Quality Issue Regarding Samsung Battery

This report addresses the critical issue of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery exploitation and its impact on the market position and trust of the company. It includes a literature review, analysis, and best practices in quality.

Running head: QUALITY ISSUE REGARDING SAMSUNG BATTERY
QUALITY ISSUE REGARDING SAMSUNG BATTERY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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1. Introduction
Samsung is one of the biggest South Korean multinational conglomerates, which
comprises numerous affiliated businesses and diversified their range in all the sections in
business. The group diversification in last three decades was a phenomenon from Samsung sides
and that also deliver a strong establishment of their company (Samsung.com, 2018). The
problem has come up in recent past about their Galaxy Note 7 and the problem is hazardous for
all kind of users. The battery exploitation issue of Samsung is not a light issue to be discussed,
rather the situation is very critical and this is the concerning topic of this report that will be
addressed in following sections.
1.1 History and Overview of the company
Samsung has started as a small trading company in 1938 named as Samsung Sanghoe. At
the initial stage, the company dealt with groceries, noodles and dried-fish. In 1947, Samsung
trading corporation has formed and they are going to generate their business in all directions. The
company grabbed 30 equity shares and the separate their device channels in the electronically
related division, telecommunication sector and even semiconductor and corning. The first
product of Samsung, in that case, is a black and white television set. The rise of Samsung has
come and they made their ground as an international business in 1990 (Samsung.com, 2018).
The world largest producer of memory chips is Samsung and they made their corporate entry by
this process. Samsung Galaxy note is produced mostly for the niche market and retains the
flagship of brand value. The company, itself has the competitive pricing range and they have
produced this phone for attaining niche people and to quest their need. The company targets all
genres of class in case of customer targeting and they signify all ranges of phones for their

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customers as they have the variety of price range options for them and that will segment them in
every section of the target market.
2. Problem Statement
The major problem of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is the issue regarding the battery and
that has hampered the market position as well as trust over the company. People are relying on
the safety and security of the company and they want the phones to build in an ethical manner
and safety of the customer will be the most important part of the company (Samsung.com, 2018).
The situation of over-heating, catching fire and even in some case exploitation is the reason
where customers are getting feared to use the company. The reason, they are not using Samsung
is the fear they are into it and in most of the cases the situations are increasing and the company
is being liable for that.
2.2 Reason behind the problem
The technology of Smartphone is always innovative and with the new genre of
technologies, the upgradations of phones are also important. People find more innovation in their
Smartphone and customers eager to have this Smartphone. The non-replaceable Lithium-ion
battery is the cause of this exploitation or fire cases and Samsung has found the reason behind
this issue is the manufacturing parameter of overheating or functional system of battery that
causes this kind of situation (Samsung.com, 2018). As much processes are incorporated with
Samsung the product quality and people need has addressed in a right way, but the situation has
also come in that section, where the phone capability exceed by the excessive use of this.
The problem structure faced by the company may change the dimension of the company
as well. More security and safety procedure needs to be taken by the company before launching a

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brand new phone in the market. The 5th generation model has come in 2015 and that had the most
premium look on that time (Samsung.com, 2018). The phones are also enriched with lots of new
features as well. But imposing those extra features makes some problems as well for the phone
under the platform.
The problem is affecting the customer, company and also impact on the wider business
market of Samsung. Though these cases do not happen in other sectors in electronic but still
people have a fear of the products of Samsung. The situation is literally worst in perspective of
the company and lots of products are being suffered by the situation. The situation also
highlights the crucial alignment of all the products and their changes according to the views of
customers.
3. Literature review
3.1 Price and product feature
The pricing strategy of Samsung is always unique as they have segmented their products
for each section of people. Every customer has set their choice in case of some factors, like
motivation, reflection and the in some cases the requirement of people and their desire to buy
something special is the reason behind their choice of phones. Samsung has all these kinds of
phones those entries in the market for different sectors of people. People lifestyle is also related
to the choice of phones and that is the reason varieties of the phones and different technical
analysis are persisted in Samsung. As commented by Shamsi, Ali & Kazmi (2017), the price will
be higher as the quality of the phone will rise and that is the reason price discrimination is one of
the valuable aspects of the company. In Smartphone category, Samsung tried their variation in all
the aspects and deliver price-adjusting phones that people from all sections can afford.

