samsung technology startegy

7/28/2019 Samsung Technology Startegy

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Assignment

Of

Strategic

Management Submitted To: - Submitted By: -

Dr. R K Mitra Group 8



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Samsung History -

Unlike other electronic companies Samsung origins were not involving electronics but otherproducts.In 1938 the Samsung's founder Byung- Chull Lee set up a trade export company in Korea,selling fish, vegetables, and fruit to China. Within a decade Samsung had flour mills and confectionarymachines and became a co-operation in 1951.

From 1958 onwards Samsung began to expand into other industries such as financial, media,chemicals and ship building throughout the 1970's. In 1969, Samsung Electronics was established

producing what Samsung is most famous for, Televisions, Mobile Phones (throughout 90's), Radio's,Computer components and other electronics devices.

1987 founder and chairman, Byung-Chull Lee passed away and Kun-Hee Lee took over as chairman.In the 1990's Samsung began to expand globally building factories in the US, Britain, Germany,Thailand, Mexico, Spain and China until 1997.

In 1997 nearly all Korean businesses shrunk in size and Samsung was no exception. They soldbusinesses to relieve debt and cut employees down lowering personnel by 50,000. But thanks to theelectronic industry they managed to curb this and continue to grow.

The history of Samsung and mobile phones stretches back to over 10 years. In 1993 Samsungdeveloped the 'lightest' mobile phone of its era. The SCH-800 and it was available on CDMA networks.

Then they developed smart phones and a phone combined mp3 player towards the end of the 20thcentury. To this date Samsung are dedicated to the 3G industry. Making video, camera phones at aspeed to keep up with consumer demand. Samsung has made steady growth in the mobile industryand are currently second but competitor Nokia is ahead with more than 100% increase in shares.

Introduction of Samsung :

Samsung is known globally for its electronic products and it is one of the successful brands in theelectronic industry. It is an established company almost all around the world.

Samsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technologycompany headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul. It is the flagship subsidiary of the Samsung Group.With assembly plants and sales networks in 61 countries across the world, Samsung hasapproximately 160,000 employees.

In 2009, the company took the position of the world’s biggest IT maker by surpassing the previousleader Hewlett-Packard. Its sales revenue in the areas of LCD and LED displays and memory chips isnumber one in the world.



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In the TV segment, Samsung’s market position is dominant. For the five years since 2006, thecompany has been in the top spot in terms of the number of TVs sold, which is expected to continue in2010 and beyond. In the global LCD panel market, the company has kept the leading position for eight years in a row.

With the Galaxy S model mobile phone, Samsung’s Smartphone line-up has retained the second-best slot in the world market for some time. In competition to Apple's ipad tablet, Samsung released the

Android powered Samsung Galaxy Tablet.

The Samsung Philosophy -

At Samsung, we follow a simple business philosophy: to devote our talent and technology to creatingsuperior products and services that contribute to a better global society.

Every day, our people bring this philosophy to life. Our leaders search for the brightest talent fromaround the world, and give them the resources they need to be the best at what they do. The result isthat all of our products—from memory chips that help businesses store vital knowledge to mobilephones that connect people across continents— have the power to enrich lives. And that’s what making a better global society all is about.

Company’s Values -

We believe that living by strong values is the key to good business. At Samsung, a rigorous code of conduct and these core values are at the heart of every decision we make.

People

Quite simply, a company is its people. At Samsung, we’re dedicated to giving our people a wealth of opportunities to reach their full potential.



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Excellence

Everything we do at Samsung is driven by an unyielding passion for excellence — and an unfaltering

commitment to develop the best products and services on the market.

Change

In today’s fast -paced global economy, change is constant and innovation is critical to a company’ssurvival. As we have done for 70 years, we set our sights on the future, anticipating market needs anddemands so we can steer our company toward long-term success.

Integrity

Operating in an ethical way is the foundation of our business. Everything we do is guided by a moralcompass that ensures fairness, respect for all stakeholders and complete transparency.

Co-prosperity

A business cannot be successful unless it creates prosperity and opportunity for others. Samsung isdedicated to being a socially and environmentally responsible corporate citizen in every communitywhere we operate around the globe.



