SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS - The Global Inc. -

- This might be the first book about Samsung Electronics written and published in English. - A little more than a decade ago, Samsung launched its New Management Initiative, with the ultimate goal of becoming the world’s leading corporation. Since then, the Korean company has worked hard to refine its focus and alter its business strategies. And today, Samsung finally takes its place among the top-tier global corporations, ranking among the very best in sales and earnings, in superior management and in innovative technological design. - How Samsung Got Here? Since Samsung’s beginning in 1938 and Samsung Electronics’ foundation in 1969, in particular, the Korean corporation has developed and gone onto the global stage aggressively in every aspect. As a result, the new management era of Samsung in the middle of the 1990s opened digital frontiers all over the world and built on pioneering in the digital age, from digital media, to telecommunications network, to digital appliance, to semiconductor, and to LCD businesses. - The leadership of Kun Hee Lee has been a key to Samsung’s success. The New Management Initiative after the Frankfurt Declaration in 1993 which ordered change everything but Samsung man’s wife and children has been a new challenge for Samsung. In a summary for a Kun Hee Lee’s lecture for the Initiative, he said the turn-of-the century change and steered the innovation to move forward for becoming a first class company. For a world class Samsung, the chairman has focused on quality. Sports has been not only Mr. Lee’s personal but also business key to a success story. He loves special few people who can put Samsung future forward a global organization. - The one brand which has been fastest growing is Samsung’s one. The one of the best communicating tool at Samsung has been sports marketing. Running on Goodwill and Quality in a European country was the example. The Korean firm’s cool design and sound matter while focusing global player for TV-digital center for the Home. Research & development pipelines have been an obsession for Samsung. Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology has greatly contributed to new research and development for materials and products. SLIM reduced manufacturing cycle time but increased the revenue and profit. Major strategic alliances and acquiring technology companies has been one of the main factors for business diversification and synergy creation at Samsung. - To manage global organization, Samsung Chaebol has five regional Headquarters across China, Japan, Asia, Europe, and Americas. The global penetration for an Anycall cellular phone which has been very successful in Korea’s mobile market exemplifies the Samsung’s success story in worldwide network power of Samsung, in particular for European market. Another tipping point for world management has been global human resource management for leaders of the future at Samsung. An oversea specialist course has nurtured for the excellence of its employees. - Corporate governance at Samsung is one of the best in Korea. However, it is still Achilles’ hill because some critics’ demand keeps the change in particular for succession to Jae Yong Lee who is one of the largest shareholders at Samsung Everland. The Everand is de facto holding company of Samsung Electronics. As a global corporate leader, Samsung needs to overcome its dependence on a regional group of people. - However, the biggest question might lie in how Samsung can overcome imperial hubris, a warning sign of arrogance and bureaucracy at the corporate dinosaur. In fact, a few insiders has taken profits by selling stocks, while Kun Hee Lee has been in trouble. Further, Samsung leadership succession is becoming murky. Even a hostile M&A of Samsung Electronics has been afloat when a real possibility is looming for a monetary burden from legal suits. Only new growth engines will get rid of many worries at Samsung. -In the context of global markets, where the