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In case of product feature, the first influential section of providing the Android feature to
all genres of people was initiated by Samsung. Some of the features are so innovative that
Samsung is the brand who had introduced this kind of things. Features like edge panel, water
resistance, incredible low light camera, the expandable form of storage all these forms are
introduced by Samsung. In case of comparing their product with Apple, Samsung highlights their
advancement and that is the reason people attracts through the phone. On the other hand Hao et
al., (2017), the texture, dimension, vibrant and the software covering of the phone is the main
aspect of attraction. The application of physical appearances and marinating the rice rate also
highlight the product feature as well.
3.2 Social influence
The influence that comes from the social aspects is the most influencing for the
organization. People notice that market is full of the progression of the advancement of
Smartphone and the use of technology is the main concern of this time. Samsung is the company
that introduces social change in Smartphone market and provides the lowest range of
Smartphone to the customers (Shamsi, Ali & Kazmi, 2017). Social understanding and people
desire is the main reason that Smartphones are spreading the market rapidly.
3.3 Brand value
In case of brand value, the company is one of the trustworthy companies in the world, so
a brand value is always there with every phone of Samsung. However, the possibility of
influencing satisfying customers is the main aspect of the company and they are doing the
process effectively (Ickin et al., 2012). The aim of the company is to generate more people and
maintain a relationship with customers so that repeat sale will increase, in that aspect the

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problem arises when the battery is not functioning well. The situation is rather critical for the
company when the people have the rumor about it and the brand value decreases due to the
safety feature for the customers.
3.4 Dependability and Compatibility
The matter of dependability is present in the everyday life. People are not thinking their
life without a cell phone and now the form of cell phone device is very effective and smart as
well. That is the reason, buyers will think what kind of Smartphone they are going to use and
what will be suitable for them (Kim et al., 2015). There are different ranges in Samsung and they
have such facility that will attract people at a glance. But the situation faced by the Galaxy Note
7 pull them in loss and company has a major loss of the $17 billion (Samsung.com, 2018).
3.5 Battery problem and first exploitation
Samsung announced Galaxy Note 7 is the best Smartphone on this level as it was less in
price rather than other phones. The first explosion case was reported in South Korea and on the
same day, Samsung Note 7 exploded in China also. The problem declared by the officials and
executive is stack in a safe side for Samsung, as they declared that explosion happened due to the
change in charging the device (Shamsi, Ali & Kazmi, 2017). The explosion happened as
customers are not using original Samsung charger to charge the device. Action has started and
battery problem is accepted on 2nd September 2016 and exchange program started from the
company's end. After that, another explosion case happens in Australia on 5th September.
Samsung planned to stop the sales of the phone in 9th September 2016 and the apologies for this
entire incident (Samsung.com, 2018). Joke, disappointment, anger all are coming from the
customers and Samsung fell in a bigger trouble. There are lots of loyal customers who turn their

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face away from the company and trust over the company has finished. There are some
announcements from the company to come and exchange the phone. But some of the service
centers are not doing the same, some of the customers are not willing o use the phone again,
though Samsung had stated that Galaxy Note 7 had come with the replaced battery but still a fear
was presented in mind.
3.6 Category closure
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 returned refurbishment in June 2016 and at the month of
September; Samsung launches Note 8 (Samsung.com, 2018). The over-ambition thinking that
Galaxy Note 7 has introduced is the main reason behind the explosion. The commitment that
Samsung provides in form of innovation is filled with all its forms on that phone and that is the
reason the battery is not adjusting with the quality of heat the device attain and due to that reason
explosion happened. Before the ultimate closure of this phone, Samsung tried to change the
battery style, even the icon of the battery so that customers will know the reason behind the
change in phone and safety and security o the customers are noted by the company as well.
3.7 Manufacturing care
Manufacturing issue must be there in case of battery aligning and safety processes that
may be ignored by the company at the initial time. The Octa-Core processor along with
Marshmallow android operating system with non-removable Li-Ion 3500 mAh battery is being
introduced by the company (Samsung.com, 2018). The issues highlighted in that case is the
problem in battery, maybe it heated more than expected or not performing well after sometimes
are the concern issues of manufacturing. After few complaints have registered at their website,

