Comparing and Contrasting Two works of Art Essay

Comparing and Contrasting Two works of Art - Essay Example These two works of art have a couple of similarities regarding their identity. The two effigies contain inscriptions. The Babylonian piece contains groups of laws. Similarly, the Roman column encompasses figures as well as an engraving that gives a remark so people can make sense of the structure. It talks about the people of Rome dedicating the image to Caesar. Moreover, the engravings were created following a certain order. The decrees were written in respect to the social status of the people. For instance, the rulings specified how a certain sanction will be applied to a noble citizen or to a slave. The column also has divisions in its carvings. The depicted wars were split into the two battles. The upper part portrays the war with the Dacians from 101 AD to 102 AD whereas the lower part showed what transpired from 105 AD-106 AD. Though their observable contents are dissimilar, their underlying theme is the same. The Code sought to honor Hammurabi’s wisdom and views on jus tice. Likewise, the Column commemorated the excellence of Trajan’s warfare skills. On the other hand, the differences regarding the statues’ identity are the material, artists, dating, and themes depicted. The artist responsible for the Code of Hammurabi’s construction is not yet verified since it is among the ancient works. It was found in 1901 by Gustave Jequier. He was an Egyptologist who was in an expedition. Nonetheless, the Column of Trajan was most likely overseen by Apollodorus, the known architect from Damascus. Furthermore, the material used in creating the legal code was a crude stone slab. Other duplicates of the manuscripts were found in other places (Freely, 2000). They were imprinted on tablets made of baked clay. Another copy of the Code is on a diorite stele and it is currently in The Louvre. The index shaped structure features an almost complete version of the laws. Regarding the Roman triumphal column, it is mainly made of marble (Lancaster, 1 999). The hollow beam consists of Carrara marble drums. Spiral stairs occupy the center. The huge edifice stands 30 meters or 98 feet high. The gap between the two works of art regarding their period is quite discernible. The Code came centuries before Trajan’s column. Their respective features speak of differences of craftsmanship that reflect the civilization of their times. The subsequent erection characterizes finer and more advanced craftsmanship. They also have distinctions as to their manifest content. While the Code of Hammurabi concentrates on what is accepted and what is not in their society, Trajan’s Column focuses on the settings that represent crusades against their enemies. A total of 2500 figures were found. Most of them were soldiers, priests, and soldiers. The emperor was illustrated 59 times. The 282 laws encompass conditions on trade, slavery, conducts, religion, and others (King, 2005). One of the most common decrees found in the slab is â€Å"an e ye for an eye† (Prince, 1904, p.602). The sanctions reflect how restrictions, punishments, and authorizations were being facilitated. Concerning the similarities of style, the two pieces are both realistic and geometrical. The king’s proclamations are credibly inscribed on the tablets and steles. Correspondingly, the column displays the realistic activities of the individuals organizing and involving in clashes. Particularly, Trajan’

Descartes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Descartes - Essay Example His method throughout the project is to establish a radical skepticism in which he doubts everything, even his own ability to conceive of himself and the existence of the world (Newman). As he comes in Meditation III to a proof for God, he finds it necessary to argue God into existence in order to move beyond the certainty of knowledge he has established in some very simple facts, including the cogito and simple mathematics. In this brief essay, it will be shown that Descartes proves God’s existence as a means of defeating radical skepticism, and his argument for that proof will be considered for its validity and relevance to his overall project.  In order to achieve his objective of proving the knowledge is possible, Descartes dives into an ever-increasing skepticism in which he doubts even the existence of himself and his own ability to imagine the word and his place in it. As part of his method, he imagines a demonic deceiver who works to mislead him at every turn. The deceiver presents him with a challenge that almost cripples his project since the deceiver, when taken to the logical extreme, makes all but his own private thought possible to doubt. He has ideas about the world that seem certain, including his own existence and simple mathematics, but he must prove that such ideas have corresponding material realities in the world in order to prove knowledge possible. The use of demon deceiver suggests that the link between ideas and material reality may be dubious. At the end of the Second Meditation, Descartes establishes the cogito as a form of certainty that he begins to believe will suffice as the first thing that he can actually argue with certainty. He thinks, and in that ability to think, he believes he expresses something too important to be overlooked. By being able to conceive of the notion of thought, he must exist, since to think something (even if it is the act of thinking) is by definition to bring the

Consumer Influences and Behaviour: UK Banking

Consumer Influences and Behaviour: UK Banking Chapter 1 (Intro) 1.1 Introduction To become the leading international bank HSBC has combined the emerging markets through international connectivity and scale yet maintaining the strategy unchanged. To comply with the recent economic turmoil HSBCs strategy is apparently most appropriate one as the projected the return of total shareholders equity remains achievable over full business cycle. Reinvestment of the capital allowed the company to maintain flexibility of direction in accordance with financial and regulatory environment. This can help the company to make the long term decisions supporting the brand values and the customer relationship and the growth to be consistent with the strategy. The ‘Managing for growth a diverse evolutionary strategy ranging from 2003 to 2008 for HSBCs growth and development across the globe addressing the areas where desirable and attainable improvement can be made; was an ultimate success. Unlike competitors, the consistent approach to grow within the emerging markets HSBC did not have to dispose any stakes in strategic investments to generate capitals. Depending on the customer demand and maintaining the strategic line while reviewing the emerging new opportunities, HSBC has successfully survived in the period of uncertainty. The company has increased the number of HSBC Premier Customers to 2.9 million, and the customer volume is increasing highly in the emerging market. During financial crisis and economic recession the global financial markets have suffered a serious impact. Very few banks have escaped unharmed by adjusting to shifts in the global financial and economic environment. Market entry timing decisions are inherently difficult. A firms managers need to consider the influence of so many factors both internal and external to the firm in deciding when to enter a market with a new product (Lieberman and Montgomery, 1991). Firms face a particularly difficult decision of planning when it is best to enter a market with a new product in response to a market introduction of a pioneering new product by a major competitor. Given that pioneering is no longer an option, is it better for the firm to enter the market quickly with a competitive new product or is it better for the firm to delay market entry for strategic reasons. When the competitive stakes are high, it is clearly in a firms best interest for its management to plan carefully such a market entry timing decision by giving careful consideration to a broad array of information including information on the competitor, the competitors product offering, the market, and the firms internal resources and product offerings. Considerable academic research has been conducted that suggests the desirability of certain market entry timing strategies for a wide array of conditions in the competitive environment (cf. Bowman and Gatignon, 1995; Brown and Lattin, 1994; Green et al., 1995). The business world composed of organization and work becoming more demanding and wild. Facing organizations are now facing so many challenges. Among them globalization, customer awareness, higher revenue with minimizing the operational cost, strengthening the organizational capacity, renovation and change, technological implementation, maintaining diverse human capital, and confirming essential and constant change. Fortunately the degree of competition among industry rivals has significantly increased. Now most of the organizations can easily duplicate technology, industrial methods, production, and even strategy. To gain the competitive advantage in the long run, business houses need to establish their own organizational capability (Burke Cooper 2004). 1.2 Background of The Study HSBC is a prominent name in the global banking industry. This bank has been operating successfully all around the world as a local bank with its efficiency and effectiveness. The integrated strategy of HSBC and on time decision made it becoming a threat for other long lived bank in the industry. The strategy the bank had followed make it to cope up with all sorts of cultural barriers and to be along within the society and create the better brand value compare to the other rivals in the banking industry. The reason behind the on-going prospect of this bank is due to a reason which made is to gain the competitive advantage in the global money and investment market. Lately the economic crisis hit the global money market and retail banking industry injuring the performance of all the major players in the industry as the confidence and the trust of the customers were gone. 1.3 Rationale This study is a requirement for the course I am enrolled in. This study will help me to utilize the acquired knowledge/theories and relate them to the applied business. The title was chosen as banking industry is one of the diverse industries and UK is one of the most competitive markets where the industry rivals constantly changing their strategies to adopt with the change and HSBC is one of the best performing banks in it. With the establishment of the purpose given, this study may be of importance to the purpose that have been discussed by fulfilling the objectives, the study will be helpful for researchers focusing on different strategies and innovative techniques with regards to the method of gathering the information. The findings of the research will be helpful for researchers in creating their own means of conducting their study. The significance of this study is the option that it may contribute the findings for the other studies that wish to examine factors for the success or failure of a study. Another importance of the report is to serve as a director for researches that emphasis on defining the effects of an integrated marketing strategy which made HSBC successful in the UK banking industry as well as globally. 1.4 Aim and Objective of the Study The aim of the research to find the answer to the research question â€Å"How can HSBC Continue to Maintain Its Competitive marketing advantage in the UK market?† The objective of this study is to identify the reason behind the success of HSBC and the challenges the company may face in future and the potential strategy the company may follow so that it can maintain its leading position in the UK retail banking industry. So, the prime objectives of the study are as follows: To identify how HSBC operates and what made it unique besides others To identify the attitudes of the UK customers towards HSBC. To identify the attitudes of the company staffs towards existing marketing system. To identify the shortcomings (if existed) of the Strategy being adopted by HSBC To identify the most effective strategy appropriate for HSBC in response to the current financial crisis in UK. 1.5 The Organization of the paper: Unlike the conventional approach this paper is furnished with the industry analysis focusing on the UK banking industry in term of its performance, effective factors leading HSBC to become more successful, the changing switching tendencies of the customers, role of the SMEs in the industry and an overview on the investment criteria in the money market. The study will initially gather information that will serve as introductory part of the study. The study will then gather related literature to prove the need for conducting the study. The literature review can help in determining what are the studies already done, what study needs to be corrected. The study will then determine the methods and means for data to be gathered and analyzed. In this part the data is being readied to be gathered and analyzed but the method to gather it will first be determined. The next part of the study is gathering, presenting and interpreting the data. In this part the validity of the hypothesis and ideas about the study will be proven. The last part of the study will be the part where conclusions and recommendations will be stated. In this part final statement about the study will be done. The study will be organized in accordance with the following order Chapter 2(Literature Review) According to Porter (1985) it is the value chain through which a company can create and offer value to its customers by efficiently utilizing costs and effectively offering the product or services through a lower cost or a higher differentiation. Again Rajnandan (2007) said value chain not only seeks to do away with the activities that do not add value, but establishes the importance of other support activities, including infrastructure, technology, and so on, that play a vital role in providing the foundation for competitive advantage. The value chain also is useful in outsourcing decisions. Understanding the linkages between activities can lead to more optimal make-or-buy decisions that can result in either a cost advantage or a differentiation advantage. (Graeme J. Buckley, 2006) After defining the discrete activities marketers need to identify the linkages between activities. The relationship survives if the performance or cost of one activity affects that of another. Competitive advantage may be obtained by optimizing and coordinating linked activities. (Porter, 1985) The developed opponents expected strategy, where it participates in the marketplace, how it competes, and what it tries to achieve, should be distinct from any strategy pursued by any rival. Those executives charged with visualizing the developed rivals strategy should also be encouraged to go beyond the likely strategies of announced. It is necessary to communicate the competitive variables to the target market as that will force the buyers to prefer the products. Where marketing communications carries the meaning of the companys product attributes, aiding customers reach their goals and moving the company closer to its own goals. (Lancaster, 2002) Marketing efficiency depends on communications effectiveness. The market is activated through information flows. The way a potential buyer perceives the sellers market offering is heavily influenced by the amount and kind of information he or she has about the product offering, and the reaction to that information. Marketing, therefore, relies heavily upon information flows between the seller and the prospective buyer. (Thomas A. Staudt, Donald Arthur Taylor, 1976) The firms value chain links to the value chains of upstream suppliers and downstream buyers. The result is a larger stream of activities known as the value system. The development of a competitive advantage depends not only on the firm-specific value chain, but also on the value system of which the firm is a part. (Kiichiro Fukasaku, 2007) Dramatic changes due to globalization, deregulation, and technology have redefined the nature of business by increasing competition. Significant increases in the speed of competitive response and the number of competitive actions and price cuts have also resulted. Those indicators highlight the intensity of competition. (Gr, Cu, Le, Hu, Ken G, 2005) Unlike the classical concepts, the marketing concept states that the nature of the marketing orientated organisation, whether product or service based, profit or non profit based, is the identification and genuine satisfaction of customers needs and wants, more effectively and efficiently than the competition. The marketing concept has been defined as ‘the key to achieving organisational goals and the marketing concept rests on ‘market focus, customer orientation, co-ordinated marketing and profitability. (Le, Ru, Lancaster, 2002). ‘Marketing Research is a systematic problem analysis, model-building and fact-finding for the purpose of improved decision-making and control in the marketing of goods and services (Kotler, 1999) Strategic capabilities that companies can use to support the strategy they have chosen to pursue. A strategic capability offers a company a sustained competitive advantage when substantial time and effort is required for competitors to develop the same capability. (Susman, 1992) Game theory more specifically, non-cooperative game theory can be a useful tool for investigating a comprehensive model of competitive advantage in that it demonstrates the linkages between resources, competitive moves and responses, and advantage. (Gr, Cu, Le, Hu, Ken G, 2005) The ability and speed with which a company can learn from experience is another strategic capability. The ability to learn is dependent, in part, on how the company captures and accesses information. Companies can simplify this process by minimizing the amount and complexity of information they have to process. (Susman, 1992) Only by gaining a deep and comprehensive understanding of buyer behaviour can marketings goals be realised. Such an understanding of buyer behaviour works to the mutual advantage of the consumer and marketer, allowing the marketer to become better equipped to satisfy the consumers needs efficiently and establish a loyal group of customers with positive attitudes towards the companys products. (Lancaster, 2002) Competitive advantage is a way of firms gained advantage over its rivals. Competitive Advantage introduces a whole new way of understanding what a firm does. Competitive Advantage takes strategy from broad vision to an internally consistent configuration of activities. Its powerful framework provides the tools to understand the drivers of cost and a companys relative cost position. Competitive Advantage also provides for the first time the tools to strategically segment an industry and rigorously assess the competitive logic of diversification. (Porter, 1998) The design stage determines the way in which a firm intends to differentiate its good or service from rivals. In this stage a firm makes choices to gain a competitive advantage over rivals. (William, 2004) For a single product or narrow group of products, a firms competitive strategy refers to the weighted mix of price, product qualities and features, and service that differentiates its product from those of rivals. (William, 2004) The Competitive Advantage model of Porter learns that competitive strategy is about taking offensive or defensive action to create a defendable position in an industry, in order to cope successfully with competitive forces and generate a superior return on investment. According to Michael Porter, the basis of above-average performance within an industry is sustainable competitive advantage. There are 2 basics types of CA: Cost Leadership (low cost) and Differentiation. The Delta Model contains the following elements: Strategic Triangle: used for defining strategic positions that reflect fundamentally new sources of profitability (three strategic options: best product, customer solutions, and system lock-in), Aligning these strategic options with a firms activities and provides congruency between strategic direction and execution (three fundamental processes are always present and are the repository of key strategic tasks: operational effectiveness, customer targeting, and innovation), and Adaptive processes: core processes of the company must be aligned to the chosen strategy in order to make progress against the strategic agenda and avoid a commodity-like outcome. 