In: Economics
what change management samsung company programs will you propose!
SAMSUNG Is Korea based consumer based electronics company.
According to Balogun.J and Hope Hailey.V there are four types of strategic changes namely Adaptation, RECONSTRUCTION, EVOLUTION and Revolution. During the changes that Samsung underwent it will be highlighted exactly the way in which to company changed, whether the change was done over time or whether the change was suddenly implemented.
Samsung shows signs of Reconstruction. Reconstruction is a rapid change and it may involve a great deal of confusion but it does not require a fundamental paradigm shift in the way the company does things. (Balogun.J and Hope Hailey.V, 1999)Reconstruction may be a turnaround situation where there is a need for a major structural change or a major cost cutting programme to deal with declining financial performances or changing market conditions.
Yun and his management team decided to take steps that would push Samsung out of it a precarious financial position. Therefore he reconstructed the company by layoff of 30,000 employees which represented a third of its entire workforce. This major cost cutting programme was done so that they could get out their debt. Yun and the management team also decided to close down many Samsung factories for two months in order to get rid of their excessive inventory that did not sell.
Yun and the team also made major changes when they sold off two billion dollars worth of businesses, like pagers and electric coffeemakers, which were perceived to be marginal significance for the firm’s future. These types of changes helped the company regain their losses which was a major structural and financial need for the company. Yun wanted to implement a strategy that would separate Samsung from their competitors. Therefore he pushed the firm to develop its own products rather than coping these products of other firms that had been developed.
Yun placed a lot of emphasis on the development of products that would impress the customers with their attractive designs and advanced technology. Therefore Yun was reconstructuring the way Samsung has been doing business and wanted the company to reach higher standards where they can be seen as a quality brand and compete with the bigger companies. As a result Samsung reconstruction underwent a major design turnaround from a poorly designed product to a product that will be an in-house design.
The next major step that Yun took was to recruitment of new managers and engineers, many of whom had developed considerable experience in the United States. The recruitment of managers and the engineer’s had a major turnaround due to the fact that it allowed them to start developing their own products and be innovative. He then also discarded Samsungs seniority-based system to a merit-based system for advancements.
A merit-based system are based on one’s performance meaning that the employees could feel more open to expressing their ideas to help the company reach its goals with the knowledge that they will be rewarded for it. Therefore this turnaround helped the company to have a better relationship with their employees and create a system that would allow them to feel open to express their ideas and creativity.
Another major change that Yun made was to hire a marketing whiz, called Eric Kim, which worked hard to create a more upscale image for the company and its products. Eric implemented a major turnaround when he moved Samsung’s advertising away from 55 different advertising agencies around the world and then he placed them into one firm. The reason for this change was to create a consistent global brand image for Samsung’s product. He therefore got Samsung out of big discount chains and placed more of Samsung’s products into more upscale specialty stores.
Reconstruction of the firms bureaucratic was implemented in order to reduce it to get faster approvals for new product budgets and marketing plans, thus speeding up their abilities to seize opportunities. Because of the bureaucratic turnaround situation it allowed Yun to make heavy investments into key technologies and it allowed them to push out a wide variety of digital products.