Samsung Electronics executives attend a hand-printing event after they pledge to reform the company’s internal corporate culture to be like a startup for efficiency and productivity at a digital laboratory in Suwon, 40 km south of Seoul, on March 24, 2016 in this photo provided by Samsung. (Image : Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 24 (Korea Bizwire) – Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s biggest smartphone and memory chip maker by sales, said Thursday it will overhaul its corporate culture to improve efficiency and productivity at its workplace.
The electronics giant has recently suffered a decline in its mainstay smartphone business and lack of new growth drivers.
In a statement released Thursday, Samsung Electronics has unveiled three major changes to be sought – moving away from a top-down culture, enhancing productivity and seeking a balance between work and family.
The company said such “innovative” reforms will promote communication among employees, simplify reporting procedures and restore their “winning spirit.”
“Today, we have outlined three initial goals to re-emerge strong. In June, we are planning to announce a comprehensive roadmap to reform our corporate culture. It includes cutting the number of levels in the company’s staff hierarchy and performance-based promotion and bonuses,” a Samsung Electronics spokesman said.
“In a similar vein, unnecessary meetings and overtime work will be discouraged, while various vacation programs will be promoted to help with employees’ self-development,” he said.
All the changes will be gradually applied to all employees and executives from the second half of this year, he said.’
Samsung’s reform drive dates back to 1993 when the Samsung Group’s chief Lee Kun-hee ordered executives to “change everything but your wife and children.” Lee has been hospitalized since 2014 after a heart attack, and his only son Jae-yong is solidifying his position as heir apparent to take over the country’s largest conglomerate by assets.
Samsung Electronics, which earns more than 80 percent of its sales from smartphones and memory chips, has been under pressure to find a new growth engine amid a prolonged global economic slowdown.
Sales fell 2.7 percent to 200.65 trillion won (US$171.94 billion) in 2015 from 206.21 trillion won a year earlier. Net profit plunged 19 percent to 19.06 trillion won from 23.39 trillion won over the cited period.
(Yonhap)