2.1 The Trends (Customer Focused) E-trading and online customer services are becoming the key differentiators in every industry. The banking industry in the midst of a shift assisted and backed by the rapid technological advancement, internet and globalization. The transition is not an incremental one through which organizations, processes, and technologies evolve in linear fashion into more advanced, but still familiar models which is distinct from the earlier industry change. Industry observers anticipate that this transition will be much more radical and constitute a complete metamorphosis of bankings entire business model, realigning everything from its strategic business orientation to its technology architecture to its value proposition to its customers. (Balthasar, 2010) 2009 is a significant year forcing many private banking experts to remember. Privet funds failed to generate revenue as clients withdrew assets from private banks. The global financial crisis has fundamentally changed the investment pattern of the High Net Worth Investors and their wealth management business itself. Growing Market ‘Many â€Å"new money† acquire their wealth through IPO. Brazil and China accounted for two-thirds of global capital raised in Q2 2009 (Ernst Young, 2009) showing that there is a growing demand for private banking and wealth management service in the region as the economy is rapidly growing. Chinas growth will outstrip US which is a good news for private banks who have a strong APAC presence, wealth management professionals should understand that the Chinese market is not easy to penetrate. First of all, client advisors need to be fluent in Mandarin and have local connections. Secondly, guanxi (relationships) still plays an extremely important role in the modern Chinese business community, private bankers without access to key relationship brokers as references will find it very difficult to convince Chinese HNWIs to open accounts. Private banks that hire locals will have a definite advantage over expats trying to cover Chinese clients. (Warren Buffet, 2009) Responsible lending Affordability assessment approaches vary across the industry. Responsible lending decisions require checks to be made concerning income and outgoings (typically using a combination of income multiples and affordability models) when assessing ability to repay now and into the future. Also the type of lending undertaken and the type of borrower (for example, applicants with impaired or low credit ratings) may require more detailed assessments to be carried out. Other (unregulated) lending Mortgage lending is only part of the affordability picture. Under the auspices of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF), affordability assessments are equally relevant to other borrowing, including personal loans and credit cards, and a number of lenders are looking at how their affordability assessment processes may need to be strengthened for these types of credit. In an effort to strengthen existing rules, new Banking Code guidance concerning assessing affordability in relation to unsecured loans (overdrafts and other borrowing) was issued by the Banking Code Standards Board in April 2006. Any assessment should now include at least two of the following: Income and financial commitments Repayment history Credit reference agency information and past repayment history Credit scoring. It is also worth noting that the Office of Fair Tradings recent guidance (‘the OFT Guidance) reinforces the need for firms to have regard to its earlier guidance on non-status lending and confirms its intention to consider further specific guidance with regard to irresponsible lending and what this may mean in different market sectors and circumstances. Responding to the concerns The FSA has indicated that as part of its retail agenda it will continue to focus on quality of advice processes in the mortgage market. In responding to these concerns, firms will wish to consider how the results of the FSAs findings impact each of their lending businesses: How extensive is the affordability process; does the advice process include an assessment of income and identifiable expenditure; anticipated changes in personal circumstances (income/expenditure composition); impact of interest rate changes and possible future increases in interest rates? How can the consumer deal with mortgages extending into retirement? What steps are taken to ensure that underwriting processes (including income multiples and affordability models) reflect the different characteristics and risk profiles of customers in different market sectors (for example, sub-prime; non-conforming)? Is the recent assessment carried out to identify the affordability (including affordability decisioning models) to meet the regulatory as well as commercial drivers impacting the business? What steps are taken concerning the assessment of the customers ability to repay where ‘enhanced income multiples are used (and where the firm may have insufficient, or outdated, data to measure the potential impact/risks of default)? What MI does the consumer have to facilitate the identification of affordability issues on a timely basis (for example, the performance of loans where ‘enhanced multiples have been applied; at the end of any discount period; the level of arrears and repossessions; lending introduced by intermediaries)? Even for long-established product offerings, it is clear that nothing stays still. Aside from regulation by the FSA, the market still needs to respond to the challenges of competition investigation into the PPI market. Household Leverage: In the years leading up to the crisis, a combination of factors, including low interest rates, lax lending standards, a proliferation of exotic mortgage products, and the growth of a global market for securitized loans fueled a rapid increase in household borrowing. (Shedlock, 2010) ‘The recent financial crisis contributed to the longest and most severe economic contraction since the Great Depression. The rapid expansion in the use of borrowed money, or leverage, by households in recent years, is one factor that may help account for the virulence of the downturn. (Shedlock, 2010) ‘The common patterns observed across countries suggest that, the unwinding of excess household leverage via increased saving or increased default rates could be a significant drag on consumption and bank lending going forward, possibly muting the vigor of the economic recovery. (Shedlock, 2010) 2.2 Changing Nature of Consumer Behaviour (Higher Expectation) ‘Customers take control. Customers will be smart, informed and savvy users of financial services. They will only be interested in service providers that can meet their very specific individual needs. (CMA Management, 2006) Global banking leader for the Institute for Business Value, each bank must decide on a strategy that fits its customers needs. Banks will need special strategies to cater to a far more discerningand controllingcustomer. Innovative approaches to business design, customer service, workforce management and IT will be critical to banks future success. (Sunny Banerjea, 2009) Banking customers will demand more advocacy, personal security and control in their banking relationships Banks will source products and services from many specialized and best-in-class service providers, including independents and other banks providing white-label products and services. Innovation in products, processes, relationships and business models will be the primary path to sustainable growth. Furthermore, the modern banking industry has brought greater business diversification. Some banks in the industrialized world are entering into investments, underwriting of securities, portfolio management and the insurance businesses. Taken together, these changes have made banks an even more important entity in the global business community. 2.3 Globalization (Intense Competition) ‘By 2015, we will live in an intensely customer-centric market that is dominated by global mega banks and densely populated by specialist financial services providers. Fierce competition, global regulation and technology will reshape bank and non-bank structures. (Rusty Wiley, 2009) Banking is moving incrementally but unmistakably away from a model based on products, transactions, touch points, and internal departments toward one based on customers, processes, integrated experiences, and the enterprise-wide value of information. The new strategic centre is not an institutions asset size, market share, revenue growth, or operating efficiency, but the â€Å"customer experience† the institution provides to consumers. Whether a seismic departure in focus or simply a more pronounced emphasis on an existing strategy, many banks have decided this is their destination. Many countries are now more alert after so many scams including The Bernard Madoff $65 billion Ponzi scheme exposed in 2009. To minimise and control the false trading activities and tax evasions, governments worldwide demand more oversight of banking operations influencing not only the investment banking business but also the private banking side. The account opening process, KYC and offshore banking activities are under tighter scrutiny than ever before. As a direct result, banks have to spend more money on compliance and risk management. (Investment Research, 2010) Banks no longer think in terms of selling products and making transactions, but rather in terms of acquiring, satisfying, and retaining customers. They are realigning their system architectures to recognize, integrate, and monitor business processes that span departmental boundaries and consider customers from a company-wide perspective. The resulting systems provide customers with tools to conduct their own banking business on their own terms, in their own time, and through whatever channel they happen to access. (Balthasar, 2010) This shift in strategic focus has already had a profound impact on the way that bankings role and value to its customers have evolved, leading to the second feature of the industrys transformation, which is that banking is no longer seen as purely a financial transaction, but rather in a broader and more significant way as a financial information business. This distinction may sound like splitting hairs, but the eventual effect on the banking industry will be nothing short of transformative. To better adapt and accommodate this shift successfully, banks will have to recon and upgrade their entire IT infrastructures. The excellent international reputation and the $300 billion private banking assets the region currently manages, the Singaporean government is aggressive in making the country more attractive to private banks and HNWIs worldwide. Singapore officials are planning to amend the Income Tax Act, which is likely to help the country to make Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Developments â€Å"white list†, further establishing itself as Asias private banking stronghold. (Wall Street Arrow: Market Insights, 2009) The competitive pressures that have squeezed the banking industry for the past decade show no sign of letting up, principally due to the banking industrys continuing consolidation. (Balthasar, 2009) Many industry analysts are expecting another round of large bank merger announcements, with the additional element of international banks involved in cross-border mergers. We have seen the beginnings of that trend already in Europe, with the acquisition of Abbey National (U.K.) by Santander (Spain) and the protracted dispute between Dutch bank ABN AMRO and another Spanish bank over two Italian banks. One important ramification of the continued growth of leading banks will be their ability, based on their sheer size and higher efficiencies, to invest in world-class data storage, management, and analytical capabilities, thereby extending their dominance by the development of innovative revenue-generating products and services. The transition to banks as primarily an information source has helped lower the barriers to entry in the financial services industry, opening the banking arena to a host of new, non-bank players. The current alarm among banks and their regulators about Wal-Marts efforts to obtain an industrial loan company (ILC) license in Utah is the most visible manifestation of that trend. 2.4 Technology (Customised Service) Sharply focused technology. The enabler of all this change will be technology that supports rapid, accurate decision making and greater operational flexibility and efficiency. The successful specialists will be those who can track and analyze specific customer needs and speedily meet them with profitable, reliable products. (CMA Management, 2006) The global trend of deregulation has opened up many new businesses to the banking industry. Coupling that with technological developments like internet banking and ATMs, the banking industry is obviously trying its hardest to shed its lackluster image. (Investopedia, 2010) The major force driving banking transformation stems from the increasing commoditization of financial transactions. Banks can no longer distinguish themselves on the basis of product set functionality or operational excellence. Commercially available systems have perfected virtually all the important functions in basic transactions, including payments, deposits, funds transfers, and account reporting. The maturity of technology in these areas has made both functionality and pricing nearly uniform among leading vendors. The sheer volume and scope of regulatory requirements has imposed on banks an unprecedented need to develop transparent systems and processes, along with more effective and reliable means for collecting, storing, and manipulating information. Going forward, banks will need to develop an approach to their IT infrastructure that places a premium on flexibility, adaptability to rapidly changing market circumstances, and the ability to integrate information from multiple sources currently isolated from each other. The competitive landscape has also shrunk considerably. In June 2008, there were 46 lenders offering unsecured personal loans, down from 58 in June 2007, however, by June 2009 this number had dropped further to just 37. The real value proposition that banks offer now is in the information they can provide about financial services and transactions, from a perspective of accessibility, speed, convenience, granularity, analysis, and so forth. In other words, the important question to ask banks now is â€Å"how quickly, accurately, deeply, efficiently, transparently, and finitely can they capture, parse, store, identify, access, retrieve, sort, match, analyze, aggregate, present, share, distribute, and protect data?† Therefore, leading banks are basing new technology strategies on transforming and enhancing their command of information. Although they already sit atop vast amounts of data about their customers, banks in many respects are unable to identify and/or retrieve it with any degree of precision. With bankings future growth and profitability dependent on the ability to aggregate information across systems and reorient it by customer instead of product, technology spending decisions will he nceforth be guided by how well a proposed solution furthers a banks command of information. (Balthasar, 2009) Data management The command of information should be incorporated it into technology development by the vendors allowing them to capture (automatically as much as possible) descriptive and associative information about customers, transactions, and workflow circumstances as distinct data fields; to identify, access, associate, aggregate, sort, and display data from disparate sources; to exchange, transfer, compound, and deconstruct data freely across system boundaries; to normalize, integrate, and analyze that data for a specific purpose and for a specifically designated market segment; to drill down and parse data into ever more discrete units that can be segregated and analyzed; and to manage all of the above in near-real time through centralized database management and automated business processes with rules-based workflow and exception management. Initiatives and architectures not built on a sophisticated data management core will provide only limited benefit, since sooner or later they will be unable to integrate fully into

Wedding Toast - Best Man Essay -- Wedding Toasts Roasts Speeches

Wedding Speech - Best Man Afternoon everyone, firstly, the city council have asked me to request that, for health and safety reasons, none of you get up on top of the chairs and tables during my standing ovation. I'm sure you'll all admit this has turned out to be a fabulous wedding celebration, yet every silver- lining does have a cloud, and that is, unfortunately that you've all got to listen to me for a few minutes. I'd just like to start by thanking everyone on behalf of the Bride and groom, for sharing their wedding day, although personally I wish you'd all stayed at home, because things would have been a lot easier on me. I'd also like to thank you George, on behalf of the bridesmaids for your kind words and also my personal thanks for giving me the opportunity to dress like Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen and for finally admitting after all these years that I am the best man. This book tells you to start all speeches with a joke & I promise I'll start shortly. It also says that you are the most forgiving audience & you'll laugh at the lamest joke. Over the next 10 minutes I will be severely testing this theory. ...I was really nervous before hand, so I prepared a few lines - and having snorted them I'm feeling pretty good right now... I didn't think I was going to be that nervous but believe me this is not the first time today that I've stood up from a warm seat with a bit of pap... ...h, fruity and intoxicating to the mind and then turn full bodied with age until they go all sour and vinegary, which inevitably gives you a headache. In all seriousness though George, it has been a great honour to have been your best man here today, but more importantly to have known you as a true friend of yours over the last 14 years. I sincerely wish you the happiest of marriages and may our friendship continue for many years to come. I started planning this speech a few weeks ago.... & it must feel like I've been delivering it that long. So it gives me immense pleasure, not to mention relief, to invite you all - well those who still can - to stand. Ladies and gentlemen, George and Julie!!