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Vision 2020 -

As stated in its new motto, Samsung Electronics' vision for the new decade is, "Inspire the World,Create the Future."

This new vision reflects Samsung Electronics’ commitment to inspiring its communities by leveraging

Samsung's three key strengths: “New Technology,” “Innovative Products,” and “Creative Solutions.” --and to promoting new value for Samsung's core networks -- Industry, Partners, and Employees.Through these efforts, Samsung hopes to contribute to a better world and a richer experience for all.

As part of this vision, Samsung has mapped out a specific plan of reaching $400 billion in revenue andbecoming one of the world’s top five brands by 2020. To this end, Samsung has also established threestrategic approaches in its management: “Creativity,” “Partnership,” and “Talent.”



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Samsung is excited about the future. As we build on our previous accomplishments, we look forwardto exploring new territories, including health, medicine, and biotechnology. Samsung is committed tobeing a creative leader in new markets and becoming a truly No. 1 business going forward.

Samsung Profile -

At Samsung the gaze is cast forward, beyond the next quarter or the next year, ahead into areas unknown.

By charting a course toward new businesses and new challenges, they are sowing seeds for future success.



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2011 Financial Highlights -

AMOUNTS IN BILLIONS WON DOLLARS EUROS

Net Sales* 254,561.5 220.1 165.9

Total Assets 391,391.9 343.7 258.7

Total Liabilities 230,688.5 202.6 152.5

Total Stockholder's Equity 160,693.5 141.1 106.2

Net Income* 24,497.9 21.2 16.0

Introduction – Technology Strategy:

Technology is a resource (like human, financial and information resources) and a potentialsource of distinctive (“core”) competence. To manage technology as a resource and distinctivecompetence, a technology strategy must be developed. The technology strategy must support thebusiness strategy in developing a competitive advantage and goes beyond R&D strategy

Substance of technology strategy:

Competitive strategy stance (defines role in strategy):

Technology choice (concept vs. implementation, components vs. architecture)

Technology leadership/followership (pioneering/monitoring) Technology entry timing Technology licensing

Value chain stance:

Scope of technology strategy (core technologies relate to value chain, others peripheral) Resource commitment stance (intensity of resource commitment):

Depth of technology strategy (number of technological options)

Source: Company’s Annual Report



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Management stance (choice of management approach and organization design):

Organizational fit (e.g. centralized/decentralized R&D)

Evolutionary perspective on technology strategy

changes over time

Variation-selection-retention importance of history and inertia

Determinants of technology strategy:

TECHNOLOGY EVOLUTION:Company affected by endogenous evolution

S-curve trajectories

Product-process interplays

New technologies and trajectories



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Technological change

Competence enhancing Competence destroying

De-maturity (renewed innovation in well-established markets) Organizational determinants

INDUSTRY CONTEXT: affect profitability distribution, choices etc.

Industry structure (5-forces model) appropriability regime

Complementary assets dominant designs

Increasing returns to adoption

Industry standards

Social systems aspects of industry development

Interplay of social systems and technological change

STRATEGIC ACTION: captures organizational learning

Induced by prevailing concept of strategy, can mean inertia, lock-in

Autonomous strategic action aimed at new business, means renewal, often rooted intechnology development efforts, explores boundaries of firm

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT: allows substituting internal for external (market) selection

Internal selection environment

Opportunities within current strategy (induced)

Opportunities outside (autonomous)

Ability to balance those

Dominant culture

Reflects distinctive competence

Science vs. engineering vs. manufacturing Reflects product architecture



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Strengths:

Hardware integration with many open source OS and software

1. Samsung is focused on producing devices which can be integrated with most of the software and

OS. This gives Samsung products an edge over Apple’s (its arch rival) devices, especially as Android

and other OS are gaining market share when iOS and OS X are losing it.

2. Excellence in engineering and producing hardware parts and consumer electronics.

Samsung is the number 1 by market share in televisions and mobile phones sales and some

of the hardware parts (processors, memory chips, etc.). This was largely achieved due to

excellence in engineering and both efficient and effective production.