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the company had put a software add on the phone to ensure the phone will not be charged more
than 60% and there are no issues regarding burning and heating cases.
3.8 Best practice in quality
Alternatives are the best policy that can be introduced by the company so that loyal
customers will not leave the company. Samsung provides best in quality in their next product as
well. Sampling technique of testing the phone and providing the supreme quality deliverance is
the most important factor for Samsung and in case of Note 8 they have introduced the same
thing. In case of further loss the situation may be different for the company as people are getting
annoyed by the company as well. So the decision of stopping the production of Note 7 is
productive for the company and that will emphasize the belief of the customer that Samsung is
trying to take care of customers.
4. Analysis
4.1 In-depth problem
The problem has come from the both end of company and customers. The major loss for
the company as the equity share and the market position of the company is being disoriented
(Lampe, Hans & Steinmetz, 2013). Media made this issue in hype and people were rejecting the
phone just because of the battery explosion case. As evoking was a safety concern, service
providers decided to distribute modernize to demise tool charging. And once the Department of
Transportation debarred the Note 7 on airplanes, teams of Samsung staffs were sent to airports to
assist consumers and assemble the phones. The situation is so adverse for the company, and that
will be notified by the process only. At the new test lab of Samsung, in last four months, 700
researchers were working over the 30,000 batteries and tried to investigate the reason behind the

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fire exploration and charge with wired and wireless charger devices and that will impacted over
the production (Samsung.com, 2018). A new green battery icon determines the change status of
the battery but the change in customers' mind prevailed in that case and they are willing to take
such risk that may hamper their health. So the market position that upgrade at the time of
launching, degrades as the time goes (Abolfazli, Sanaei & Gani, 2012). Small subsets of batteries
are getting overheated and the battery partially got fired. The in-depth analysis of the
manufacturing is the targetable version that impacted over the manufacturing processing of
batteries.
Based on the company's personal research and independent methodical investigation of
the issues by three consulting segments, the overheating was caused by divide problems in
batteries connected from two diverse suppliers. The heat-sealed protective pouch in the internal
device is formulated and that is the reason new shield of batteries protecting cases come in
market and Samsung technological differentiation is noticed by this process. There are eight
stages of the battery checking safety process. As commented by Kim & Kim (2015), all these
tests are also maintained in Samsung and those phones also passed through different tests but the
consequences are not expected at all. At the initial stage durability test has to be done. Then,
visual inspection is needed and under the guideline section of the, each battery objective is met.
X-Ray is the next stage and in that stage battery, insider particles are examined. After that stage
charge and discharge process is need to be examined. In that stage all the charging quality, time,
dimension and speed limit of the charge that can provide entire back up to the phone. After the
setup ΔOCV test happens and that set up the required voltage in manufacturing test. On the other
hand Constantinescu et al., (2014), In case of assembling the process to level up the device or to
assemble the part of the device, the process is innovative and effective. Accelerated usage test in

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another intensive test is stimulating the acceleration. The seriousness of the effect and the culture
of the test are essential in that factor and the innovative id of the test make the batteries more
effective and impactful (Alvarez et al., 2012). The disassembling process of a test is the welding
and insulation tape condition and through the condition of the battery is has been identified as the
state of working or non-working situation. The last stage is the TVOC test and the stages
determine the wastage or the leakage of volatile organic compounds.
4.2 Quality management models and concepts
The concept of quality management
Quality management is depending on the eight key elements that provide enough
maintenance of quality. The elements are integrity, ethics, leadership, teamwork, ethics, training,
communication and recognition. Customer focuses and understands the need of the customer is
the basic matter for the company. In that case, Samsung understands the existing customers love
to see something innovative in their new version of the phone, so enhancement of quality is the
concern matter of the business (Zhu et al., 2014). Involving people and encouraging knowledge
is another aspect of quality management. Process approach of leaders and inputs better culture is
applied over here and this approach will change in the quality issues as well. Managers
sometimes change the systematic approach and that will deliver the better management
opportunities for employees and influence the product quality as well (Haller, 2013). The mutual
relationship is another aspect that can make a change in the organization and in that case,
productive positivity and good clinical practices are a need for the retention of the repeat-sale
customer.
Total Quality Management Model