Organizational Counseling Essay

Counseling is the service offered to the individual who is under going a problem and needs professional help to overcome it. The problem keeps him disturbed high strung and under tension and unless solved his development is hampered or stunted. Counseling therefore is a more specialized service requiring training in personality development and handling exceptional groups of individuals. Meaning of counseling Complex processes such as counseling are always difficult to define. In dictionary terms the word Counseling has a variety of meanings. It often implies the giving of advice or the recommendation of a particular course of action, presupposing that the one who is advising or recommending does so from a basis of superior knowledge and greater wisdom. The term also carries certain connotations which are derived from the legal use of the word ‘counsel’. In recent years, however, the word â€Å"counseling† has acquired a specific meaning as a technical term to describe a particular kind of therapeutic interaction between people. Many authors and institutions have defined counseling as follows: The steering committee of the Standing Committee for the Advancement of Counseling (UK) in 1969 offered the following definition. â€Å"Counseling is a process through which one person helps another by purposeful conversation in an understanding atmosphere. It seeks to establish a helping relationship in which the one counseled can express his/her thoughts and feelings in such a way as to clarify his/her situation, come to terms with some new experience, see his/her difficulty more objectively, and to face the problem with less anxiety and tension. Its basic purpose is to assist individuals to make their decision from among the choices available to them.† Three components which are essential if the meeting of two persons, one of whom has a problem, is to be termed â€Å"counseling† are the process, the objectives, the relationship. According to Brammer & Shostrom, â€Å"Counseling is defined as a way of relating  and responding to another person so that he/she is helped to explore his thoughts, feelings and behavior to reach a clear self-understanding. Also, the person is helped to find and use his/her strengths to be able to cope more effectively with making appropriate decisions, or taking appropriate action.† According to Makinde (1983) â€Å"Counseling is as an integrative process between a client, who is vulnerable and who needs assistance, and a counselor who is trained and educated to give this assistance. The goal of the interaction is to help the client learn to deal more effectively with him/herself and the reality of his environment.† According to Willey & Andrew, Counseling involves two individuals one seeking help and other a professionally trained person helped solved problems to orient and direct him to words a goals. Employee Counseling Counseling has been practiced in one form to other since the evolution of mankind. In every field which requires dealing with people, counseling is essential. Counseling is dyadic relationship between two persons; a manager who is offering help (counselor) and an employee whom such help is given (counselee). It may be formal or informal. Formal counseling is a planned and systematic way of offering help to subordinates by expert counselors. Informal counseling is concerned with day to day relationship between the manager and his subordinates where help is readily offered without any formal plan. Every manager has a responsibility to counsel his subordinates. When individual managers are unable to deal with specific problems, the counseling services of a professional body is required. An organization can either offer the services of a full-time in-house counselor or refer the employee to a community counseling service. Counseling occasionally is necessary for employees due to job and personal problems that subject them to excessive stress. Counseling is discussion of a problem that usually has emotional content with an employee in order to help the employee cope with  it better. Counseling seeks to improve employee’s mental health. People feel comfortable about themselves and about other people and able to meet the demands of life when they are good in mental health. The counseling need not be limited to work-related issues. Marital problems, problems with children, financial difficulties or general psychiatric problems may not be directly related to the job, however, we recognize that individuals cannot completely separate their life away from the job from their life on the job. Therefore personal problems do affect a worker’s job performance. So counseling is also necessary for personal problems along with work- related issues. Performance counseling involves helping an employee understand his own performance, find where he stands in relation to others and identify ways to improve his skills and performance. It focuses, essentially, â€Å"on the analysis of performance of the job and identification of training needs for further improvement†. An increasingly popular form of counseling involves employees who are about ready to retire. Pre-retirement counseling prepares individuals to deal with the realities of leisure, as well as ou tlining details about social security benefits and company pension provisions. Employee Counseling at Workplace It is required of every manager to help his subordinate in the free exploration of his strengths, abilities, competence, interests and other related positive features. It requires participation from both the parties in the performance review and goal-setting process. Thus, performance counseling has become an important feature not only in performance review but also in the implementation of the appraisal system in the organization. It is natural that subordinates need guidance, coaching or help of an experienced person. This role may be played by the immediate superior or the personnel manager. The managers or superiors who have to play the role of ‘counselor’ can play it successfully if they develop the skill for counseling. Such a skill would be useful in understanding subordinates, assisting them in their efforts to grow and develop, and in improving their interpersonal relations both at work and in the society at large. Counseling is a two-way process in which a coun selor provides help to the workers by  way of advice and guidance. There are many occasions in work situations when a worker feels the need for guidance and counseling. The term â€Å"counseling† refers to the help given by a superior to his subordinate in improving the latter’s performance. It is in effect a process of helping subordinates to achieve better adjustment with his work environment, to behave as a psychologically mature individual, and help in achieving a better understanding of others so that his dealings with them can be effective and purposeful. Distinction between Organizational Counseling Interventions & Organizational Development Organizational Development (OD) and Organizational Counseling Interventions (OCI) are two natural extensions of systems thinking within the larger discipline of Psychology. Given the fact that OD and OCI technologies have a common origin within Psychology as a discipline, and the development of the systems perspective in particular, it is necessary to identify the core distinctions between these two approaches to serving the organization: Both OCI and OD interventions are designed to improve overall organizational health and effectiveness, which in turn improve the working conditions of individual employees. Some of the typical areas of focus and expertise where OD and OCI differ are listed below, and these may be used as decision-making criteria. Organizational Development Organizational Counseling Leadership development Personality dysfunction (substance abuse, psychiatric symptoms, etc.) Departmental (re)organization Stress/Change Management Poor Morale Grief reaction to loss or death Group retreats Critical Incident Stress Management Skills development and technology usage Employee/patient safety issues Team – building Communication breakdown within teams Workplace climate Entrenched interpersonal conflict Promoting improved/increased organizational performance Promoting organizational wellness Who Can Counsel People who are in a position to counsel in the work place could be co-workers who would function as peer counselors, supervisors and managers who would counsel their own staff and staff members like the human resources manager and the training manager who could counsel any staff member because of the uniqueness of their positions. In addition, directors or senior managers are well placed to counsel members of the management staff. Counseling deals with personal, social, vocational, empowerment, and educational concerns. Counselors work only in areas in which they have expertise. These areas may include intra- and interpersonal concerns related to school or college adjustment, mental health, aging, marriage or family issues, employment, and rehabilitation. Counseling Quick Reference Keep this quick reference to use whenever counseling individuals, employees or team members. Counselors must demonstrate these qualities to counsel effectively: a) Respect for subordinates. b) Self and cultural awareness. c) Credibility. d) Empathy. Counselors must possess these counseling skills: 1. Active listening. 2. Responding. 3. Questioning. Effective counselors avoid common counseling mistakes. Counselors should avoid: 1. Personal bias. 2. Rash judgments. 3. Stereotyping. 4. Losing emotional control. 5. Inflexible counseling methods. 6. Improper follow-up. When to Counsel There are many situations in the workplace when counseling might be called for: Some of these problems arise outside the work place. They can be personal problems such as sexual behavior that might pose a high risk for HIV/AIDS, or addiction to drugs or alcohol. They may be related to family issues: money problems, sickness and death in the family causing grief or trauma. They may also be issues related specifically to the work place, such as matters like career development, discipline, performance, relating to customers or clients, promotion, redeployment, transfers, redundancies, retirement, etc. There might be problems individuals have in relating to others in the work place, either as individuals or as part of a team. Other problems may lie in relating to customers, to bosses or to those in authority in general. Bosses might also have problems in relating to their juniors. Need of Counseling Counseling is an integral part of an over-all program of guidance. â€Å"Counseling is a specific process of assistance extended by an expert in an individual situation to a needy person†. This means the counseling situation arises when a needy person is face to face with and expert who makes available his assistance to the needy individual to fulfill his needs. There is an urgent need of introducing and strengthening the counseling service to meet the various needs of the individuals or employees. 1. To help in the total development of the organization: Along with the intellectual development proper motivation and clarification of goals and ideas to pupils in conformity with their basic potentialities and social tendencies are important total development of the individual nauseates that individual differences among them are expected, accepted, understood and planned for and all types of experiences in an institution are to be so organized as to contribute to the total development of the organization. 2. To develop readiness for choice and changes to face new challenges. 3. To minimize the mismatching between achievement and expectation and help in the  efficient use of manpower. 4. To motivate the youth for self-employment. 5. To help fresher establish proper identity 6. To identify and motivate the counselee 7. To help the counselee in their period of turmoil and confusion. 8. To help in checking wastage and stagnation. 9. To identity and help individuals in need of special help. 10. To minimize the incidence of indiscipline. Bargadon has mentioned the following situations where counseling in required: 1. When a pupil requires not only reliable information but also an interesting introspection of those in formations which can solve his personal difficulties. 2. When a pupil needs intelligent listener who has more experience than the pupil to whom he can recite his difficulties and through which can seek suggestions for his working plan. 3. When the counselor has to assess those facilities which can help in resolving the pupil problems but the pupil doesn’t enjoy such an access to those facilities. 4. When the pupil has some problem but he is unaware of that problem and his development, he is to be made aware of that problem. 5. When the pupil is aware of the problem and difficulties created by the problem but he feels difficult to define it and to understand it that is, when the pupil is familiar with the presence of the problem and its nature but he is unable to face the problem due to this tempor ary tension and distraction. 6. When the pupil suffer the main maladjustment problem or some handicapped with is temporary and which needs careful long due diagnosis by an expert. Characteristics of Effective Counseling 1. Purpose: Clearly define the purpose of the counseling. 2. Flexibility: Fit the counseling style to the character of each subordinate and to the relationship desired. 3. Respect: View subordinates as unique, complex individuals, each with a distinct set of values, beliefs, and attitudes. 4. Communication: Establish open, two-way communication with subordinates using spoken language, nonverbal actions, gestures, and body language. Effective counselors listen more than they speak. 5. Support: Encourage subordinates through actions while guiding them through their  problems. Problems in Employee Counseling A manager has to deal with various types of problems in dealing with his subordinates, employees and particularly problem employees. Basically no employee is a problem employee, except hereditary and inborn perversions, criminal tendencies, addictions, and nervous and psychological breakdowns. Once an employee turns to be a problem employee, the employer has mainly two options viz., repair and recover, or replace. For the purpose of repairing and recovering and rehabilitating, employee counseling has an important role to play. Problems are generally associated with the causes like: 1. Inferiority and Low Self-Esteem Inferiority feeling of an employee may play great havoc in individual life and work. Though a mild form of inferiority in certain persons may help them to work hard and overcome the inferiority. But very often, inferiority complex may lead a person to utter disappointment and depression leading to withdrawal perversion, absenteeism and even psychosomatic and psychotic problems. Inferiority is a feeling of inadequacy in comparison with others, or a feeling of being inferior to others. When the inferiority feelings in a person become overwhelming and persisting, it may develop into a state which Adler called â€Å"inferiority complex†. Recently thinkers started believing that inferiority can be overcome with the help of self-esteem, and effective counseling helps in gaining self-esteem. Self-esteem is closely linked with self-image, self-worth and self-concept. Self-concept and self-image are the terms which represent the picture which we have of ourselves. Self-image and self-c oncept may include a list of character traits, physical features, attitudes, feelings, strengths, weaknesses etc. Self-esteem refers to the evaluation which an individual makes of his worth, competence, value and significance. When a person loses self-esteem, he develops inferiority in him, which grows into an inferiority complex. Such people do not feel worth of themselves. Hence, the basic task of a counselor is to improve self-esteem in such counselees. 2. Injustice or Ill-treatment Very often injustice or ill-treatment makes considerable impact in their minds resulting in behavioral problems, inferiority and low self-esteem. Depriving an employee of adequate wages, leave, or any perks, giving him an arrogant treatment, depriving a legitimate promotion, promoting somebody overlooking the legitimate candidate; may such incidents take place in organizations very often which may result in inferiority feeling or feeling of low self-esteem and low morale affecting the efficiency of the aggrieved employee. As far as possible such incidents must be avoided. Once such a situation arises and an employee is aggrieved, it is better to rectify it. However, if the aggrieved employee is counseled and rectification is promised at a later date, he or she can be brought back to the proper track. 3. Premarital Anxieties and Sexual Perversions Premarital anxieties are common in many young employees. Once the marriage is arranged and the person is engaged, his anxiety increases. Two people of different family backgrounds, different cultures, different environments, etc., are bound to have anxieties before they come together. If one happens to wait unmarried after a particular age too, one’s anxiety is bound to increase. Similarly, there are possibilities for sexual perversions in not only young employees but even in married employees. There are people with broken relationships who are tempted to be subject to sexual perversions and resulting guilty conscious. In all such cases the concerned employee needs counseling before a total breakdown and collapse of personality. Such people can be spiritually motivated, educated, kept under the close contact of an influence group, and so on. 4. Alcoholism Alcoholism is, perhaps, the largest threat to the human element of organization. In fact, alcoholism is a serious social, moral and health problem. It ruins careers, disrupts families, affects productivity and efficiency, destroys bodies, and leads to untold human misery. Many traffic accidents are caused by alcohol abuse. There are many causes which lead to alcoholism. Prominent among them are: (i) Hereditary drinking; (ii) Executive culture; (iii) Executive stresses; (iv) Physiological reasons; (v) Broken family set up; (vi) Environmental influence; (vii) Low job  satisfaction and morale; (viii) Tasks involving strenuous physical exertion; (ix) Perpetuating influences ; (x) Feelings of depression and stagnation; and (xi) Feeling of isolation and loneliness. A counselor’s job is not easy as far as an alcoholic is concerned. One or a few counseling sessions may not yield any considerable effect. However, a sincere effort on the part of an executive counselor may help an alco holic employee, at least in the long-run. Some medical intervention may also be helpful along with counseling. 