3. Innovation and design. In 2011, Samsung ranked second on the list of US top patent

assignees. More patents strengthen Samsung position among its competitors. The firm also

won many awards for the design of its products, proving the superior advantage over the

competitors.

4.Focus on environment. Samsung focuses on producing environment friendly products



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that are free from PVC and BFRs (currently only MP3 and mobile phones). It also develops

various recycling programs that are awarded for their success. Thus, Samsung’s focus on

environment gives it an edge over its competitors in the eyes of its customers.

5.Low production costs. Samsung has set up its production facilities in low cost countries.

This allows producing goods with low production cost and benefit Samsung as it can offer

lower price and earn higher margins.6.Largest share in mobile phones and 2 place in smartphones sales in the world.Samsung Electronics

have achieved large market share in many products they sell,especially in mobile phones,

smartphones, semiconductors and television sets. Large market share has its advantage, bargaining

power, that Samsung can use to further reduce costs and demand for better contract conditions.

7.Ability to market the brand. Samsung is named as top rising brand by Interbrand and is

the 9th most valuable brand with value nearly $33 billion. It has risen by 40% from 2011 to

2012. This was mainly achieved due to company’s ability to market the brand in sporting

events and social contributions.

Weaknesses

1.Patent infringement. Samsung is infringing Apple’s and some other firms’ patents, thus,

damaging its reputation and having to pay a huge amount of money in damages.

2.Too low profit margin. Samsung Electronics is the largest technology company in the

world in terms of revenues but it has a low gross profit and net profit margins. Although its

smartphones business is quite profitable, Samsung’s profit margin is low due to its

semiconductors sales and aggressive price cuts.

3.Main competitors are also largest buyers. Apple, Sony, Dell, HP are the main buyers of Samsung Electronics products as well as the firm’s main competitors. Such situation would be

favorable to Samsung (if competitors could not find complementary products and would form

a relatively low share Samsung’s revenues) because it could use its bargaining power over

competitors. Due to reverse conditions (competitors can find complements and they form a

relatively high share of firm’s revenues) Samsung cannot use its bargaining power over

competitors as it can easily lose its customers and sales.

4.Lack its own OS and software. Software and OS production has a high profit margin, can increase

integration of company’s products and brand loyalty. Without strong software

and OS Samsung is at disadvantage over its competitors.5.Focus on too many products.Samsung Electronics serves 4 different industries with many different

products in them. Samsung is at disadvantage over its competitors because it loses a focus when

competing in too many industries and too many products.

Opportunities

1. Growing India’s smartphone market. India’s smartphone market is one of the least

penetrated among Asia/Pacific countries. Samsung has a strong presence in India’s market

and could use this opportunity to expand its sales.



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2.Growing mobile advertising industry. Samsung could develop advertising platform for

its mobile devices and significantly benefit from this lucrative market.

3.Growing demand for quality application processors. Samsung is one of the key

manufacturers of application processors for smartphones and tablets. The growing demand

for these products requires more best quality application processors that only Samsung

provide.

4.Growth of tablets market. Tablets market is expected to grow in double digits over the

next few years. Samsung has a strong position in tablets market and could expand it by

introducing newer, better quality tablet models, such as its current galaxy line.

5.Obtaining patents through acquisitions. The key to Samsung’s competitive advantage

is the large portfolio of patents. Patents can be discovered by engaging in costly R&D or

through acquisitions of other firms.

Threats

1.Saturated smartphone markets in developed countries. Smartphones market in the developed

economies is saturated and the sales will not be growing at a high rate.

2.Rapid technological change. The serious threat that Samsung and the other tech

companies are facing is a rapid technological change. Companies are under the pressure to release the

new products faster and faster. The one that cannot keep up with the competition soon fails. This is

especially hard when the company wants to introduce something new, innovative and successful.

3.Declining margins on hardware production. Samsung is the second largest semiconductors

producer where the profit margins are very thin, thus weakening the whole company’s figures.

4.Breached patents .Samsung Electronics has many patents which are often used by its many

competitors. Such situation makes it hard to find out which companies benefit from Samsung’s

technology but do not pay for the rights to use it.

