Samsung Essays - Semiconductor Companies, Chaebol, Samsung

Samsung Essays - Semiconductor Companies, Chaebol, Samsung Samsung Samsung Quick Background - 1938 founded as a trading company - in the 50s-60s went into anything imaginable - like insurance- paper- aerospace- property- retailing - used this base to lay themselves out for the semiconductor field Lets Break Down how they did it 1) Entry into semiconductors- 75-83 - bought a smaller semiconductor company in S.K. - wanted to expand out of low end goods - worked with Micron Tech. and other US firms - had American engineers at plants helping them 2) Catching the field - producing goods but wanted to be at the same level - to do this put lots of $ into the department - trial and error learning - accumulated debt- but looked toward the future - by late 80s started seeing sales boom 3) Becoming a Leader - started to overtake the U.S. and Japan firms it learned from in some categories - U.S. and Japan instead of helping out simply bought in huge quantities - first company with 64 bit DRAM technology - continued investment - forged equal partnerships to remain at the front of technology So What are We Supposed to get out of this? - these firms show typical strategies of late- comer firms - to do this they had a assembly learning period, then process development, and began to innovate - they utilized foreign know how - balanced perfectly the rate of growth - organizational innovation - because their learning achievements are cumulative and built upon solid foundations, South Korean firms are well positioned to create new market opportunities and to respond to the fast-changing pace of electronics technology Pats Tid Bits - Hyundai 19 percent sales- Samsung 13 - Brad has a Samsung microwave- 1/5 of US microwaves 92 - Chaebol- the big business groupings - its hard for Korea to be flexible given its culture - my interviews Bibliography Samsung