5. The problem of Addictions Another important employee problem which deserves counseling is addictions. Addiction is a very dangerous problem which torments the social and work environment of today. Drug addiction has gone beyond proportions among youngsters now-a-days. Not only drug addiction, many people are addicted to alcohol, pornographic materials, television, sexual immorality, smoking, compulsive spending, overeating, gambling, and so on. There are some people who are addicted to earning money and amassing wealth by hook or by crook. There are workaholics who have addiction to work, due to which there are many broken families in the urban society. Addiction is any habit, practice, behavior or even thinking which is habitually or compulsively attached to a person, which exerts more and more control and power over him. There can be many causes for addiction; some of which are: (i) Inadequate parental care; (ii) Broken family atmosphere; (iii) Bad company; (iv) Peer or other social influence; (v) Feeling o f emptiness in life; depression or stresses; (vi) Low self-esteem and deception; & (vii) Psychological problems. Both drug addiction and alcohol abuse involve behavior change, physical deterioration, family stresses, financial problems, career destruction, increasing psychological disintegration, lawlessness and so on. Addiction affects both the victim and his family. Even the psychologists and counselors may exhaust and drain themselves out by constant pressure of dealing with addicts. Hence, it is not an easy task for executives to deal with such cases. However, very tactful approach on the part of the executives and managers may make a considerable effect in helping them if they act in time. â€Å"A stitch in time saves nine†. 6. Mental Conflict in Union Rivalries In recent times, there are many employees who lose their confidence, mental peace, job satisfaction and productivity due to union rivalries. Many right thinking and unattached employees become the victims of such rivalries. Some militant trade union leaders and their henchmen even manhandle assault and ill-treat such employees. Their legitimate promotions and claims are blocked by such trade unionists. Sometimes even management becomes helpless in doing justice to such employees due to the obstructions and resistances created by such union leaders. In such situations victims are bound to be disappointed, disgruntled and aggrieved resulting in depression and stress. Executive counselors and human resources executives have great role to play in rebuilding the personality and career through counseling and timely intervention. They can be recovered, and revitalized through counseling and timely guidance. They can then be exposed and developed through training followed by redeployment and a change in placement. 7. Breakdown in Interpersonal Relationships Breakdown in interpersonal relationships is another important problem which creates low morale and depression in work-life which deserves timely intervention and counseling. There are many stress situations in one’s work life. Organizational causes of stress are occupational demands, role conflict, role ambiguity (stress from uncertainly), stresses from overload and under load, responsibility for others, stresses from evaluation, poor working conditions, unwanted changes, and such other factors lead to personal stresses. Interpersonal stresses make more impact in work life. Strains and breakdowns in interpersonal relationships have direct relationship with individual stresses. When cordial relationships exist in the work place, impact of other stresses may get effectively tackled. But when stresses from strained interpersonal relationship in the work environment increase, the individual’s effectiveness, balance and productivity can get affected. In all such occasions, c ounseling and guidance would become necessary to help the individual to control his problem emotions and sustain himself to be effective in the group. 8. Low Job Satisfaction and Morale Another important cause which affects the human behavior in organization is low job satisfaction backed by low morale. Low job satisfaction leads to low morale and vice-versa. Morale and job satisfaction are closely tied to the basic concepts of attitudes and motivation. Wages have been found to be the basic determinant of job satisfaction. However, once the monetary needs are considerably met by the wages, other aspects like self-actualization, fulfillment, working conditions, security of employment, prestige, agreeability of the job, group cohesiveness, expertise, etc., also determine the job satisfaction. Some researchers have thrown light on the positive relationship between occupational level and job satisfaction. Job satisfaction has a considerable relation with the promotion possibility. Superior-subordinate relationship and cooperative and affectionate attitude and approach of the superior may also influence the job satisfaction level of the subordinates, though much empirica l work has not been done in this area. Low job satisfaction and low morale must be tackled at the root. Immediate supervisor or superior may first come to know about the problem in his subordinate and initiate timely and sincere counseling efforts. At times, assistance of professional counselors can be sought. Every manager must make up his mind to nip in the bud all such problems which adversely affect job satisfaction and morale with the help of skillful counseling. 9. Breakdown in Family Life Every individual, rich or poor, has to face many family problems, some of which can seriously affect the peace of mind, happiness, achievement motivation and efficiency. Those who have broken family lives and serious family problems may possibly become unsuccessful in their work life too. Very often problem which affect the family life can convert a good employee into a problem employee. Studies have already proved that some alcoholics and drug addicts are the products of broken families. In fact, breakdown in family life very often affects the work life. Hence, if such employees are provided with ways to release their tension, their efficiency can be improved. Counseling is of great importance in such cases once such employees can be brought to proper track with the help of counseling, their personality, behavior and performance can be improved with the help of exposure in training, T-group formation, etc., so that better sense of  cohesion and commitment to organization can be en sured. Solving the Problems of Employee Counseling The problems of employee counseling can be solved in various ways. The following could be simple check list to follow – 1. Deal with dignity: An individual has to be dealt with dignity. An individual is more a victim of circumstances. This should be communicated clearly to assuage feelings of the individual. 2. Give time: Give individuals time and avoid shock impact. This gives the employee time to think of alternatives in a job loss situation. Importantly, the employee might try and improve productivity. 3. Build courage and confidence: Highlight strengths of the individual and build personal confidence level. Irrespective of personal circumstances, retaining confidence and mental balance, is critical. 4. Offer help: Offer personal and corporate help. More important than offering help is to listen patiently and offer whatever help is possible. 5. Involve family, where possible: A job affects the family and hence, where the employee is receptive, involve the family in counseli ng. 6. Give positive references: Give good and positive references to employees terminated to improve their chances of sourcing an alternate employment. 7. Allow use of facilities: As far as possible, allow a usage of corporate facilities, especially where there is no direct cash outflow. Typical facilities would include transport, sports, club, library, canteen etc. 8. Offer subsidy: In large companies, employees are eligible for a variety of benefits including transport, housing and furniture. Where possible, continue to offer these facilities at a subsidized price, for a short period of three to six months. 9. Communicate: Most importantly, involve the employee and listen empathetically. Keep in touch with the employee at some frequency to sustain courage to face the crisis and instill a ray of hope to come out of the crisis successfully. Aims of Counselling Counselling and guidance aims to: enable citizens to manage and plan their learning and work pathways in accordance with their life goals, assist educational and training institutions to have well motivated pupils, students and trainees who take  responsibility for their own learning and set their own goals for achievement assist enterprises and organisations to have well motivated, employable and adaptable staff, capable of accessing and benefiting from learning opportunities both within and outside the workplace provide policymakers with an important means to achieve a wide range of public policy goals support local, regional, and national economies through workforce development and adaptation to changing economic demands and social circumstances assist in the development of societies, in which citizens actively contribute to their social and democratic development Importance of counselling aims within labour market: Within the labour market, guidance and counselling can: Improve the accuracy and accessibility of the information available to individuals about short- and long-term job opportunities. In turn this can improve individual decision making about jobs and about job training opportunities. achieve a better match between skills, interests and qualifications on the one hand and available job opportunities on the other help to improve the allocation of labour across regions, industries and occupations in the face of labour supply and demand fluctuations resulting from technological and structural change Significance of Counseling 1. Decision marking construct: The psychological problems of adolescents can be seen as decision making problems. 2. Conflict: These decisions making problems almost always involve some conflict, either because of factor emotional ambiguities or both. 3. Assertions: Behavior is a result at the assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes that one his about himself, others and the world in which her lives. 4. Disconfirmations: The effects of behavior following decisions are feed back to the individual perceived and they confirm or disconfirm ascertain to varying degrees. 5. Tension: When assertions are disconfirmed, tensions result. 6. Redundancy: Tensions inhibit the ability of an individual to reexamine his assertions and attempt to confirm them and thus they cause redundant behavior. Reception and Integration Counseling Points Reception and integration counseling should begin immediately upon arrival so new team members can quickly become integrated into the organization. Counselor must counsel new team members when they arrive at organization. This reception and integration counseling serves two purposes: First, it identifies and helps fix any problems or concerns that new members may have, especially any issues resulting from the new duty assignment. Second, it lets them know the organizational standards and how they fit into the team. It clarifies job titles and sends the message that the chain of command cares. Chain of command familiarization. Organizational standards. Security and safety issues. Noncommissioned officer (NCO) support channel (who is in it and how it is used). On- and off-duty conduct. Personnel/personal affairs/initial and special issues. Organizational history, structure, and mission. Human resource practices within the organization Off limits and danger areas. Functions and locations of support activities. On- and off-post recreational, educational, cultural, and historical opportunities. Environmental orientations both internal and external. Other areas the individual should be aware of as determined by the counselor. Approaches/Types of Employee Counseling In attempting to help an employee who has a problem, a variety of counseling  approaches are used. All of these counseling approaches, however, depend on active listening. Sometimes the mere furnishing of information or advice may be the solution to what at first appeared to be a knotty problem. More frequently, however, the problem cannot be solved easily because of frustrations or conflicts that are accompanied by strong feelings such as fear, confusion, or hostility. A manager, therefore, needs to learn to use whatever approach appears to be suitable at the time. Flexibility is a key component of the employee counseling process. There are three types/approaches to counseling which are given as follows – 1. Directive 2. Non-directive 3. Participative 1. Directive Counseling: It is full counseling. It is the process of listening to an employee’s problem, deciding with the employee what should be done and telling and motivating the employee to do it. This type of counseling mostly does the function of advice, reassurance and communication. It may also perform other functions of counseling. Advantages and disadvantages of Directive counseling Exhibit 1: Advantages and disadvantages of Directive counseling Advantages: Quickest method. Good for people who need clear, concise direction. Allows counselors to actively use their experience. Disadvantages: Doesn’t encourage subordinates to be part of the solution. Tends to treat symptoms, not problems. Tends to discourage subordinates from talking freely. Solution is the counselor’s, not the subordinate’s. 2. Non-directive Counseling: In non-directive counseling, the employee is permitted to have maximum freedom in determining the course of the interview. It is the process of skillfully listening and encouraging a counselee to explain troublesome problems, understand them and determine  appropriate solutions. Fundamentally, the approach is to listen, with understanding and without criticism or appraisal, to the problem as it is described by the employee. The employee is encouraged, through the manager’s attitude and reaction to what is said or not said, to express feelings without fear of shame, embarrassment, or reprisal. The free expression that is encouraged in the non-directive approach tends to reduce tensions and frustrations. The employee who has had an opportunity to release pent-up feelings is usually in a better position to view the problem more objectively and with a problem-solving attitude. Advantages and disadvantages of Non-directive counseling Exhibit 2: Advantages and disadvantages of Non-directive counseling Advantages: Encourages maturity. Encourages open communication. Develops personal responsibility. Disadvantages: More time-consuming Requires greatest counselor skill. 3. Participative Counseling: Both directive and non-directive methods suffer from limitations. While the former is often not accepted by independent employees, the latter needs professionals to operate and hence is costly. Hence, the counseling used in most situations is in between these two. This middle path is known as participative counseling. Participative is a counselor-counselee relationship that establishes a cooperative exchange of ideas to help solve an employee’s problems. It is neither wholly counselor-centered nor wholly counselee-centered. Counselor and counselee mutually apply their different knowledge, perceptions, skills, perspectives and values to problem into the problems and find solutions. Advantages and disadvantages of participative counseling Exhibit 3: Advantages and disadvantages of participative counseling Advantages: Moderately quick. Encourages maturity. Encourages open communication. Allows counselors to actively use their experience. Disadvantages: May take too much time for some situations. Methods of Employee Counseling Effectiveness of counseling largely depends on the methods and techniques as well as the skills used by the counselor. Methods and techniques of counseling change from person to person and from situation to situation. Normally employee counseling involves the following methods: 1. Desensitization: Once an individual is shocked in a particular situation, he gives himself no chance for the situation to recur. This method can be used to overcome avoidance reactions, so as to improve the emotional weak spots. If an employee is once shocked by the behavior, approach or action of his superior, he would continue to avoid that superior. It is difficult for such superiors to be effective counselors, unless such superiors prove otherwise through their behavior or action on the contrary. Similarly, once an employee is shocked by a particular situation, he can be brought back to that situation only if he will be convinced through desensitization that the shock will not to take place further. Counselor can make use of desensitization in such situations. 2. Catharsis: Discharge of emotional tensions can be called catharsis. Emotional tensions can be discharged by talking them out or by relieving of the painful experience which engendered them. It is an important technique as a means of reducing the tensions associated with anxiety, fear, hostility, or guilt. Catharsis helps to gain insight into the ways an emotional trauma has been affecting the behavior. 3. Insight: With the help of insight one may find that he has devalued himself unnecessarily, or his aspirations were unrealistic, or that his childish interpretation of an event was inaccurate. Then he can overcome his weakness. 