5.Apple’s iTV launch.Apple’s iTV is the next big lunch from Apple, which may hurt Samsung’s TV sales.

6.Price wars. Samsung has a very low gross margin on many of its products and is already selling

some of them with significant price cuts. Competitors could follow price cutting

strategy too and induce price wars, which would erode Samsung’s profit margin to 0%!



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Technology Strategy of Samsung –

Going along with the company's "Leading the Digital Convergence" theme, Samsung's technologystrategy is centered heavily on integrating digital technology within its 5 key areas of business:

Semiconductors, LCD, Digital Media, Digital Appliance, and Telecommunications. Samsung describes

this integration throughout 4 strategic areas of focus: First of all, Samsung intends to strengthen its

semiconductor core components business, which is involved in the design and manufacturing of core

components such as memory chips, in order to focus on creating higher valued products such as the

system LSI, small & medium sized LCD television sets, and optical components. They also intend to

increase the future production of SOC (System on a Chip) and SOP (System on a Panel) components to

facilitate the production of some of their new networking and telecommunications products.

Samsung's network businesses include their home network business which is centered on the



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formation of digital TV, home servers, and home gateways businesses. Secondly, Samsung also has a

mobile network business which is based in creating wireless handsets for mobile phone devices. The

company also intends to stretch this wireless technology into their PDAs and laptops as well, in order

to create a newer generation of telecommunications entitled the IMT-2000 system. Lastly, Samsung's

office network will be focused on building new printers, IP Terminals, and info mobile (WiMax).

Samsung's main goal concerning its technology strategy is to maintain its development of tier 1

products within its global electronics market. Currently, the company has 9 tier 1 products including

its memory chips, TFT-LCDs, CDMA handsets, display devices, etc. From implementation of their

technology strategy, the company plans to add digital TVs, IMT-2000, computer peripherals, and

digital home appliances to their list of new tier 1 products in order to strengthen the company's core

competencies even more. Samsung's current core competencies include being number 1 in

semiconductors and CDMA technologies, which are what fundamentally enables their products to

have seamless communications within their telecommunications devices, facilitate business

transactions, and offer digital entertainment. Samsung Electronics is also a world-leading electronics

company in the fields of telecommunications devices, flat panel display products and digital

convergence technology.

Another element within Samsung's technology strategy is their plan to integrate e-process which

includes facilitating the reduction of lead time on their supply chain via improvement within their

customer management process, research and development management process and their supply

chain management process. Through this initiative, the company hopes to unite R&D, production,

marketing and customers to make them coincide with one another more efficiently. The company

does this by electronically, via an elaborate internet-based network. Because of this, they also plan to

improve their IT infrastructure within their company in order to further strengthen these fourelements.

Another crucial contributing factor to Samsung Electronics' technology strategy is in their decision to

focus on manufacturing hardware products and components as opposed to software. The reason why

Samsung chose to do this rather than the latter is to save themselves from the hassle of dealing with

piracy of their proprietary content as well as give them the advantage of being able to collaborate

with other rival companies such as Sony or Apple, who are involved in creating software products as

well. As part of their technology strategy, Samsung Electronics' executives label this concept 'open

architecture.' The overall gist behind this concept goes along with the fact that customers of Samsung's products are able to use and access various software on a Samsung device than they would

be able to on a competitor'

a. Six Themes of Success

Regarding the six themes of success described in the Strategic Management of Technology and

Innovation text, Samsung definitely fits into every one the business categories defining them as a

successful organization. Samsung is a highly business focused entity which creates large numbers of

varying but yet closely related and even sometimes intertwining products. They also place a high



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value on research and development, placing investment equaling to at least 9% of the company's

annual total sales revenue each year. The company definitely sets consistent priorities for itself by

setting the organizational theme of 'digital convergence' throughout all levels of the company. This

allows the overall company to stay focused on the strategic vision of the company and not to go off on

tangents of creating unrelated products. Samsung definitely has proved itself to be a highly adaptable

company due to its strategy of moulding itself as well as recreating itself along with new technology.

