PART 1

Assignment 1

Deadline: 06/03/2021 @ 23:59

For Instructor’s Use only

Instructions – PLEASE READ THEM CAREFULLY

· The Assignment must be submitted on Blackboard (WORD format only) via the allocated folder.

· Assignments submitted through email will not be accepted.

· Students are advised to make their work clear and well presented; marks may be reduced for poor presentation. This includes filling in your information on the cover page.

· Students must mention question numbers clearly in their answers.

· Late submission will NOT be accepted.

· Avoid plagiarism; the work should be in your own words; copying from students or other resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No exceptions.

· All answered must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced) font. No pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered plagiarism).

· Submissions without this cover page will NOT be accepted.

Answers:

1. Briefly present your selected company (name, industry, nationality, location, size, activities, product ) (Max 200 words). (0.5 marks)

Answer

In my case, I have selected Samsung Electronics Corporation, which is a publicly-traded company. Samsung is an international electronic company with branches across the globe. However, it is a Korean company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, in Korea. Cisco is the leading trading partner of Samsung Corporation. Cisco and Samsung have been working together to ensure customers get quality products through unified experience and intelligence of Webex solutions across Samsung mobile devices (Coe & Lee, 2006). The company is the largest electronic company and among the largest across the globe. The company faces stiff competition from various companies such as Huawei, Sony, Apple, Intel, LG Electronics, and GoPro.

The company is well known for its quality electronics such as semiconductors, digital media, memory chips, and Samsung phones. In 1939 the company was a trading business, but later the company advanced in providing services such as food processing, insurance, security, and retail trade. The company became very popular when it decided to major in electronics manufacturing in the late 1970s. Samsung largest producer of electronics such as Samsung smartphones, Samsung televisions, and LCD panels. The primary strategy that makes Samsung competitive is producing a variety of products that meet consumer needs.

2. Determine the opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses of your selected company by completing the SWOT matrix in the answer sheet. (1 mark)

3. Does your selected company have a social responsibility? If yes, discuss its impact on the competitive advantage of the corporation. (Max 400 words) (1 mark)

Answer

The company has attracted many customers due to its social responsibility and accountability to Korea's local community. The company has been supporting and encouraging youths to be self-reliant through systematic vocation training. Analysis done in 2015 indicates that the company had support more than thirty-nine thousand individuals to access vocational education. The company has also established Samsung Smart School, which enables the disadvantaged to access free and quality education. By 2015 the more than two hundred and twenty thousand students had attended the school. The company has been able to employ students who have acquired training through the vocation education they provide.

Samsung solves for Tomorrow has encouraged non-governmental organizations and students to be proactive and identify challenges they have been passing through and ask for assistance from the company. The company has been at the forefront in conserving the environment by using environmentally friendly production methods when manufacturing electronic products. The company established the program such as Samsung Nanum Village to reduce and eradicate poverty in society. The program has the Samsung Company to support programs that ensure clean water, medical facilities, and education facilities.

The company has made a considerable contribution to nurturing the talents of youth in the community. Samsung Talent Review (STAR) and Expertise Development Process collaborate annually to ensure young people identify their talents at a young age. For instance, in Korea, more than two thousand employees are sponsored by the company to participate in the STAR sessions annually. Compared to other corporations in the electronic industry, Samsung has attracted many customers since most of them realize that part of the profit made by the will be used to improve their lives in the community. Individuals under vocational training supported by the company also contribute tirelessly to promoting the product from the Samsung company.

4. Based on figure 4.3 (Ch4-slide no 18) and the textbook text relative to Porter’s Five forces of competition framework, assess the power of the buyers, suppliers, and substitutes of your chosen company. How formidable are the barriers to entry, and how intense is the rivalry among existing firms? ( 2 marks)

Answer

Porter’s Five forces of competition are the framework that assesses and ascertain the position of a company through evaluating the competitive part of an enterprise. The framework includes assess the company's barrier to entry, suppliers and buyer power, and rivalry and substation threats. Samsung faces stiff competition from Apple, Nokia, and LG. Due to stiff competition from the American and Asian markets, the company needs to take proactive measures and exploit various African countries' markets (Gnyawali & Park, 2011). The electronic industry is categorized with a high barrier to entry since most markets have been exploited, and also, it is characterized by a low barrier to exist.

Samsung Company has been able to attract many buyers due to the variety of discounts they offer and after-sale services. Additionally, the suppliers have been willing to provide their goods and services at lower prices and discounts since they are assured of their payment due to the company's large share of the market. Samsung faces many threats of substitutes, particularly from China, where the country is producing much cheaper electronics products.

5. What is the competitive strategy used by your selected company? Justify. (0.5 marks)

Answer

Samsung's main competitive advantage is the ability to conduct its business based on the researched-based information from research and development. The company can develop products that meet the customers' needs. The company uses more than eighty percent of its revenue for research and development by designing and testing its product. The company also invests a lot in design capabilities compared to its main rivals, such as Apple. The company has received many awards for producing user-friendly products.

The other main strategic advantage of Samsung Company can implement vertical integration and horizontal diversity products (Nandakumar, Ghobadian & O'Regan, 2010). For instance, in Japanese, like various products where the Americans are selective, they choose a small product range. The company has also established various branches across the globe; currently, the company has established branches in more than eighty countries worldwide.

References

Coe, N. M., & Lee, Y. S. (2006). The strategic localization of transnational retailers: The case of Samsung‐Tesco in South Korea. Economic Geography, 82(1), 61-88.

Gnyawali, D. R., & Park, B. J. R. (2011). Co-opetition between giants: Collaboration with competitors for technological innovation. Research Policy, 40(5), 650-663.

Nandakumar, M. K., Ghobadian, A., & O'Regan, N. (2010). Business‐level strategy and performance. Management Decision.