4. Developing the new patterns: Developing new patterns becomes very often necessary when other methods to deal with weak spots remain ineffective. In order to develop new, more satisfying emotional reactions, the individual needs to expose himself to situations where he can experience positive feelings. The manager who deals with such individuals may motivate or instigate them to put themselves into such situations, so that their self-confidence may increase. Every counselor must concentrate his full attention on two aspects viz., using of assessment tools, and utilizing counseling methods, choice of which differs from person to person, situation to situation, and from case to case. The Counseling Process Effective counselors use the four stages of counseling process which are given as follows – A. Identify the need for counseling. B. Prepare for counseling. C. Conduct counseling. D. Follow up. A. Identify the Need for Counseling Quite often organizational policies, such as counseling associated with an evaluation or counseling required by the command, focus a counseling session. However, one may conduct developmental counseling whenever the need arises for focused, two-way communication aimed at subordinate development. Developing subordinates consists of observing the subordinate’s performance, comparing it to the standard, and then providing feedback to the subordinate in the form of counseling. B. Prepare For Counseling Successful counseling requires preparation. To prepare for counseling, do the following: 1. Select a suitable place. 2. Schedule the time. 3. Notify the subordinate well in advance. 4. Organize information. 5. Outline the counseling session components. 6. Plan your counseling strategy. 7. Establish the right atmosphere. 1. Select a Suitable Place: Schedule counseling in an environment that minimizes interruptions and is free from distracting sights and sounds. 2. Schedule the Time: When possible, counsel a subordinate during the duty day. Counseling after duty hours may be rushed or perceived as unfavorable. The length of time required for counseling depends on the complexity of the issue. Generally a counseling session should last less than an hour. If one need more time, schedule a second session. Additionally, select a time free from competition with other activities and consider what has been planned after the counseling session. Important events can distract a subordinate from concentrating on the counseling. 3. Notify the Subordinate Well in Advance: For a counseling session to be a subordinate-centered, two-person effort, the subordinate must have time to prepare for it. The subordinate should know why, where, and when the counseling will take place. Counseling following a specific event should happen as close to the event as possible. However, for performance or professional development counseling, subordinates may need a week or more to prepare or review specific products, such as support forms or counseling records. 4. Organize Information: Solid preparation is essential to effective counseling. Review all pertinent information. This includes the purpose of the counseling, facts and observations about the subordinate, identification of possible problems, main points of discussion, and the development of a plan of action. Focus on specific and objective behaviors that the subordinate must maintain or improve as well as a plan of action with clear, obtainable goals. 5. Outline the Components of the Counseling Session: Using the information obtained, determine what to discuss during the counseling session. Note what prompted the counseling, what one aims to achieve, and what one’s role as a  counselor is. Identifying possible comments or questions to help counselor to keep the counseling session subordinate-centered and to help the subordinate progress through its stages. Although counselor never knows what a subordinate will say or do during counseling, a written outline helps organize the session and enhances the chance of positive results. 6. Plan Counseling Strategy: As many approaches to counseling exist as there are leaders. The directive, nondirective, and combined approaches to counseling were addressed earlier. Use a strategy that suits your subordinates and the situation. 7. Establish the Right Atmosphere: The right atmosphere promotes two-way communication between a counselor and subordinate. To establish a relaxed atmosphere, you may offer the subordinate a seat or a cup of coffee. Counselor may want to sit in a chair facing the subordinate since a desk can act as a barrier. Some situations make an informal atmosphere inappropriate. For example, during counseling to correct substandard performance, as a counselor you may direct the subordinate to remain standing while you remain seated behind a desk. This formal atmosphere, normally used to give specific guidance, reinforces the leader’s rank, position in the chain of command, and authority. C. Conduct the Counseling Session Be flexible when conducting a counseling session. Often counseling for a specific incident occurs spontaneously as counselors encounter subordinates in their daily activities. Such counseling can occur in any suitable places wherever subordinates feel ease. Good counselors take advantage of naturally occurring events to provide subordinates with feedback. Even when counselor haven’t prepared for formal counseling, s/he should address the four basic components of a counseling session. The purpose is to guide effective counseling rather than mandate a series of rigid steps. Counseling sessions consist of: 1. Opening the session. 2. Discussing the issues. 3. Developing the plan of action. 4. Recording and closing the session. Ideally, a counseling session results in a subordinate’s commitment to a plan of action. Assessment of the plan of action (discussed below) becomes the starting point for follow-up counseling. 1. Open the Session: In the session opening, state the purpose of the session and establish a subordinate centered setting. Establish the preferred setting early in the session by inviting the subordinate to speak. The best way to open a counseling session is to clearly state its purpose. For example, an appropriate purpose statement might be: â€Å"The purpose of this counseling is to discuss your duty performance over the past month and to create a plan to enhance performance and attain performance goals.† If applicable, start the counseling session by reviewing the status of the previous plan of action. 2. Discussing the issues: The counselor and the subordinate should attempt to develop a mutual understanding of the issues. Counselor can best develop this by letting the subordinate do most of the talking. Use active listening; respond, and question without dominating the conversation. Aim to help the subordinate better understand the subject of the counseling, for example, duty performance, a problem situation and its impact, or potential areas for growth. Both counselor and subordinate should provide examples or cite specific observations to reduce the perception that either is unnecessarily biased or judgmental. However, when the issue is substandard performance, counselor should make clear how the performance didn’t meet the standard. The conversation, which should be two-way, then addresses what the subordinate needs to do to meet the standard. It’s important that he defines the issue as substandard performance and don’t allow the subordinate to define the issue as an unreasonable standard-unless he considers the standard negotiable or are willing to alter the conditions under which the subordinate must meet the standard. 3. Develop a Plan of Action: A plan of action identifies a method for achieving a desired result. It specifies what the subordinate must do to reach the goals set during the counseling session. The plan of action must  be specific: it should show the subordinate how to modify or maintain his behavior. It should avoid vague intentions such as â€Å"Next month I want you to improve your production skills.† The plan must use concrete and direct terms. A specific and achievable plan of action sets the stage for successful development. 4. Record and Close the Session: Although requirements to record counseling sessions vary, a counselor always benefits by documenting the main points of a counseling session. Documentation serves as a reference to the agreed upon plan of action and the subordinate’s accomplishments, improvements, personal preferences, or problems. A complete record of counseling aids in making recommendations for professional development, schools, promotions, and evaluation reports. To close the session, summarize its key points and ask if the subordinate understands the plan of action. Invite the subordinate to review the plan of action and what’s expected by counselor. With the subordinate, establish any follow-up measures necessary to support the successful implementation of the plan of action. These may include providing the subordinate with resources and time, periodically assessing the plan, and following through on referrals. Schedule any future meetings, at least tentatively, before dismissing the subordinate. D. Follow Up Counselor’s Responsibilities: The counseling process doesn’t end with the counseling session. It continues through implementation of the plan of action and evaluation of results. After counseling, counselor must support subordinates as they implement their plans of action. Support may include teaching, coaching, or providing time and resources. Counselor must observe and assess this process and possibly modify the plan to meet its goals. Appropriate measures after counseling include follow-up counseling, making referrals, informing the chain of command, and taking corrective measures. Assess the Plan of Action: The purpose of counseling is to develop subordinates who are better able to achieve personal, professional, and  organizational goals. During the assessment, review the plan of action with the subordinate to determine if the desired results were achieved. The counselor and the subordinate should determine the date for this assessment during the initial counseling session. The assessment of the plan of action provides useful information for future follow-up counseling sessions. Conclusion The ability to counsel is an important skill for managers and caring co-workers. Organizations that have people trained in counseling will be better able to handle their people issues than those that do not. Staffs who are feeling anxious, stressed, or unhappy will not be able to perform very well on the job despite their background and experience. If they have had an opportunity to talk through their problems with a trained counselor, they will be able to be much more productive. This will save the organization time and money. References 1. Blum, M. L., and Balinsky, B. Counseling and psychology. Egnlewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1954. 2. Bordin, E. S. Psychological counseling. New York: Appleton, 1955. 3. Maier, N. R. R. Principle of human relations. New York: Wiley, 1952. Ch. 12 & 13. 4. Counseling-techniques-in-an-organization, Available at:

Culture, Goal-Oriented Communication (Leadership)

Culture, Goal-Oriented Communication (Leadership), and A Fast Growing Organization: the case of Samsung Electronics Hur, Chulboo, Professor Emeritus, Myongji University, Seoul, Korea and Adjunct Professor of Business Management, Yanbian University of Science and Technology, Yianji, Jilin, China Mobile phone 010-9872-7492, e-mail: [email  protected] com and [email  protected] ac. kr Summary In response to the globalization and rapid economic growth of China, the Korean economy has transformed itself.A few Korean firms, spearheaded by Samsung Electronics, have successfully driven the economy, even if the Korean economy has difficulty in the ‘nut cracker’ situation. The success of Samsung Electronics has been attributed to the strategies of ‘selection and concentration,’ ‘successful restructuring following the IMF crisis,’ ‘long-term vision and unprecedented risk-taking strategy,’ ‘speed management,’ ‘world class brain management’ and ‘successful benchmarking of both Japanese and American management,’ among others. But in regard to Samsung’s strategies, cogent questions need to be examined. Associated essay: Pragmatism Over PrincipleFor example, would any Korean firm be able to apply the same strategies as used by Samsung Electronics, and produce the same success? No one could confidently say yes to this question. Samsung Electronics has dramatically achieved a successful transformation between 1987 and 1999. We argue that this is the result of Mr. Lee, Kun Hee (the ex-CEO of Samsung Group)’s strategic learning leadership and its resultant paradigm shift, and that this can be applied to the emergence phenomenon of complexity theory that provides the momentum of evolution of the corporate cultural and/or core competence.The paper explores the dynamic process of this phenomenon. 1 1. Introduction: Korean Economy and Samsung Electronics After three decades of rapid industrial growth, in itself a dramatic transformation from the poverty-stricken agricultural economy of 1961, the Korean industries became exposed to the predicament of borderless competition as well as the threat of the formidable super-speed chaser, the Chinese economy.In the time between Korea’s acceptance as a member of the WTO in 1992 and the IMF Control of the Korean Economy in December 1997, pessimism was high among the Korean leading circles regarding the future of the Korean firms and the economy. Nut Cracker Theory of the Korean Economy (Maekyung Booze Allen & Hamilton Report, July 1997) Japan 10. 22 2. 8845, 4,029, 3. 5696 Korea 1 1 1 1 China 2. 35, 5. 7994, 6. 09, 5. 8399 2000 World Bank estimated GDP ratio in black color 2007 IMF estimated GDP ratio in Red color 2007 US CIA estimated PPP adjusted GDP ratio in blue color 2000 World Bank estimated PPP adjusted GDP ratio in violet color The figures have been corrected in this diagram from the author’s 2004 article But miraculously, the Korean economy has partly escaped the â€Å"nut cracker situation,† thanks to a few large firms spearheaded by Samsung Electronics. For example, three Korean firms were selected in the Fortune 100 companies in 2006. They were Samsung Electronics, LG, and Hyundai Motors. But this year, Samsung Electronics was listed as the only Korean firm with US$92. 26 billion in sales in the Forbes 100. It 2 is ranked 6th among Asian firms, following Toyota, PetroChina, Mitsubishi, UF Financial, and Bank of China.Samsung electronics ranked 3rd in the Info Tech 100, in the 2007 Businessweek scoreboard, following AT&T and Hewlett Packard. Four Chaebol groups were responsible for 48% of the country’s exports, 49% of the Seoul stock market, and 42% of GDP based on sales in 2004. And in 2008,10 major export products from Chaebol groups account for 61. 1% of the nation’s total export (ChoongAng Daily, Feb. , 6, 2008). The Korean Economy Pulled by 4 Chaebol Groups ChoongAng Daily, April 29, 2004 The major Korean firms exhibiting global competitiveness are centered on the following industries: semiconductors/ TFT-LCD, mobile phones, petrochemical roducts, shipbuilding and small- and medium-sized automobiles. Businessweek (July, 2007), in cooperation with the English Interbrand Co. , reported that 3 Korean firms were included in the 100 global top brands value. They are Samsung Electronics, (21 th place); Hyundai 72nd place); and LG Electronics (97th place). Samsung’s brand value increased 4% from the previous year’s 15 billion dollars to 16. 4 billion dollars, but lost one place in ranking. Businessweek reported that Samsung Electronics is 3rd in Asia, after Toyota and Honda.Samsung is superb in LCD and high capacity memory chips, but suffered loss because it failed to enter into the low price cellular phone market in the year 2006. Hyundai Motors attained success by jumping to 72nd position from 2005’s 80th through explicit brand strategies and aggressive strategies in the overseas market, and thus 3 became the 8th global auto maker. LG also ascended 14% by improving brand value of 400 million dollars. USA captu red 1st through 5th places, and registered 52 firms: Germany, 10; France 9, Japan, 8; England 6; Swiss 4; Korea, 3; and Finland, Italy.Sweden, Spain, and Bermuda each listed 1 firm in the 100 brand powers. BusinessWeek July 2007, based on the Interbrand Co. , England Research data. 2007 Businessweek Top 100 Global Brands Scoreboard 2007 2006 Change Brand Name 2007 Coca-Cola Microsoft IBM GE Nokia Toyota Intel Honda Samsung E. Sony Hyundai Brand Value $m 2007 65,324 58,709 57,091 51,569 33,696 32,070 30,954 17,998 16,853 12,907 4,453 Brand Value $m 2006 67,000 56,926 56,201 48,907 30,131 27,941 32,319 17,049 16,169 11,695 4,078 Parent Company Coca-Cola Microsoft IBM GE Nokia Toyota Intel Honda Motor Samsung Sony Hyundai Motor MatsushitaBrand Brand in Rank Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 19 21 25 72 1 2 3 4 6 7 5 19 20 26 75 Country Rank 0 0 0 0 1 1 -2 0 -1 1 3 U. S. U. S. U. S. U. S. FINLAND JAPAN U. S. JAPAN S. KOREA JAPAN S. KOREA 78 77 -1 Panasonic 4,135 3,977 electric Industrial JAPAN 92 97 9 8 92 94 90 0 -3 -8 Lexus LG Nissan 3,354 3,100 3,072 3,070 3,010 3,108 Toyota Motor LG Nissan Motor JAPAN S. KOREA JAPAN Three years earlier in 2004, Businessweek (August 9~16, 2004) listed only Samsung Electronics as the sole Korean firm in the list of 100 global brands, and also placed the firm in 4th place in the global top 5 brands (world ranking was 21st).The Weekly also published a special edition on the Samsung brand (November 29, 2004) and reported that Samsung’s competitive edge came from cost reduction through innovation and world class industrial designers who enabled the firm to capture five world class 4 design prizes in 2004. The firm had also won over 100 design prizes between 2000 and 2004. Samsung Electronics ran her own innovative design institute, and its designers took lectures directly from IDEO, the top class US design company, and from faculty members of a US design school located in Pasadena, California.The number of the firm’s designers increas ed from 170 in 2000 to 480 in 2004, accordingly. In the following table, the 2008 Forbes global 2000 big companies are reclassified according to country. Reflecting unfavorable world trade, there are signs of setback for the firms of traditional trading countries like Korea and Japan in profit ratio, but one can notice an increase in the number of firms in oil exporting countries and BRIC countries. For example, in terms of sales volume, Japan had 87 firms and South Korea had 24 firms in the 2007 Fortune 500, as oppose to France’s 38, Germany’s 37, and Great Britain’s 33 firms. 