At the present moment, digital technology is the most recent invention which the company is basing

itself on. In the future, with the ongoing development of newer forms of technology, Samsung

Electronics will most likely mould itself towards that technology also, making it a highly adaptable

organization. Samsung's fundamental values of having an "a company is its people" philosophy as well

as placing high values on input from all members of the company including outside contributors,

show that the company strives to maintain successful organizational cohesion and good

communication. The company shows great demonstration in its activism in promoting

entrepreneurial culture through its many innovative and creative partnerships with other outside

businesses. Also, Samsung Electronics being part of a huge conglomerate which consists of many

other businesses involved in varying industries also displays an entrepreneurial culture within the

organization. Samsung definitely would be expected to be an entity which has a high sense of integrityattached to itself because their main motto, "contribution to society" definitely emanates that point.

Finally, top-management involvement within the innovation processes at Samsung seem to be a

highly respected and a common occurrence evidenced by the CEO, Yoon-Woo Lee, who is highly

knowledgeable about his products due to his qualifying attributes as an engineer.

B. Innovation

Truly a world leader in the realm of innovation, Samsung has proven this yet again by achieving

attainment of 46 honorary awards from the prestigious International CES Innovations 2008 Design



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and Engineering Showcase. DJ Oh, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics in America had this to

say about it, "These prestigious awards reinforce Samsung's ongoing efforts to bring to market the

most ground breaking technologies and products that enrich the lives of our customers." Anticipated

features to be included in the next generation of Samsung products include enhanced user interface

with touch screen devices, messaging devices with QWERTY keyboards, higher megapixel digital

camera phones, smaller and lighter laser printers, Auto-Motion Plus 120Hz and LED technology for

HDTVs. Also, as part of Samsung Electronics' contribution towards the 'green movement,' Samsung

will also be coming out with products which are more environmentally friendly. Below is a chart

displaying several of Samsung Electronics' award-winning newest developments within their product

offerings, broken down by categories of consumer electronics, information technology products,

telecommunications products, and blue tooth headsets.

The YA-BS900 Bluetooth Speaker System is a three-channel speaker system which is capable of

providing room encompassing sound. It also has the feature, facilitated by the blue tooth technology,

of being able to automatically switch itself on upon entering within the range of the device. The

product also features something called 'Hyper three-Channel Surround Sound with Euphony

Technology' which is stipulated to have the ability to allow the listener to hear music as if from acenter of a soundstage, regardless of their actual position in the room. Samsung's Q1 Ultra Premium

Mobile Personal Computer is a personal computer which weighs less than 2lbs. It also has a battery

life capacity of lasting for 4.5 hours along with faster speeds, flexibility and mobile functionality. The

Q1 Ultra Premium is designed as an alternative for personal computing instead of a desktop computer

or a laptop. Intended for on-the-go use, this computer features a QWERTY keyboard as well as digital

camera technology and an LCD screen to facilitate seamless communication. The Samsung Ubicell is a

telecommunications product which is intended to provide homes or SOHO with call coverage in areas

where there are dead spots or weak reception. In addition, the product is also stipulated to enhance

pre-existing call quality. Benefits of the Ubicell include cost effectiveness, convenience and ease of useand installation, and continuous customer value creation. Samsung's ultra-miniature bluetooth

headset the WEP500 is one of the smallest and high quality bluetooth headsets of its kind, featuring

noise reduction and echo cancellation as well as a volume button. Along with these products, some

other new key products featured by Samsung include their Series 6 models for LCD television sets,

their premium designed monitors, their Blue-ray players and home theatre systems, their HD

camcorders, color laser printers, drum washing machines and French door refrigerators.

Samsung Electronics innovation within their products stems from various aspects of design and

marketing. Along with their engineering innovation capabilities, Samsung Electronics is also highlyknown for their innovative product designs which make their products more esthetically appealing

and fascinating for consumers. Samsung has also created extensive globalized brand value which also

contributes to the high-quality perception of their products and gives them competitive advantage

above some of their rivals. The products described above can definitely be considered as innovative

due to these same reasons of not only including cutting-edge digital technology within the

composition of the products, but also having the sleekest designs with the powerful name attached to

them.



