Samsung Electronics
A. Information about the company:
History
Samsung was founded as a grocery trading store on March 1, 1938, by Lee Byung-Chull. He
started his business in Taegu, Korea, trading noodles and other goods produced in and around
the city and exporting them to China and its provinces. After the Korean War, Lee expanded his
business into textiles and opened the largest woolen mill in Korea. He focused heavily
on industrialization with the goal of helping his country redevelop itself after the war. During
that period his business benefited from the new protectionist policies adopted by the Korean
government, whose aim was to help large domestic conglomerates (chaebol) by shielding them
from competition and providing them easy financing.
During the 1970s the company expanded its textile-manufacturing processes to cover the full
line of production—from raw materials all the way to the end product—to better compete in
the textile industry. New subsidiaries such as Samsung Heavy Industries, Samsung Shipbuilding,
and Samsung Precision Company (Samsung Techwin) were established. Also, during the same
period, the company started to invest in the heavy, chemical, and petrochemical industries,
providing the company a promising growth path.
Samsung first entered the electronics industry in 1969 with several electronics-focused
divisions—their first products were black-and-white televisions. During the 1970s the company
began to export home electronics products overseas. At that time Samsung was already a major
manufacturer in Korea, and it had acquired a 50 percent stake in Korea Semiconductor.
The late 1970s and early ’80s witnessed the rapid expansion of Samsung’s technology
businesses. Separate semiconductor and electronics branches were established, and in 1978
an aerospace division was created. Samsung Data Systems (now Samsung SDS) was established
in 1985 to serve businesses’ growing need for systems development. That helped Samsung
quickly become a leader in information technology services. Samsung also created two research
and development institutes that broadened the company’s technology line into electronics,
semiconductors, high-polymer chemicals, genetic engineering tools, telecommunications,
aerospace, and nanotechnology.
In the 1990s Samsung continued its expansion into the global electronics markets. Despite its
success those years also brought about corporate scandals that afflicted the company, including
multiple bribery cases and patent-infringement suits. Nevertheless, the company continued to
make advancements on the technology and product-quality fronts, with a number of its
technology products—ranging from semiconductors to computer-monitor and LCD screens—
climbing into top-five positions in global market share.
The 2000s witnessed the birth of Samsung’s Galaxy smartphone series, which quickly not only
became the company’s most-praised product but also frequently topped annual lists of the
best-selling smartphones in the world. Since 2006, the company has been the top-selling global
manufacturer of televisions. Beginning in 2010, the Galaxy series expanded to tablet
computers with the introduction of the Galaxy Tab.
Vision
Samsung’s corporate vision is to “Inspire the world with our innovative technologies, products
and design that enrich people’s lives and contribute to social prosperity by creating a new
future.” The company follows this vision statement to maintain profitable technology business
operations that contribute to the improvement of people’s lives. Samsung frequently refers to a
shortened version of this corporate vision: “Vision 2020: Inspire the World, Create the Future.”
The company extensively implements this statement throughout its subsidiaries’ operations in
the consumer electronics, computing technology, and semiconductors industries. The following
components are contained in Samsung’s vision statement:
Global inspiration
Innovation
Improvement of lives and future social prosperity
.
Mission
Samsung’s mission statement is “We will devote our human resources and technology to
create superior products and services, thereby contributing to a better global society.” This
corporate mission was published in the 1990s, when the company was undergoing rapid global
expansion in various semiconductors, electronics, and related technology markets. Based on its
business operations and current international industry positioning, Samsung focuses on the
following components in its corporate mission:
Human resources and technological resources
Superiority of products and services
Improvement of the global society
Product line
1. Samsung Galaxy Lineup
2. Galaxy Note Line up
3. Samsung Cameras
4. Samsung Smart TV’s
5. Samsung Computers and PC’s
6. Samsung Digital Frames
7. Samsung Sound System
8. Samsung Heavy Industries
9. Samsung C & T
10. Samsung SDI
11. Samsung Display
12. Samsung Biologics
13. Samsung Bioepis
14. Samsung Medison
15. Renault-Samsung