008 Forbes 100, 500 and 2000 Large Companies* Countries USA France Germany Great Britain Japan China Swiss Canada Spain Italy Netherland Brazil Australia Belgium South Korea Russia Norway Finland Luxemberg Panama 100, 500, 2,000 29, 165, 590 9, 32, 67 9, 26, 59 8, 34, 120 7, 47, 260 5+1, 12+7, 70+39** 5, 11, 37 4, 20, 59 3, 13, 28 3, 10, 37 3, 10, 24 3, 7, 34 2, 12, 50 2, 3, 12 1, 12, 52 1, 9, 29 1, 5, 14 1, 3, 12 1, 1, 8 1, 1, 2 Class I II III 5 Sweden India Taiwan Singapore Ireland Bermuda South Africa Mexico Turkey Austria Greece Saudi Arabia Portugal Denmark Thailand Israel Cayman Islands Czech Republic 0, 10, 29 0. , 48 0, 4, 41 0, 4, 18 0, 4, 10 0, 3, 25 0. 3, 17 0, 3, 16 0, 3, 14 0, 3, 13 0, 3, 12 0, 2, 11 0, 2, 10 0, 2, 9 0, 1, 14 0. 1, 10 0, 1, 4 0, 1, 1 IV 6 Malaysia United Arab Emirates Kuwait Chile Indonesia Iceland Poland Qatar Egypt New Zealand Hungary Parkistan Philippines Peru Columbia Morocco Barain Jordan Liberia Channel Islands 0, 0, 15 0, 0, 11 0, 0, 7 0, 0, 7 0, 0, 5 0, 0, 4 0, 0, 4 0, 0, 4 0, 0, 3 0. 0, 2 0. 0, 2 0, 0, 2 0, 0, 2 0, 0, 2 0, 0, 2 0, 0, 2 0, 0, 2 0, 0, 1 0, 0, 1 0, 0, 1 V *The global 2000 by Forbes. com, April 2, The Forbes 500 and 2000 figures include Forbes 100 and 500 figures respectively. *The Hong Kong figures were added to the Chinese figures. Samsung Electronics has maintained its position as a leader in semiconductors for 12 years after seizing first place in the global memory semiconductor chip sector with the introduction of the first 256-megabyte D RAM chip in 1994. The firm has been the world leader in the 8 hitec products such as D RAM, 28. 7%; S Ram, 33. 3%; Flash Memory, 30. 7%; TFT-LCD, 20. 5%; Display Driver Chips; 20. 5%; Monitor, 15. 2%; digital TV sets, 10. 6%; and Mobile Phones, 14. 3% (2 nd place after Nokia, beating Motolora in 2006). The Group, in total, has 25 world best products.The firm has also been the number one exporter in Korea for 12 years since 1994. In 2004, Samsung Electronics has recorded W110 trillion in accumulated sales and W29 trillion in profits, clearing all the loss accumulated since 1973 when the firm first entered the semiconductor industry. In the entire semiconductor industry, including non-memory chip sectors, the firm is the world's second largest chip producer following Intel, the 7 world leader. The Samsung Group contributes 21% of the nation’s expor ts; 20% of the entire stock market; and in sales volume, 18% of the country’s GDP.As of 2005, Samsung has 23,000 researchers with over 2,400 doctoral degree holders spending an annual research fund of 4. 7 billion dollars. In 2000, Samsung ranked 6th in U. S. A. patent right applications. During 2005 and 2006, Samsung placed 5th. and aspires to be in the top 3 by the year 2007. (Lee, Chae Yoon, 2006) Samsung Electronics’ revenue was over 92. 26 billion dollars last year, but the firm recorded a 10. 3 billion dollar net profit in 2004, the 7th largest position among 9 world 10 billionaire firms. This surprised many Japanese opinion leaders, recalling the imilar phenomenon in 1999-2001, when a spectacular performance of net profit amounted to 120 billion won from semiconductors and mobile phones, at a time when almost all world leaders of semiconductor manufacturers recorded red ink (with the exception of GE, IBM, and Nokia. ) A bad period for chip producers worldwide, m any leading semiconductor manufacturers closed down their production lines. The number of worldwide semiconductor manufacturers has declined from 22 in 1998 to 12 since 2004, including such famous IT leaders like Toshiba, Motorola, and Fujitsu.Samsung Electronics faced some difficulty in mobile phones in 2006, but it improved in 2007, as there were some progress in the mobile communication services. Samsung Electronics agreed to begin 3rd generation WiBro commercial services across the United States on a nationwide basis with the service provider Sprint and Nextel, starting in 2008. WiBro is a wireless high-speed Internet technology that enables the transmission of data anytime, anywhere, even within vehicles moving faster than 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour or on mountaintops.The connection speed is even faster than a fixed-line Internet connection. In addition, Samsung Electronics has recently announced the development of the 4th generation WiBro technology which is expected t o operate five times faster than the presently available 3rd generation WiBro system. Korea's WiBro technology, also known as mobile WiMAX, is the result of three decades of continuous research. As it was solely developed in Korea, it is potentially far more lucrative than CDMA had been. The project was a product of collaboration between the Samsung Electronic research team and the governmental research lab 8 nder the governmental policy led by Minister Chin, Dae Jae, former President of Samsung Electronics, all under the influence of Samsung corporate culture, exemplified by: â€Å"look for our next lines of business, ten years ahead †¦Ã¢â‚¬  The story of Korea's advance in telecommunications began in the 1970s, when the mechanical national telephone system reached a saturation point. To resolve the problem, the Korean government decided in 1976 to develop Korea's own time division exchange, or TDX, a form of electronic operator. With 1,060 researchers working on the project , Korea became the 10th country in the world to develop her own TDX.At the helm of this project, part of his national development plans, was Park, Jung-hee. President Park, Jung-hee, a self-educated economist, was the nation’s top class expert on the history of Japanese modernization since Meiji Restoration (1869). He laid the ground of the Korean industrial development in 1961, following the Japanese track. He also indirectly influenced the growth of the Korean Chaebuls and their technological development/learning processes. In 1989, the Korean government developed the TDX-10, together with the governmental research intitutes, the researchers in the Chaebol groups, and from the universities.The outcome was a more sophisticated digital operator system, and as a result, Korea could afford to export the technology, although only a half of the parts used in the TDX were locally produced. However, all stages of the TDX-10, from design to software, were devised and produced in Kor ea. Samsung Electronics played a major part in the developmental procecess, but we must also note that Samsung alone started to build up global capabilities of semiconductor manufacturing all by herself as early as 1973. The foundation of Korea's subsequent success in mobile phones was laid in 993, when Korea became the first country in the world to commercialize the code division multiple access technology, or CDMA, conceptually developed in the laboratory level by a small U. S. firm, Qualcomm. Unlike the time division multiple access, or TDMA, system used in Europe, which assigned a specific frequency for each user, CDMA allowed multiple subscribers to a single frequency. The CDMA was adopted by Korea because of low connection error compared to other technology in the Korean situation of high population density, of mountainous areas and multiple concentrations of high rise building blocks. Expectations were high with the hope that the Korean firms would turn huge profits from the Korean’s share of CDMA technology improvement, as countries such as China, India, and Brazil decided to adopt the system. But with Qualcomm demanding high royalty payments on CDMA source technology, its price competitiveness soon eroded. (The Korean firms have paid over 1 trillion won or $1 billion in royalty payments to Qualcomm, the CDMA source technology holder up to date. )Moreover, Europe looked to nurture her own telecommunications companies with the development of the Global System for Mobile Communication, or GSM. The adoption of this updated version of TDMA meant Korean firms were further handicapped because the Korean firms were not able to sell CDMA technology to one of the world's biggest cellular phone markets. In short, Korea found success by copying foreign telecommunications technology in the 1980s; and by the 1990s, Korea was commercializing foreign developed technology but still had a long way to go until technological independence. (ChoongAng Daily Aug. 10, 2006)Future of Samsung Technological Capabilities: In close coordination with Government, Chaebol, and university research instututes, Korea developed a new generation of mobile phone wireless Internet technology. WiBro system, the new technology, is leading the rest of the world by years ahead. It is accepted as one of the standards by the World electronic organizations. Samsung Electronics has made trial-runs with Brazil, Venezuela, Croatia, and Saudi Arabia, and has begun entry into the US market, while telecommunication companies in Japan, Britain, France, and Italy, are showing keen interest in the technology.WiBro shall be the fourth generation technology, if the CDMA technology used today is considered as the third generation. According to the agreement with Sprint, the US partner, Samsung Electronics will provide base stations, handsets, and chipsets. About 100 small- and medium-sized business firms will participate as well. Samsung estimates that the deal will produce 33 t rillion won and create 270,000 new jobs. (ChoongAng Daily Aug. 9, 2006) Samsung Electronics has made successive technological breakthroughs, most recently in the world's first 50-gigabit NAND flash memory chip, employing a new method called the charge trap flash, or CTF.The firm is a world leader today in LCD TV, 10 mobile phone parts, and various memory chips. The CFT technology provides the foundation for entering the tera-bit [1,000-gigabit] age after 2010. Dr. Hwang, Chang-kyu, president in charge of Samsung Electronics R & D Division added that Samsung's semiconductor division was different from its competitors in terms of its dual investment in facilities as well as in research and development. â€Å"This year, we spent 2. 8 trillion won ($2. 9 billion) on semiconductor research and development.For CTF technology, we started to develop it five years ago and created an independent developing team three years ago. We have 30 to 40 of these development teams, so imagine what kin d of developments we can achieve in 5 to 10 years,† he said. He had rosy predictions for the DRAM and graphic DDR DRAM markets, saying they were diversifying and could lead to a supply shortage. â€Å"Even now, Samsung is only able to meet 70 percent of the demand. Prices shall be good until 2009,† he said. â€Å"Samsung currently occupies 50 to 60 percent of the graphic DDR market and will provide 100 percent of the chips for the Nintendo game players,† he added.Samsung Electronics developed the first 256-megabit NAND flash memory in 1999, and ever since, the company has doubled the capacity of its semiconductor on a yearly basis. The industry has even dubbed this phenomenon as â€Å"Hwang's Law,† an allusion to Moore's Law, which states that the processing power of chips will double every 18 months. NAND flash memory chips are mostly used to store data in small devices such as digital cameras and music players. The chip Samsung presented was made using 4 0nano technology; last year, chips were made using 50-nano technology. The difference allows more semiconductors to be produced from each wafer.Forty nanometers is 3,000 times thinner than a human hair. It is expected that the new NANO chip would create new Flash memory chip demand worth $60. 6 billion by the year 2016 when the technology becomes fully commercial in 2008 2. Previous Research works on the Samsung Transformation Samsung Electronic’s evolution from a fledgling company within a developing nation to a powerhouse global leader and technological innovator has attracted much attention from academicians and journalists, and as a result, numerous articles have documented the transformation, mostly from Samsung in-house researchers, journalists, and some 1 Japanese observers and scholars, as well as a few Korean scholars. Senior researcher Chang, SangSoo from Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI, August, 2005) observed that the Samsung Group has gone through four s tages of growth in an accelerated pace, owing to the superb leadership of the CEO and the inspiring corporate culture in which the upper management work under a shared value system, exemplified by: â€Å"a single mind towards a single goal. † His four growth stages are as follows: 1) Inauguration of the enterprise and foundation of the system between 1938 to late 1950’s: Included in this period were the turmoil and confusion of the Liberation (1945), the Independence (1948), and the Korean War (1950 -1953). Samsung has started the first Japanese-style public new employee recruit examination in Korean history as early as in 1957. (Recruitment of recent college graduates based on general examinations—in effect, an IQ test. ) (2) Growth from a small- and medium-sized firm to one of the large firms in Korea. It had elements of the early stages of a business group.It was the period of General Park, Chung-hee’s Military Coup and the launching of successive five -year economic development plans between late ‘50’s to mid ‘60’s. (3) Ascendance to the Korean top enterprise between late ‘60’s to late ‘80’s. This period includes the 6th Five-Year Economic Development Plan and the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. (4) Ascendance to the global top Enterprise between late ‘80’s to now. This period started with the transfer of the leadership from the first generation group chairmanship to the second generation group chairmanship, thereby marking â€Å"new management. There were crises, rising from the Korean WTO participation, and turmoil caused by the IMF crisis, as well as the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. Chang believes that the quantum leap resulted from the superb human resources management and the overall strategies of the Samsung group. Samsung Electronics, the forerunner of the Samsung group, has gone through a paradigm shift of personnel management in the following ways: 1. 2. Growth s trategy based on mass production and economy of scale centering on seniority pay system until 1996. Survival strategies under IMF crisis–employing a merit system of individually 12 ifferentiated salaries between 1998 and 1999. 3. Core competence based personnel administration of up-grading overseas personnel and team based compensation system adopting profit sharing and stock option programs between 2000 and 2002. 4. Further strengthening of the core competence based personnel administration aiming at solidifying the pool of the global top grade human resources. And the evolution of the human resources management has been reinforced by: (1) The regional expert system for the employees to get on-the-spot training for one year. Over 2800 persons have gone through the program between 1990 and 2004. 2) Through Samsung MBA program since 1995, the firm conferred the master degree to some 460 persons. The program is divided into Socio-MBA and Techno-MBA programs. (3) Under the overs eas genius program, over 100 full scholarship grants were awarded to top 5% level students enrolled in India, China, and Russian top universities since 1995. (4) An in-house semiconductor college was established for 30 graduates with BS degrees, 20 graduates with masters degrees, and 3 graduates with doctoral degrees. (5) An in-house manufacturing technology college was set up for the retraining of 100 overseas engineers. 6) Five to six week courses for the functional expertise educational programs were set up to provide training for some 700 specialists in the fields of finance, planning, procurement, marketing, and personnel administration. Autographic writer Hong, Ha Sang (2005) sketched 16 Samsung top managers, both in Korean and Japanese. He emphasized, similar to the opinions of many Japanese journalists, that the troika leading the Samsung transformation consisted of (1) Chaiman Lee, Kun Hee, (2) a group of professional managers, and (3) the Center for Structural Realignment. Cho, Tu Sup, Professor of Yokohama National University and former Professor of Nagoya University in Japan with Yoon, Chong-sup, his Ph. D. student and a researcher of SERI, wrote a book in Japan titled, â€Å"Samsung strategy to technological capability – technological learning process towards global business,† based on Yoon’s dissertation 13 (2004). Their research is centered on a single business entity, an organic cluster comprised of four Samsung companies. They are: Samsung Electronics, Samsung SDI, Samsung Corning, and Samsung Electricity.And their classification of the technological learning process includes the following four stages: (1) Absorption stage: It took place in the early 1970’s in a declining industry of black and white TVs, tuners, cathodes, tubes, DY and FBT. Samsung relied on a simple assembly line technology of joint venture partners, such as Sanyo, NEC, and Corning. But Samsung also intensified its technological absorption, having i ts engineers attempt to reverse-engineer beyond the level of formal technological cooperation by penetrating into the tacit knowledge behind the explicit knowledge.The firm implemented strategies of producing the parts domestically rather than simply relying on the importation of parts from partner companies. Samsung Electronics also established the vertical integration of the electronic products, even starting to export black and white TV sets to Japan on OEM basis. Depended on the Japanese technology. (2) Emulation stage: It started in the late 70’s as it evolved into color TV set assembly. Samsung had developed some level of maturity in technological capability through reverse-engineering. And as a result, Samsung could take ver some of the decision power of the joint ventures. (3) Improvement stage: It took place in ‘80’s, a rapid growth stage for Samsung technology in the area of large size flat panel TV including large size CPT, CTD, and CRT. Samsung became self-sufficient in designing numerous models and developed mass production technology. The firm could export plants and compete with overseas manufactures of color TV sets with its own R&D division. Samsung diversified its products including the development of an overseas sales network. (4) Innovation stage. The ‘90’s and beyond marks the development of high efinition TV and digital TV. Samsung solely developed TVs of an original concept, such as thin TV sets. Samsung could enjoy the freedom of cross licensing, strategic alliance, and it could export products on her own brand, through her own network of overseas production bases. The book does not deal with semiconductor technology capability building, because Samsung had to build the capability all alone, as no advanced nations were willing to provide assistance in the sensitive area. However, the corporate culture of strategic 14 learning has been preserved and documented. When Korean technological and ducational cap abilities were poorer in comparison to that of advanced nations, Samsung’s intense in-house higher educational system continued to benchmark themselves against the GE in-house educational system, and Lee, Kun Hee’s â€Å"genius management† provided many effective solutions. Professor Kim Shin proposed a strategic model of Samsung in comparison with Toyota Motors. (June, 2003. Japan Korea Association of International Management, Tokyo. ) Samsung Electronics World rank 3rd in IT, Fortune ranking 115th and Financial Times, 67 2002 records th Toyota Motors 3rd in Auto, Fortune ranking 10 h Sales, 40. 