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C. Technical Intelligence

Samsung Electronics' competition includes a vast array of electronic companies from countries all

over the world. Of those, some of the major competitors include companies such as Panasonic, Sony

Corporation, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Toshiba Corp., Royal Philips Electronics, Sanyo

Electric Co., Sharp Corp., LG Electronics, Pioneer Corp., Alps Electric Co., RCA, Insignia, and Sylvania toname only a few. These companies are monitored via public sources such as press publications,

annual reports and website information. With Samsung's mission of positioning itself as a leader in its

industry, the company strives to be the trendsetter for its competition. One of the ways Samsung

Electronics pursues to gain advantage in their technical intelligence is by forming strategic

partnerships or purchasing equity shares with some of the companies which may have posed

competitive threat against them. For example, in 2005 Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm, a leading

developer and innovator in CDMA and other hi-tech wireless technologies, formed a manufacturing

partnership with one another. Samsung has also done partnership deals with Sony, Matsushita and

Toshiba which are all also competitors of Samsung. Through these kinds of partnerships and business

dealings, Samsung truly fits the classification of a learning organization. This is shown through the

degree of their willingness to not only share their information and technology with other companies

that they cooperate with, but also to learn and grow as a company from outside input as well. Overall,

Samsung's intelligence activities contribute to innovation within the company because the company is

able to draw and learn from its competition in order to continuously come-up with new ideas.



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D. New Product Development

Samsung Electronics places a vast amount of emphasis on research and development of their new

products and technologies. The company invests roughly 9.5% of its revenues on research and

development each year. Last year, 2007, the company invested over $6,082.6 million dollars into its

research and development. The company also possesses a vast amount of intellectual property rights,

in 2006, securing 17,377 patents worldwide and over 2,500 patents in the US exclusively. As part of

its intellectual property, Samsung is taking aim at fusion technology and biotechnology patents.

As part of their process for transferring products from research into development, the company

operates a network of specific research and development centers around the world. Currently, the

company has 6 centers in Korea itself and a total of 16 more in 8 other countries. Some of these

centers include: The Samsung Information Systems of America, Inc. which is responsible for

developing strategic parts and components and core technologies, Samsung Electronics Research

Institute, which is responsible for developing mobile phones and digital television software, Samsung

Electronics India Software Operations, which is responsible for developing system software for digitalproducts, protocols for wired and wireless networks and handsets, and Samsung Electronics China

Research and Development Center, which develops software, digital TVs, and MP3 players.

As part of its intelligence and developmental strategy, Samsung also places emphasis in seeking out

and finding new resources for development of technologies. The company uses universities, other

research institutes besides its own and venture startups who have created new technologies which

haven't been introduced yet, in order to affiliate with them and help them develop their technologies

into useful and marketable products under Samsung's name.

Before a product is ever introduced onto the market, it goes through three layers of Samsung's

Research and Development organization. These include the Corporate Technology Office which

identifies growth engines for the future, and oversees the management and security of Samsung's

intellectual property. The Research and Development centers are primarily focused on developing the

technology for each of the different 5 key areas of business. Finally, division product development

teams are responsible for commercializing the products and getting them ready to hit the market

with one to two years.



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Coinciding with the industry, speed is a very important factor within the product development phase

at Samsung. Samsung Electronics' total product development phase can go from start to finish in as

quickly as five months. The company labels or rates their most significant products 'pillar products'

which may consist of 4 to 5 main products to be sold during a particular season or year. Products

which are labeled as 'pillar products' are those which receive the most amount of money and support

from the company in order to ensure the product does well on the market. In order to be considered

as a 'pillar product,' Samsung Electronics' marketing division uses three phrases: 'Wow,' 'Simple,' and

'Inclusive.' The meaning behind these phrases comprise that the product should not only be able to

intrigue consumers, it should also be simple to use and accessible for the consumers in terms of its

ubiquity, availability and affordability.

E. Change Management/Leadership

Samsung Electronics definitely confirms itself as being a highly focused change-oriented organization.

