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| Human Resources System and Personnel Development |
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| Sony aims to create a workplace that inspires employees to pursue new challenges and grow by realizing their creative and innovative potential. Sony also strives to further enhance motivation and encourage personal growth through on-the-job learning, as well as access to a variety of programs tailored to different regional needs, including education for next-generation business leaders, management skill improvement training, and training aimed at enhancing the abilities and skills of individual employees. |
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Evaluation and Compensation Systems
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| To help ensure that all employees are able to realize their full potential, Sony has consistently initiated new evaluation and compensation systems with a forward-looking perspective. Sony has established periodic employee performance reviews by managers, thereby creating a system that ensures individual contributions are evaluated fairly and promotes professional development. |
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Employee Opinion Surveys
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Sony surveys its employees in each region and uses the results to create better workplaces. Since fiscal 2004, Sony Corporation in Japan has surveyed all its employees with the aim of evaluating workplace culture, individual awareness and management conditions, and at the request of employees, has held individual employee interviews. Survey results are fed back to individual managers and are used to support efforts to revitalize the organization and raise management capabilities.
In fiscal 2006, certain Sony Group sales companies in Pan-Asia also introduced employee opinion surveys directed at evaluating management conditions and employee motivation and gauging the progress of organizational revitalization. Based on survey results, these companies determined and began implementing necessary actions. |
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Work-Life Balance
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Sony seeks to offer versatile working styles that cater to different lifestyles and enable employees to fully express their abilities.
Sony Corporation offers flexible working styles and supports the efforts of employees who are struggling to balance the demands of work and caring for children or ill family members. In April 2007, Sony Corporation earned the Tokyo Labour Bureau's "corporate support for parenting" mark for achieving the targets of the action plan it formulated in response to the Law for Measures to Support the Development of the Next Generation, which came into force in 2005.
Almost all female employees of Sony Corporation who gave birth took child care leave, and approximately 90% of them returned to work thereafter. In April 2007, Sony Corporation revised its child care leave system with the aim of creating a work environment more conducive to taking child care leave, as well as to promote greater participation in child care by fathers, thereby making it much easier for employees to balance work and home life. |
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| Corporate support for parenting mark |
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Number of Employees Taking Leave-of-Absence for Child Care at Sony Corporation (Japan)
(Fiscal 2006)
| Leave of absence for child care |
350
(incl. 7 males) |
Percentage of eligible employees
taking leave-of-absence for child care |
97.4%* |
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| * Calculated based on the number of employees who gave birth during fiscal 2006 |
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Sony Corporationfs child care-related system
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Measures for Contributing to the Development of Outstanding Engineers
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In recent years, Sony has implemented a variety of measures aimed at ensuring Sony's reputation for technological excellence. In fiscal 2003, Sony established the Sony MVP award, which honors individual employees who have applied specialized technology and knowledge to create enhanced value for Sony, and which is designed to help motivate employees to pursue greater challenges and achievements. In fiscal 2006, 26 employees from Sony Group companies around the world were certified as MVPs, bringing the cumulative total of employees so recognized to 126.
In fiscal 2006, Sony introduced the special designation of Distinguished Engineer (DE) to acknowledge individual engineers who have played instrumental roles in the development of Sony's core technologies. DEs have implemented initiatives aimed at reinforcing technological capabilities, promoting collaboration that transcends organizational boundaries and enhancing training for the engineers who will inherit Sony's technological traditions. With the goal of augmenting Sony's overall technological capabilities, 251 individuals in the areas of research, development and design around the world have been awarded the DE designation. Of particular note, in the area of software, a crucial focus for Sony, DEs hold monthly community meetings, to share information on system architecture and discuss key technological issues. To facilitate the systematic acquisition of expertise and further strengthen its capabilities in software, Sony has organized software architecture training programs in cooperation with academic institutions overseas. |
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Developing Future Business Leaders
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Sony University, established in 2000, offers a variety of programs to help develop future leaders of the Sony Group. In fiscal 2006, a total of 72 employees from various countries, regions and businesses participated in three global networking programs. During these programs, which sought to address the challenge of promoting the "Sony United" concept, participants held discussions and shared ideas on how different individuals and groups could contribute to this effort. These programs also served as a forum for dialogue between participants and top management, which led to several new innovative action plans.
Sony operates worldwide according to a basic philosophy of "global localization," which aims to promote harmony with the countries in which it operates. As an example, Sony Europe introduced a new element to its development program for future leaders in 2006. The program requires managers of high potential to work on a project supporting external social enterprises (public interest organizations) that are addressing issues such as education and the environment. The 2006 pilot program included six employees who were mentored during the program by senior executives from Sony Europe. The pilot was successful, with the social enterprises receiving Sony expertise on issues such as supply chains and the development of business plans. Participating employees had the chance to work on 'live' projects while also experiencing a completely new environment. |
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Employee Training Programs
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Sony organizes various training programs for employees of all levels, from new graduates to senior executives, suitable to each region and business. In Japan, the Sony Group offers more than 300 training programs, such as technological training and business training, that use various approaches, including group training sessions, e-learning and correspondence courses, depending on objectives.
Technological training for the Sony Group in Japan includes lectures by professionals in various cutting-edge areas from outside the company, as well as courses for which approximately 200 Sony employees with frontline technological experience serve as instructors. In fiscal 2006, about 9,400 employees took part in technological training programs.
Business training at the Sony Goup in Japan focuses on Management Basics, a program designed to reinforce the ability of managers to develop the skills of their subordinates, which was introduced in fiscal 2003. In fiscal 2006, the cumulative total of employees participating in this program surpassed 4,200. Also in fiscal 2006, Sony offered Leadership in Practice company-wide for employees in positions of leadership below the rank of manager. Leadership in Practice is a course that focuses on team leadership building and the development of skills for achieving results, for the purpose of fostering management capabilities earlier in the careers of these employees. |
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| Global networking program |
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