5 billion; Net profit 7. 25 bil. (Won) 14. 5% of total South Korean export Sales, 16 billion; Net profit, 1. 4 bil (Yen) Management strength Superior adaptation motivation human to resources, change, high speedy work Positive adaptation to change, Rational management based on strong community spirit JIT inventory management Unique management concept Digital convergence Production mode Production of multiple products in small quantity Production of multiple products in small quantity Japan is in trouble but Toyota is an exception Corporate image Digital best StrategyGlobal HRM, increase the number of the world best products and social Globalization, Concentration on and sustained cost reduction R&D friendliness Chang, Se-Jin (2008) also compares Sony and Samsung, the winners of both analogue electronics and digital electronics centering on strategies and HRM. Journalist/writer Lee, Chae Yoon (2006) compared Samsung and Toyota in a similar manner: He observed that Toyota benchmarked Ford to overcome the adverse productivity rate of 8 to 1 as early as 1935, and again in 1949, and, in that process, Toyota developed what is known as the Toyota Production System, or Just In Time 5 (JIT) and Kanbang system (zero inventory), all contributing to the â€Å"Toyota Way. † He also observed that since 1987, Samsung has benchmarked GE and Toyota in the de velopment of world best products, speedy decision making, and R&D and Market strategies. A senior consultant and an expert on the Korean industry, Midarai Hizami ( ) from the Nomura Research Institute of Japan observed that the strength of the Korean business system reform lies in the efficacy of the Samsung Electronics’ decision making mechanism, which was lacking in the Japanese firms. (2005) He observed that Mr.Lee Kun Hee, in power, was making important decisions, and the system of external board members and board of directors was nominal in the corporate governance. He summarized that the uniqueness of Samsung Electronics was due to (1) the corporate chairman’s unique ability for judgment and leadership, (2) existence of a corporate strategic center called the Center of Structural Realignment, (3) delegation of power to professional managers and their compensation system, and (4) business projects based on strategic marketing viewpoint. Finally Midarai proposed th at the Japanese company reform planners had to be mindful of the Samsung system.A business consultant and Chairman of Japan Debate Association, Kitaoka, Doshiaki (? ), published a book titled â€Å"I am afraid of Samsung† documenting a year long debate series on the threat of Samsung and how the Japanese firms could roll back. He concluded that Mr. Lee Kun Hee was a genius, who had an exceptional gift in both technology and management, and who would concentrate solely on long-range strategic research to command outstanding think tanks and watch dogs called the Strategic Realignment Center and the Samsung Economic Research Institute.He also argued that, with Mr. Lee’s long-range strategic view, swift decision making, and enormous scale of resources allocation, Samsung could have overrun all the world top class giants of the Japanese electronic firms when the IT bubble collapsed in 2002. He felt that the Japanese CEOs were handicapped because they would stay in their po sitions for a relatively short term (2-3 years), while Mr. Lee, Kun Hee could stay in his office for life, thereby able to formulate long-range strategies for Samsung.He argued that the Koreans were so dogged that they were posing a potential threat to the future of the Japanese firms’. 16 Hasekawa, Tanashi ( ), management professor of Kyotokakuen University, contributed an article to Nikkei Business Monthly Magazine and commented that the Samsung quantum jump from Korea’s best to global leader was dependent solely on Mr. Lee Kun Hee’s leadership. (July 11, 2006) He observed that when the global IT bubble collapsed in 2000, Samsung surpassed the poorly performing Japanese electronic firms including Sony, and became a global IT power.In the process, Mr. Lee’s â€Å"New Management† became the leading vehicle of the transformation process. According to Dr. Hasekawa, ex-CEO Lee Kun Hee. lead the Samsung innovation even before the Korean economy was cru shed by the 1997 liquidity crisis, by taking the shareholders seriously, putting emphases on the transparency of management and accounting, personnel management based on ability, and the introduction of an annual salary system. In addition, he observed that the Center for Strategic Realignment, in cooperation with Mr.Lee Kun Hee and the professional managers, played key roles in information gathering, sense-making, and planning in an organic manner to effectively operate the overall business. An example can be found in the merging of the semiconductor and telecommunication business units. The decision to select and concentrate on three major areas, namely electricity-electronics, finance-trading, and service, has provided the basis for the Samsung jump into a position of global power. 3. DiscussionThe points of Chang, Sang Soo’s (SERI, August, 2005) four stages of growth, the jump from the Korean top to the global top based on the superb leadership of ex-CEO Lee Kun Hee and t he superb corporate culture of upper managements’ shared value, exemplified by â€Å"a single mind towards a single goal,† is well understood in a post facto analysis. But his proposal of a superb human resources management, outstanding educational system, and retraining systems can be better understood as an end result of the strategic means rather than as the actual cause of the transformation.After all, most of the leading global firms of Japan, USA, and Korea share similar characteristics with Samsung. Nonetheless, it is possible that Samsung has simply benchmarked itself against these rival companies, surpassing them even, in regards to these specific factors. Although Chang, Sang Soo’s proposal could be understood as a occurrence of novelty, with a serendiptious effect resulting from its organizational development techniques. However, Samsung’s transformation has not been a transient phenomenon. 7 In fact, Kim, Chang and Lee,s comparson of strategei s and HRM is not sufficient to explain the rapid change processes of Samsung. And many writers make a point to emphasize the rapid and timely decisions made by Lee, Kun Hee in regards to the speedy growth process, as well the leadership undeterred by outside inteference. Samsung, at its inception under the leadership of Mr. Lee, Byung Chul (founder and the first CEO of the Group), had been an ardent follower of Japanese Management. Mr.Lee received his education from Waseda University in Japan before WWII, and was famous for his annual â€Å"Tokyo Conceptualization:† He would stay in Tokyo at the beginning of every year in order to learn firsthand the forecasts of the coming year as made by Japanese journalists and economists through TV and mass communication media. He also had a Japanese girl friend in Tokyo. Also, he carefully studied the Japanese government’s new year economic plans and new year strategies for major Japanese corporations.He would personally follow th rough this information with Japanese experts and leading Japanese businessman friends. He, then, would collect necessary books and articles and return to Korea to encourage his top managers to read the material before formulating each year’s strategies and planning for the entire Samsung group. In addition, they also examined the forecasts made by the Korean experts. Mr. Lee, Byung Chul was not only the first generation CEO for Samsung but also one of the pioneers of the contemporary businessmen of Korea.Partly we can state that Samsung Group is an outcome of the Korean government’s modernization effort to transform the economy from one of the world’s poorest agricultural economy to an advanced industrial economy under President Park, Jung Hee between 1961 to 1979. However Samsung had been a forerunner of a small group of successful large corporations who quickly grew to keep pace with the rapid growth of the national economy. It was well known that President Pa rk, Jung Hee, the architect of the Korean economic miracle, had thoroughly studied and became one of the Korean op level experts on the Japanese industrialization history since the Meiji Restoration. But General Park was not particularly favorable towards Samsung from the beginning of May 16, 1961, the date of his military coup d’etat. Rather he was hostile, in the early days of coup, toward all the Chaebol or rich men because of his concept of socialistic and Confucian justice, at the time, reflecting the general sentiment of Korea and the ever critical Korean mass communication. General Park’s economic development policy was greatly influenced by socialistically oriented economist Park, 18Hi Bum, the then dean of Commerce College, Seoul National University, and they agreed to mobilize capital from the rich families including the Chinese restaurant owners in Korea. Furthermore, the Military Government staged a currency reform with disastrous results. The event provide d Mr. Lee, Byung Chul from Samsung Group momentum to stage a personal confrontation with General Park (who then was elected to the Presidency of Korea) in 1963, and persuaded President Park with a plan of industrialization of import substituting, export oriented growth policy, and the normalization with Japan.Lee, Byung Chul contributed an article on the same idea of Korean economic development plan to Hankuk Daily Newspaper in Seoul, then, owned and operated by Deputy Prime Minister of Economy, Chang, Ki Yung. In the earlier phase of Korean industrialization, there was serious debate among the scholars and policy makers of Korea, with forceful arguments that Korea should build agriculture first before industrialization, because Korea had no basis of industrialization at all.These models were available in Taiwan and Denmark. And Denmark educated agricultural economist Yoo, Dal Young and Max Weber economist Choe, Moon Whan, both from SNU, who were in turn personally tutoring Presiden t Park, who would later formulate Saemaul movement to change the Korean farmers’ culture, in the manner of McClelland’s achievement motivation education from Harvard, in order to develop an agricultural economy without much material investment. Since Mr.Lee, Byung Chul and President Park, Jung Hee’s meeting, President Park decided to take Mr. Lee, Byung Chul’s Japanese style of the â€Å"industrialization first policy† with a Weberian push, in addition to his all-out effort on the export oriented industrialization projects and thereby attained the ‘Han River miracle’. But in the process, he delayed the ever mounting public desire for democratization and ended his life tragically in October 24, 1979, with his famous last words, â€Å"spat upon my tomb later. After a few years of trial and effort, President Park’s economic plan was more or less settled around the US educated econometrician Nam, Duk Woo, an engineer oriented burea ucrat Oh, Won Chul, along with the use of the history of Japanese industrialization as the main textbook after normalization with Japan in the mid ‘60’s. Also, his policy line did not deviate much from Samsung’s first CEO Lee, Byung Chul’s 9 original 1963 proposal. Along the same line of thought, Hong, Ha Sang’s (2005) sketching of Samsung’s top professional managers can also be taken as providing the necessary condition for the transformation because all leading OECD global corporations have plenty of top level professional managers similar to Samsung’s â€Å"genius management. But the genius does not automatically yield global management. Anyway, Mr. Lee, Kun Hee, in a way, has adopted American style management on top of his inherited Japanese style management with a Korean color, by recruiting global scale top managers with engineering backgrounds, which is rare in traditional Korean managers unless the founders also have engineeri ng backgrounds.Because of business closely linked to the governmental economic development plan at the same time to deal with every level of governmental Confucian feudalistic heritage, most of the top managers from large corporations have consisted of economists and lawyers to cope with the governmental or pseudo governmental interference and for lobbying purposes. Mr.Lee, Kun Hee maintained groups of lawyers and economists, but he stepped aside from the Korean conventional practice and recruited professional top managers from a combined elite of engineering and business specialties and encouraged them to break away from their traditional conservative bureaucrat nutshells and exhibit their high level entrepreneurship of experimentation including a certain a latitude of failure toleranceNikkei Business weekly magazine, (July 14, 2006) maintained that â€Å"Samsung power originates from passion and solidarity,† and this was the very aspect that was missing in the Japanese firm . It was pointed out in the article that the strength of Samsung human resources management can be found in the strength of regional expert development program to strengthen Samsung marketing in strategic regions such as China and India, as well as in the potential growth markets, like France and Italy.The missing link was not fully described in the article regarding the â€Å"passion and solidarity† behind the superb HRM. The question remains: What makes the top managers and employees deeply moved with this burning passion? A Korean diplomat, who was stationed in Japan for a long time, wrote a very persuasive book in Japanese, contrasting the two different cultures of Korea and Japan: Park, Seun Moo, ‘Sunbi’ (humanity scholar-poet-politician) and ‘Samurai’ (sword man-scholar-politician), 20 Tokai University, Japan (2004).One aspect of contrast can be seen between emotive idealism and cool headed pragmatism. And there are some scholars and businessme n in Korea who can harness the Korean passion and emotive energy into the productive Korean style business management: Lee, Myun-woo, â€Å"Create W theory of Korea, 1969† (as oppose to McGregor’s X theory and Y theory and Okuchi’s Z theory or Americanized Japanese theory) and Lee, Chang-woo, â€Å"Han Management, 1992† (Harness Long suppressed emotion, Han, 1994) Chin, Dae-jae, â€Å"Manage Passion, 2006† The secret also lies in the American style competitive compensation system.In the words of Mr. Lee: â€Å"The incentive system is the greatest invention of the century, turning the tide favorably for capitalism, vis-a-vis socialism† where the top managers’ annual income is roughly several times higher than that of the comparable top managers in Korea, and the system runs down throughout the Samsung system to the very bottom. Cho, Tu Sup and Yoon, Chong Sup’s joint work narrates the learning and maturity process of Samsungâ₠¬â„¢s technological capability. The work is descriptive of the past track, but it is limited in causal analysis.However, the strategy of technological capacity has been the core of the Samsung organizational learning in the age of globalization, â€Å"the first comer takes all. † â€Å"There is no place for the second comers,†-all translated into the catch phrase—increase the number of the world best products. Also, Samsung observers do not fail to mention the golden triangle of Mr. Lee, Kun Hee, the Center for Structural Realignment, and the outstanding abilities of elite top management groups, as the source of the Samsung transformation from the Korea best to the global best.But Japanese observers tend to put more emphasis on the outstanding leadership of ex CEO Lee, Kun Hee. There are at least three books published by a group of Korean journalists and a writer. They are â€Å"Samsung Rising: Why Samsung Electronics is Strong,† (2002, Hankuk Economic Da ily) â€Å"Lee, Kun Hee,† by Hong, Ha Sung (2003, Hankuk Economic Daily), covering the period immediately after the Samsung Spectacular Performance between 1999 – 2002, and a slightly critical autobiography by Kang, Jung Man, titled â€Å"Lee, Kun Hee’s Era,† reflecting increasing criticism of Mr.Lee because of a †no union policy† and a suspected immoral deal in the process regarding his property inheritance for his son, etc. (2005, Personality and Thought) 21 What has Samsung achieved in the process of organizational transformation that made a paradigm shift to facilitate an essential part of the Korean-style management? In other words, what kind of model or models could be applied to explain the transformation processes of Samsung Electronics and Samsung Group? There are at least three models, which can explain the change process of Samsung.These are: Strategy models such as R&D strategy and core competence models. Organizational theory mode ls such as HRM, leadership, learning and culture Knowledge management model But each of these models can only provide a partial explanation of the dynamic processes of organizational transformation within the Samsung Group. Strategy models: R&D strategy and core competence model: There is the effect of equifinality, one of the concepts of General Systems Theory and/or contemporary complexity theory) in most of the successful firms’ strategies and outcomes.All the global leaders have similar strategies in the large framework of aspiration towards global leadership. The question is, how does one attain them. Almost every Chebol group with better technological leadership adopted a similar strategy when South Korea signed the WTO membership in 1992, but only Samsung has reached the goal(s). The simple contrast cannot explain the dynamics behind the quantum leap of Samsung from a developing nation status to the advanced nation status of Sony, Erickson, and Motorola, the establishe d leaders of the industrialized countries.Samsung can be better compared to the NEC case of 1980’s vis-a-vis GTE. C. K Prabalad and Gary Hamel (Harvard Business Review, 1990) observed that top executives will be judged on their ability to identify, cultivate, and exploit core competencies that make growth possible. And Mr. Lee is the right person in that capacity for Samsung. GTE 1980 Sale 1988 Sale $9. 