How will Western States benefit from a successful career development program in addition to getting on the “Best Employers” list? (LO 1, 2)
How can Western States improve communication about careers and career development opportunities? (LO 2)
Create a fourth goal for the career development plan and explain why it’s important. (LO 1, 2, 3)
If you look around you right now, you’ll probably see something produced by Samsung, but for most of their 77‐year history, they weren’t known outside of Korea. In 1993, management took a hard look at their current situation. What they saw was a second‐class company with leadership based on seniority and Eastern philosophies with a strategy of making low‐cost products that didn’t have a great reputation for quality. It wasn’t a recipe for success in a global economy. A strategic change was necessary to compete in an increasingly global economy. Fresh management talent was necessary to make the new strategy of growth, globalization, and innovation successful. Their ambitions transformation would depend on creating a hybrid of Eastern and Western philosophies with a close link between business strategy and HR planning. Their talent management philosophy was to be “Focused on hiring the best – regardless of nationality – paying market‐rates based on merit and empowering talent for maximum contribution.” To accomplish this, they created two management career tracks, Regional Specialists and the Global Strategy Group (GSG). The Regional Specialist Program is an “inside‐out” program that involves identifying high‐potential employees with over 4 years at Samsung. These employees are sent to live in another country for 1–2 years to learn the language and culture of the country and the region. No work is involved. Their only assignment is to get to know the way people in that country live and work. At the end of the assignment, they return to Korea with a fresh perspective that helps Samsung accomplish their strategic goals. The Global Services Group operates in an opposite “inside‐out” manner. Samsung representatives recruit outstanding MBA candidates from the 16 best graduate business schools worldwide, including the U.S. Korean business schools are not included. This program is designed to bring diverse thought from other parts of the world back to the Samsung Korean headquarters in Seoul. Participants are hired by Samsung and brought to Korea to learn from senior management at Samsung. Through a program of training, job rotations, cultural education, and mentorships, participants in the GSG learn cross‐cultural communication and leadership. Upon graduation from the Regional Specialist and Global Strategy Group, participants are assisted in transitioning to positions into either one of Samsung’s 27 affiliate companies, new business development, in‐house consulting, or strategic management.