This is because not only are they able to withstand changes, such as in the case of the digital

convergence movement within technology, but the company also displays a high degree of value for

innovative leadership within management and teamwork. From its beginnings as a strict

manufacturing company of consumer electronic products such as TVs and washing machines, the

company has transformed itself into delivering not only more authentic, innovative gadgets, but also

breaking the 'commoditization trap' of creating monotonous products by giving their products more

of a design flare and a uniqueness to distinguish themselves from competitors.

Change is a crucial element within Samsung Electronics' organization. As part of their statement of

core values they respond "We rapidly take the initiative in executing change & innovation with a

sense of crisis: we cannot survive if we do not constantly strive to innovate." Samsung strives to

secure and cultivate creativity and intelligence within their managers in order for those managers to,in-turn, create a positive influence of change throughout the company's management structure. The

company aspires to employ and foster qualified experts within their industry who are able to

recognize change as well as potential opportunities which can come about because of change.

Leadership is encouraged throughout the company through a respect for individual creativeness. "We

create an open culture where employees are encouraged to make decisions and act proactively with a

sense of ownership, based on the mutual respect of individuality, trust & credibility." The company

also has an affinity for challenges and cultivates leaders who are able to readily face those challenges

and formulate solutions.

F. Culture, Power, Politics

Samsung's organizational culture is defined by its human resources. As a company with locations all

around the world, Samsung truly has a value for diversity in its employees. From the Samsung

Electronic Company's global code of conduct it says, "The Company will respect the laws, culture,

values and beliefs of the local communities in which it operates, and shall contribute to the

improvement of the quality of life of local residents." The company also fosters what they call "a spirit

of co-prosperity" as the cornerstone of their management ideal. The gist of this concept goes along



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with the company's underlying goal of contributing to society through the welfare of their customers,

employees, and all citizens of the world in general. The company is very active in humanitarian efforts

outside of business, offering social welfare programs, cultural and arts programs, and academic and

educational programs within various communities. Samsung is also very proactive in environmental

preservation as well as the 'green movement.'

By being an organization which is centred heavily around people and international relations,

Samsung has a high degree of respect for human rights as well as social responsibility and ethical

conduct on their part. The company strives to maintain stable employment for its employees, and

they endeavor to improve the quality of life for their employees by supporting continuous learning

and development as well as rewarding personal initiative and creativity.

As part of their global code of conduct, one of the company's principles is to maintain a 'clean'

organizational culture. By this, they imply that the company intends to maintain transparency within

some of their business operations and also make a strict distinction between private and public

information within their company. They value respect and protection of intellectual properties of

their own as well as other companies that they affiliate with. They also choose to remain neutral andnot get involved in any political matters, refraining from offering opinions about any candidates as

well as from giving any campaign contributions or donations of any sort towards governments. About

their value for integrity within their company they respond, "We act in a right and ethical way in all

manners, ensuring fairness with honour and grace."

Samsung's corporate values and culture affect the strategy and innovation within the company by

fostering a climate of constant idea-generation and respect for those ideas. This translates into

inventive technologies which are transformed into great products. The decision making process is

headed by the CEO, Yoon-Woo Lee as well as the board of directors and the top executives from eachof the Samsung Electronics Company locations around the world. The decision making process is also

facilitated by members within the company including the research and development division as well

as the marketing division. Government regulations can affect Samsung's business operations heavily,

depending on the country which the company is operating in. This is another reason why the

company must maintain itself as a respectable, trustworthy and socially responsible entity.

Conclusion

As a highly innovative technology company, Samsung definitely possesses the necessarycompetencies in order to remain competitive in the continuously-advancing electronics market. With

change leaning towards conversion to digital technology, Samsung Electronics has definitely taken a

leadership position which also displays their true value, as a company, for innovation and embracing

new and better ways to serve their customers and the world. Their secret for remaining innovative is

woven in with their strategy, not only for creating and developing new technologies and products, but

also for forming strategic partnerships with other firms, as well as with their methods of marketing

and the structure of their organization, culture and management styles. Overall, Samsung's values of

brains, innovation, and the ability to take risks, as well as the company's mission to contribute to

society as a whole are attributed to the company's success as an innovative company.

samsung technology startegy

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