98 billion $16. 48 billion NEC $3. 8 billion $21. 89 billion 22 In 1988, GTE has become a telephone operating company with a position in defense and lighting.GTE has divested Sylvania TV and Telenet and put switching, transmission, and digital PABX into joint ventures. In the same year NEC has emerged as a world leader in semiconductors, consolidated a position in mobile telephones, facsimiles, laptop and mainframe computers. As early as in 1970, NEC communicated her strategic intent of computer and communication convergence (C&C) both internally and externally. The NECâ€℠¢s strategy has been adopted by most South Korean firms as the Government proclaimed in 1983, the 1st year of the Korean Information Age.Samsung Group has concentrated her whole effort towards the strategic intent of â€Å"world best† and â€Å"increase number of world best products. † It’s organizational culture is simplified in this precise catch phrase and readily communicated to every corner of the system. According to the authors Prahalad and Hamet, The most powerful way to prevail in the global competition in the ‘80’s were top executives’ ability to restructure, de-clutter, and de-layer their corporation, but in the ‘90’s on, they will be judged on their ability to identify, cultivate, and exploit the core competencies that make growth possible.And this was exactly what Mr. Lee did since the beginning of his chairmanship. Samsung’s successful transformation in the last decade or more can be explained from successful organizational change and innovation model and/or leadership model and/or strategy of core competence building model and/or knowledge management model and more. But it can be enveloped into organizational learning, centering on transformation of organizational culture and cultivation of core competence. Some observers attested that Jack Welch started from restructuring to reform of organizational culture, but Mr.Lee went the other way around because the very unfavorable Korean socio-cultural environment and the 1997 IMF crisis have facilitated the process. Now under Mr. Lee, Kun Hee the leadership of the new Korean management style is a blend of both Japanese and American styles of external labor market and differential compensation and no life long employment, with the element of Silicon Valley’s revolutionary spirit. And it is also actively benchmarked by many Korean firms, as observed by Professor Lee Byung Chul (2002).There are indications that Japan, too, is groping rel uctantly towards a new model. 23 After all, many aspects of the Japanese cultural model can be considered as a reflection of globally small firms in the stage of rapid growth, rather than the uniqueness of the culture. A new approach is recommended to tap â€Å"culture† holistically and longitudinally instead of by simple snapshot of two firms for better causal explanation as practiced by political scientists, communication scientists, and sociologists relying on secondary sources of data too. Samsung leadership under Mr.Lee has gone through a systematic, dynamic, organic and nonlinear process of leadership of strategic or targeted organizational learning centering on core competence building. In the global arena, prevailing firms are mutually inspired by a competitive mutual benchmarking process among the world best firms. And it is observed that, of late, Samsung and Toyota are mutually benchmarking. (Lee, Chae Yun, 2006) Recently, Mr. Lee stated, in the presidential meetin g of Samsung corporations, â€Å"we don’t need top executives who are copying someone else’s ideas and strategies†. As many of our products are in the leading positions in the global market, we lost the target to benchmark or imitate. Samsung must strive towards a unique and differentiated creative management. † â€Å"With negotiation on FTA with U. S. A. for an accelerated domestic market opening and with China making a big stride in the global market, we are faced with both crises and opportunities. We must discover and cultivate a creative management system and creative personnel. † (Hankyung Economic daily, June 28, 2006) As many observers have attested, Samsung Electronic has the elements of GE and Toyota.It is natural that any firm among the global leaders would attempt to benchmark the best practices for the best performing companies. But one should not overlook the fact that there is an organic approach in the Samsung word â€Å"fusion. â⠂¬  Technological capability advancement, strategies of marketing and finance, and the process to convert into market taste of design are simultaneously used to break through the barriers of bureaucracy, or the tyranny of the small business unit, as written by Prabalad and Hamel (1990). Bureaucracy is the greatest invention of the Industrial Revolution.The founding fathers of economics and sociology, Adam Smith and Max Weber, respectively, described the merits in an elaborated manner: specialization and division of labor. How to retain the merits of the system and at the same time reduce the inherent problems of delay and red tape? In 1992, Mr. Lee was awarded the Korean Management Prize 24 of the Year at Korea University by the largest Korean business professor’s academy, The Korean Association of Business Administration. In his acceptance speech, Mr. Lee said in a slow and hesitant voice, â€Å"I was once approached by a Japanese engineer at Kimpo Airport.He said that Sam sung Electronic developed a high quality DRAM no sooner than the time when the Japanese rivaling company announced its own development. Our production was 6 months delayed by Samsung’s inner paperwork. So, for the next time, I assembled every concerned party so that we could announce the next generation chip simultaneously with the world big leaders, and eventually we beat them. † This was exactly the way how the late President Park handled the problems by regularly holding the Blue House Expanded Presidential Export Expansion meetings.Quite a few Japanese specialists on Samsung have observed that Samsung’s strength lies in the fact that Lee, Kun Hee’s term of office is indefinite, allowing him a free hand to delve into long range opportunities and strategic visions, while the Japanese CEO’s term of office lasts only 2-3 years, on average. This reminds us of the similar observations made by American scholars in the ‘70’s and ‘80â €™s. The Japanese CEOs were obligated to satisfy the major shareholders, the bank, whereas the American CEOs had to satisfy shareholders every year.However one should take note of the Samsung golden triangle in terms of its dynamics. Kang, Woo-ran, SERI (2006) conducted a survey to find that the Korean firms with Owner CEO- Professional managers combination out-achieved, as compared with Professional CEO only model or Owner CEO only model between 1986 and 2004. Michael Porter (1996 2004) suggested that the often acclaimed strategy of Japanese management was nothing but operational effectiveness. The Japanese businessman quickly caught up with the American businessman in a relatively short time span, between the 1960’s and 1980’s.In the process, Japanese firms exhibited core competence and accompanying Japanese best practices. They were recaptured by the American scholars in the form of new management theories: Total quality management, 6 sigma management, MIS netwo rk linked inventory-delivery systems, lean management and restructuring, knowledge management, benchmarking, organizational learning, to name a few. So the Japanese firm’s comparative advantages have been shared by many global firms in a slightly differentiated manner. 25 4.Culture, Goal Oriented Communication (Leadership) and A Fast Growing Organization, Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics’, the centerpiece of the Samsung group, market value was only 420,680 million won in 1987 when ex CEO Lee, Kun Hee assumed the chairmanship. Ten years later in 1997, it was 3,996,909. 66 million won or roughly 950% increase. That is not bad. But from that time on, there has been a steep ascending of the market value of 12,179% increase of 91,671,138. 128 million won in 2007. One would naturally be tempted to ask, â€Å"What happened to the leadership of the first 10 years with ex-chairrman Lee, Kun Hee? Sams u ng Electro nics Market V alu e (1,000w o n) 12 0,00 0,0 00,0 00 10 0 ,00 0,0 00,0 00 80 ,00 0,00 0,0 00 60 ,00 0,00 0,0 00 40 ,00 0,00 0,0 00 20 ,00 0,00 0,0 00 Name 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Name Samsung Electronics Market Value (Unit 1,000 won equals roughly 1 to 1. 30 US Dollars) 1983 63,350,000 1989 1,640,470,000 1984 76,950,000 1990 1,318,439,793 1985 137,500,000 1991 1,328,438,858 1980 41,440,000 1986 308,000,000 1992 1,587,069,540 1987 981 59,500,000 1988 1982 64,400,000 420,680,000 1993 1,020,330,990 1994 6,272,521,240 3,013,541,426 1995 9,052,186,755 2001 44,932,513,615 2006 1996 3,579,480,030 2002 51,542,526,788 2007 1997 3,996,909,660 2003 73,785,248,588 1998 10,918,438,172 2004 73,174,129,278 1999 44,086,251,261 2005 108,281,475,740 2000 25,544,557,299 26 2006 0 101,254,538,541 91,671,138,128 Key Figures Representing Changes in Samsung Group in 20 Years Unit Sales Trillion Won 1987 17 2006 152 Ratio 8. 9 Profit Tax Before 0. 27 14. 2 52 . 8 Market Value 1 140 140Export 9 663 73. 7 Brand Value 100 dollars million None 169 (2007) N/A Number of Employees 10,000 men 16 25 1. 6 Source: Samsung Greoup PA Office Materials, Feb. , 2008. Scanning through the observervations made of Samsung Electronics’ rapid growth, one factor clearly emerges–the ex-CEO Lee, Kun Hee’s leadership as the success factor including his bold and swift large scale investment decisions at key junctures: When there was a debate over DRAM and SRAM, it was Lee, Kun Hee’s decision concerning DRAM, difficult to develop, but with he promise of a greater potential market. And the decision turned out to be a very wise one. When Samsung started to build Kiheung semiconductor lines, it was completed in 6 months while similar lines would take one year and a half in the overseas cases. Chang, Sang Soo (2005) observed that Samsung Group has gone through 4 stages of growth in an accelerated pace based on superb leadership of ex-CEO Le e Kun Hee and superb corporate culture of upper managements’ shared value: â€Å"a single mind towards a single goal. It indicates that Samsung’s global technological capability development has been possible due to the transformation of corporate culture as one of the pillars of Samsung global competence. So the leadership in transforming the Samsung culture and core competence by Lee Kun Hee has created the paradigm shift. 27 To understand Lee Kun Hee’s leadership, the comparison of first and second generation corporate culture is in order. Over the years, Mr. Lee, Byung Chul an ardent Japan learner had shaped Samsung as a rational bureaucratic model under a fragile and protective Korean economy.Korea did not have any capital, so the government obtained good quality loans and grants from the USA, West Germany, Japan, and World economic organizations, and in turn provided loans to selected Korean firms under the condition that the firms use the funds to set up industries within the guideline of the Government Plans. The interest rates were at international level, but the Korean market bank loan rate was several times higher under the high inflation rate, and thus the economic developmental loans were highly covetous in Korea.And this is one of the sources of the blame on the Chaebol and rich families receiving the governmental special favor, or the politician-capitalists corruption suspicion to date. Having neither technological nor managerial capabilities, most Korean firms exploited the cheap labor from the agricultural sector, at the same time attempting to build scale economy as sources of international competition emphasizing quantity in light industry and new and primitive petro-chemical and heavy industry. And Mr. Lee, Kun Hee emphasized quality over quantity in his first statement soon after his chairmanship inauguration.Against such backdrops, Chang, Sang Soo compared the first generation and second generation corporate culture a s follows: Change of Samsung Core Values First Generation Corporate Culture (1938-1987) (1988 – 1993. 3) Second Generation Corporate Culture 1993. 3- to date Second Founding Father’s Doctrine(1993) Dedicate to the human society through the best Founding Father’s Doctrine (1973) Contribute to nation through business Put priority on human resources Seek rationality Samsung Spirit (1984) Creativity High ethical standard Be Number one in the nation Perfectionism Co-prosper anpower, technology and the best services Samsung Spirit (1993) Co-prosper with customers Challenge to the world Create future Core Value (2005) Priority on human resources Aspire to be the best Leader of change Righteous business management 28 Co-prosper Principles of Management (2006) Stick to principles of law and ethics Maintain clean corporate culture Principles of Business Management Respect customers, stockholders and employees Respect environment, safety and health Fulfill social responsib ility as a corporate citizenFrom the chart, we can examine the Samsung aspiration to be the leader of the industrial age in the first generation founding father’s culture of rational bureaucracy, and the transformation of the second founding father’s culture as the leader of the globalization and digital and/or knowledge economy. In a similar vein, reporters from DongA Daily Newspaper depicted the change of corporate culture as follows: Change of Samsung Corporate Culture Past Minimizes Risk Taking New InvestmentPresent Put Emphasis on Taking a New opportunity Failure Decides after a Through Internal Decision Making Down Power Strong Management Management Management Staff Step Aside from the Operational Staff Decision Control size Delegated Decision First recognizing Investigation Culture Staff of Making while Financial System is Retained Conservative Emphasizes Process Rationality in Every Detail DongA Daily Newspaper, June 4, 2004 Image Evaluation Emphasizes Speed Em phasizes the Outcome Mr. Lee, Kun Hee has received thorough CEO training from his father for 21 years before taking over the position.He and his father-in-law, a lawyer and owner of ChoongAng Mass Communication, were ever present at his father’s staff meeting, usually during lunch hours. He could not retire from his office until he personally confirmed that his father was in bed. Mr. Lee, Byung Chul had chosen Mr. Lee Kun 29 Hee, the third son, against the conventional Korean tradition of passing the reins onto the eldest son, because the first son had a grave disagreement with his father. The second son was talented in business, but Mr.Lee Kun Hee was more futuristically oriented, even forcefully starting his own hi-tech venture in the early days when Korean technology was at an infantile stage.. Leadership Styles Compared: Mr. Lee, Kun Hee went through CEO training from his father, but his leadership style is so different from his father, though sharing some similarities. M r. Lee, Byung Chul emphasized the importance of personnel management and human resources, and he also mentioned that 80% of management dealt with the question of how to manage persons.He personally participated in the recruitment process in examination problems and personnel interviews, and at times, personally selected topics for group discussion in the screening process. Mr. Lee, Kun Hee expanded the inner labor market of selection and promotion systems to open system for the external labor market in recruiting outstanding personnel and managers. His father, a strict time keeper, who enjoyed talking, was concerned with every detail of the Business operation. His father practiced regular walks around management and was strict in awarding prizes and punishment for the subordinates.In contrast, Mr. Lee, Kun Hee is a good listener and often repeatedly asked, â€Å"why? why? why? † He rarely came to his office in the company building and mostly delegated his authority to his pro fessional top managers, and confined himself mostly in his electronic fortress called Seungjiwon, modeled after Microsoft CEO Bill Gates’ work place/residence, and developed long range visions of strategies for Samsung, specializing in a comprehensive and long range gatekeeper role. His organizational management has a flavor of human touch. He is a night worker and his sleeping hours are irregular.Although he confined himself in Seungjiwon, he gets instantaneous high qu