Case study question: What specific suggestions do you have for Samsung managers
ID: 326648 • Letter: C
Question
Case study question: What specific suggestions do you have for Samsung managers to effectively employ and utilize all of its employees?
The case study is below
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Snippet of MAINTAINING THE "SINGLE SAMSUNG" SPIRIT: NEW CHALLENGES IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT case NEW EMPLOYEE ORIENTATION (NEO) Samsung's management and employees attributed the company's global success to its strong investment in the development of its people. In 2010, Samsung had 13 educational/training facilities globally, which were dedicated to continuously upgrading its talent. Overall, SHRDC conducted approximately 250 training courses and workshops per year. Among its many programs, New Employee Orientation (NEO) was considered to be the most critical one, because it helped new employees adjust to the Samsung culture. NEO was also one of the oldest programs at Samsung. It began in 1957, merely three years after the Korean War ceasefire, when Samsung started an open recruitment system In 2010, NEO was still a requirement for all of Samsung's new employees. It consisted of four-weeks of intensive in-house training. In the first week, new employees learned about the Samsung Spirit, or Samsung's history, philosophy, and values. SHRDC considered this first week to be transformational in developing Samsung's new employees as Samsung people. In the second week, various modules explained etiquettes of working with senior colleagues, and included information about the company culture. In the third week, new employees learnt how to solve problems the Samsung way. In the final week, new employees were exposed to real-life business challenges through simulations. In the end, all new employees were evaluated on how they solved problems and implemented new solutions NEO not only served the purpose of helping new employees think and behave as Samsung people, but also solidified Samsung's unique culture of cooperation between senior colleagues and new employees To achieve the latter, SHRDC brought in third-year employees as mentors apprentices. Their role was to connect with 10 to 15 new employees on a personal and professional basis. These mentors were the top talent in the company and served as mentors and, in many instances, continued nurturing relationships with their mentees well beyond the four-week duration of NEO NEO provided a focused orientation for Samsung's philosophy, culture and values, and helped foster the Samsung Spirit among new employees. Developing new employees throughout their careers therefore extended beyond NEO. Once NEO was completed, the human resource development (HRD) department of Samsung's affiliate company, where a new employee was based, offered a one-year "new employee training program” in partnership with SHRDC. This training included an eight-to 12-week program, which focused on improving job-related skills and knowledge. The next six months offered on-the-job training. During this period, new employees were required to work closely with their senior colleagues in solving various problems they were presented with. At the end of the year-long training program, new employees participated in a Samsung Summer Festival. The festival brought all of the new employees together and celebrated their accomplishments during their initial year at Samsung. At the same time, the Festival created a lasting bond among new employees and provided a networking opportunity among new employees and senior colleagues Samsung's management strongly believed that NEO helped them achieve multiple purposes: a) aligned employees across Samsung affiliates to Samsung's strategic direction, and thus promoted a Single Samsung culture; b) fostered Samsung's values among new employees and sustained the foundation of its unique culture, and c) achieved business results through cooperation.Explanation / Answer
Samsung managers can effectively manage and utilize all employees by understanding the attributes and needs of generation gap among employees in the organization and creating such policies which cater to the needs of both the generation. The best method is to design the training and development programs differently for different generation. The new generation individuals are digital natives who have no memory of what life was like without computers and the internet. Younger workers seemed to be motivated differently than previous generations of workers. This new generation craves opportunities to make their own decisions instead of having them made for them. So a manager should lead these people instead of managing them. Managers should place the most emphasis on employee well-being, growth, and development, instead of controlling the work experience of each employee. Give them opportunities to taste true success .keep in mind that not every person, no matter what generation they are from, likes to work in same conditions. Personalities will vary and will play a strong role in what your employee’s preferences are.