STN displays were produced in Himeji; TFT and STN at Fukaya, and large sized TFT at were being produced in a joint venture with IBM for PC and workstation applications. NEC specialized in TFT for PCs, and planned to produce small and medium sizes for car TVs and navigation systems. In-house consumption accounted for 90 percent of use. Seiko Epson produced monochrome STN and TN in its Toyoshima factory, but was expanding into MIM and TFT in its Suwa facilities. Small TFTs were supplied for viewnders.
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CASE STUDY ON SHARPS GLOBAL TOP STRATEGY

Sharp was founded in 1912 and operates under a business creed developed by its founder Tokuji Hayakawa of sincerity and creativity. As a manufacturing company, Sharps development activities are conducted from the perspective of the customer and it seeks to create products that will be imitated by competitors. A key aspect of Sharps business is its only-one and spiral strategy. Under the only- one side of the strategy, Sharp seeks to develop electronic devices from proprietary technology, which it then further develops as products to be enjoyed by customers and users. Next, the under the spiral side, any problems or further customer needs are fed back to the stage of technology development to create a new product. Sharps corporate vision and strategy is defined by a concentration in core competencies, in particular to realize a true and ubiquitous network society with the worlds best LCDs and to contribute to society through environment and health-related businesses with energy- saving and energy-creating equipment as the core. From the stage of design to development to manufacturing, the entire workflow is termed monozukuri. In achieving monozukuri, it is necessary to be very thorough in two particular aspects. First is to produce products that will impress people and second is that to produce such products the requisite technology must be developed for both the production and manufacturing processes. For example, even if Sharp possessed the technology to create a life-sized LCD television set, unless efficient production processes were similarly developed to produce the television at a low cost, it could not be feasibly manufactured. Under the flow of monozukuri, first there is R&D, followed by product development, and then design and procurement, production and sales. Each point in time has a specific focus, such as for production the lead-time needs to be shorter and for design the period of time should be reduced (see Figure 1). For the home appliances industry, Sharp faces several challenges to putting its products on the market, namely a fluctuating amount, short lifecycle, variation and falling market prices. This is the environment in which it does business. To remain competitive, Sharp must make strong choices in the global environment, produce good quality products, act quickly in response to the market and advance human resource development and the transfer of know- how within the production field.
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Sharp is constantly pursuing better and better monozukuri. In so doing, it first needs to understand its unique strengths and from there improve on them. Second is the need for teamwork in producing products or designing and developing products. Concerning unique strength and teamwork, Sharp has strengths in certain devices and they are the bases for its products. This is necessary to create something unique and there should be good teamwork between the device engineers and product engineers so that the company has a good basis for technologies in these fields. This is the reason Sharp can enjoy a synergistic effect. There are certainly different ways to take advantage of teamwork, but one way used by Sharp is a very unique system called Project Team for Quick Action. This is a team for product development to commercialize Sharps original products based on the companys unique technology as soon as possible. Sharp adopts a global perspective in deciding where to locate its factories, but what factors decide which plants are to be located domestically in Japan? Basically, high value-added core devices are necessary to create products, so Sharp believes that that function should be carried out domestically. Super-short-term production for quick delivery should also be undertaken in Japan. Finally, as monozukuri requires very refined know-how together with human resource development, a kind of model factory is necessary somewhere and Sharp believes that as it is a Japanese company monozukuri know-how and the human resource bases should also be located in Japan. Overall, with monozukuri it is important to share excellent skills and expertise and to combine them so that they can be further enhanced. Today, it is quite difficult for one company to do everything, so a variety of technologies must be put into one place to allow a company to enjoy the further evolution of its technology with better products and higher competitiveness. Sharp is a manufacturer, and technological strength and monozukuri power are the keys to determine success. Even with good capabilities to develop good products, the production costs will be too high if a company lacks production capability. In that case, it may end up being a supplier to other companies if it cannot come up with unique high added-value products. In short, both technological strength as well as monozukuri power need to be embraced by companies.

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INTERVIEW WITH MR. ATSUYOSHI NAKAMURA Atsuyoshi Nakamura Division General Manager; Production Technology Development Center; Production Technology Development Group; Sharp Corporation; Nara, Japan

Question: What is Sharps strategy in the development of human resources? It is an accepted fact that Japan is now experiencing a shortage of manpower, especially on the high end such as software engineers. Is Sharp open to training or securing resources from other Asian countries? Mr. Nakamura: Sharp has a training program but we regret that peoples interest in science and technology is gradually declining. It is unlikely that Sharp will be able to secure sufficient engineers only from within Japan. Therefore, Sharp recently set up an R&D base in China where it is training engineers. Also, as the skill level of people who work on the production lines has to be raised, Sharp is bringing engineers to Japan for training sessions. From now on, these engineers from Asia will be working not only in the region; instead, Sharp will come up with a system so that they are active at bases throughout the world as well. Question: In monozukuri, how do you communicate your product with the market? Is it by developing the product first and then getting the marketing people and commercial people to work after that, or do you include them from the beginning, or even from the design? Mr. Nakamura: To state the current situation, marketing people do not have very close contact with the engineers and production engineers, at least at the R&D phase. However, under the Quick Action Projects, sales and marketing people as well as planning people join from the very beginning of the process, all coming together to consider what the product should be like. Teamwork is key here and marketing and sales people and engineers have to have very close communication. Question: Other than 3D simulation, what kinds of IT technology is Sharp using to link a chain together and support a global operation?
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Mr. Nakamura: Concerning IT, the biggest strength is being real-time and high speed. In addition to simulation, within the factory Sharp tries to make visible and real time the quality situation and the product situation, including the amount of production. It is quite important that top management has real-time information about production ongoing in the factory. There is a variety of know-how to make the data information visible, but we are trying to enhance our capability. Another thing is that to improve quality, we have a variety of systems data. For the device production system, we have data generated every day, and as we only have to use part of the data generated from the line, there are unused data. This may be where we can find good hints to improve the yields and productivity, so we have to find better ways to use existing data.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
WEBSITES www.sharp-world.com www.sharpusa.com REFERENCES

Sharp Corporation: Developing a Technology Strategy Dobson - strategic management Sharp Corporation - Financial and Strategic SWOT Analysis Review

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