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Total quality management (TQM) is the process of organizational development purpose
to increase the level of satisfaction for the stakeholders. Customers are considered as the external
stakeholders and that is the reason their satisfaction is also a concerning matter for the company
(Yulianda & Handayani, 2015). Total Quality management is important to the process benefits
all the stakeholders. In case of cultural change and teamwork formation, this model is important
to know the situation of the company and to understand the organization market position in terms
of customer satisfaction. Communication, culture and commitment are the three sections of this
TQM model and through the tools and effective systems, teams can achieve the position in the
market (Abolfazli et al., 2014). In case of leadership or strategic planning by the leaders is
considered as the most effective part of the business, which entirely focuses on the customer
focus and makes process management. The business results are constant and through the quality
management policies and objectives are processed in a right way (Xu & Mao, 2013). Controlling
the quality assistance and improvement in consequences at the end is the promising aspect of the
quality issue. The organization believes in that section is influencing employees to create their
concern to make quality products. The quantity of the product and manufacturing in bulb amount
of products is not the motive for TQM process rather revenue generation by retaining the
customers and create a relationship with them is the motive of the model (Akyene, 2012). In case
of success planning customer relation, planning process needs to be retaining the same
customers. The process is the crucial one to retain the customers and on the other hand, process
improvement will be there that will highlight innovative changes that products have implemented
along with their change (Sharma, Garg & Agarwal, 2014). Team participation is also important
in that case as the performance will provide the quality assurance to customers. The level of
rising in efficiency level is the concern matter for TQM and in case of better control, customers

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will find the quality predict for every time and that will enlighten their product culture. In case of
better turn over from the process and to get total quality management right way of business
acceleration is needed.
5. Recommended direction to mitigate the problem
Recommended actions need to be taken so that this kind of problem needs to be
mitigated. Samsung is one of the strongest brands in the world so effective actions need to be
taken for making a good decision for the organization. The financial section needs to be used to
form better management. Research and development options need to be developed so that
effective direction and flow will be delivered. In other words, the sequential manner of business
and exchange programs are important for the development of the organization. The research
process is one of the main aspects of business and after the effective decision of business culture;
they need to take some steps. The prototype is an important aspect that needs to be introduced by
Samsung. The process is very innovative as well as effective for the company. In this process,
the company needs to manage a team and the people are individually called a prototype Pawar &
Verma, 2013). The testing process needs to intervene by them. They use the particular phone at
first and then company updated their version as per the feedback of those people. In any case, the
situation becomes diverse, the production will be stopped. The situation is being under control
over them. The company depends on those people in a substantial manner and their feedback will
impact the company to change the technology according to the change in quality.
Good services and possible online responses also effective for the company. The service
centers are not always responsive enough and customers are not getting enough opportunities to
state their feedback. In that situation, consistency complaint registering system is important.

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Research and development along with the other decision-making cases need to be there for the
development of the research process. In-house logistics maintenance is important, so they do not
need to take permission in case of logistic support. Quantity is not needed form the company
right now; rather they have to take care of quality (Sabra & Artail, 2014). In case of
manufacturing option, the company needs to manufacture quality products so the customers can
retain their trust in the company. Client feedback is important and services are essential to the
product quality. In that case, effective business communication is needed between customers and
management is significant.
6. Reflection
From the above discussion, some of the relevant points have come in form of
information. I have understood that high-end consumer focusing is the effective declaration that
Samsung is trying to do. After the better reputation has gained, the company is now heading
towards more innovation, that reflection on their business outcome and market position. I think
the scandal of the explosion of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 impacted badly over their business. I
have also analyzed the quality management issue and understand the customer mind. As a
customer, I also understand the feeling of the customer and their reason for the fear. The thing is
very unnatural in the mobile device as the condition of the device needs to be tested. I realize the
strategy implemented by the Samsung and also understand the variable situation that occurs due
to the perception of customers and many of the loyal customers are also get detached from the
company. I determine quality issues and battery pattern that needs to examine and it delivered in
that case. Through this project, I also learn the companies struggle and problem and the issues
regarding the price, position and formation of the company and I know this project will help the
future practitioners, who worked over this process. I upgrade my learning horizon and teach from

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the companies development issues, in most of the cases the things are stagnant but the situation
that Samsung in, is crucial and path-breaking overcome for them.

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Appendices
Appendix 1
Figure 1: System Boundary of Battery
(Source: Pawar & Verma, 2013)
Appendix 2

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Figure 2: Mass Composition of Battery
(Source: Xu & Mao, 2013)
Appendix 3
Figure 3: Comparison of lithium- Ion Battery use in countries
(Source: Xu & Mao, 2013)
Appendix 4

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Figure 4: Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Explosion
(Source: cio.com, 2018)
Appendix 5

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Figure 5: TQM Model
(Source: Kim & Kim, 2015)