Comparative Study: Samsung's CSR Policies in South Korea and Australia

This report provides a comparative analysis of Samsung Electronics' Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies in South Korea and Australia. It highlights the diverse approaches Samsung takes in its home country, South Korea, where initiatives range from providing smart appliances in schools to promoting child welfare schemes, and contrasts them with the strategies employed in Australia, which often involve partnerships with NGOs like Social Ventures Australia to promote STEM education and innovation. The report identifies key differences in sector coverage and levels of involvement, noting that Samsung's CSR activities in South Korea are more diverse and self-initiated compared to Australia. Recommendations are made for standardizing the CSR approach, focusing on root-level social problems, and enhancing transparency through a dedicated webpage detailing CSR activities in different countries, ultimately aiming to strengthen Samsung's brand image and global social impact.

Running head: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Corporate social responsibilities
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
CSR policies of Samsung in South Korea.......................................................................................2
CSR policies of Samsung in Australia.............................................................................................3
Recommendations............................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
Reference.........................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Samsung Electronics is one of the major multinational organizations currently operating.
They are based in South Korea and have their operations in different countries around the world.
Samsung Electronics is also known for their broad approach to corporate social responsibilities.
This is mainly due to the reason that Samsung is having huge access to financial resources owing
to their global operations (Lim and Phillips 2016). However, the approach of their social
activities is different in various countries. For instance, they have different approaches of social
activities in their home country of South Korea and other countries. The major reason behind the
differences in approaches of corporate social responsibilities is mainly due to the different social
requirements in different countries.
This report will discuss the differences in approaches of corporate social responsibilities of
Samsung Electronics in South Korea and Australia. Thus, the approaches of the social activities
of Samsung in these two countries will be critically analyzed and a few recommended steps will
also be discussed in this report.
CSR policies of Samsung in South Korea
It is identified that Samsung has a diverse approach to CSR activities in their home
country. According to the information available in the official website of Samsung electronics,
they have social activities ranging from providing smart appliances in schools and to initiating
software solutions for sustainable solutions and to promoting child welfare schemes (Park et al.
2015). One of the major initiatives of Samsung in their home country is Samsung smart schools.
According to the reports available, under this initiative, Samsung provides smart solutions and
devices in different schools where access to information is difficult

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(samsungcsr.cafe24.com2018). This helps the students from the backward areas to have the
facilities of smart classrooms. It is reported that Samsung already supported 36 and 109 classes
in rural areas. These schools are being given galaxy tab, Samsung school software and wireless
network.
Another major initiative initiated by Samsung in their home country is “Cheer Up
Project”. Under this initiative, Samsung provides healthcare support for the people aged fewer
than 18. People under the age of 18 and suffering from cancer, cerebral diseases and other rare
diseases are being treated free of cost. It is also reported that as of 2016, total 246 people are
being treated under this initiative. It is also being reported that some of the CSR activities of
Samsung are targeted at engaging with the local community. One of these initiatives is Samsung
sharing walking festival. Under this initiative, this Samsung conducts walking festival in
different parts of South Korea and they donate the same amount of money that is collected from
the participants from the participation fee (Medappa and Srivastava 2017). Thus, it can be
concluded that Samsung is covering diverse social aspects under their corporate social
responsibilities.
CSR policies of Samsung in Australia
In Australia also, Samsung has social activities including the much popular STEM
initiative. However, in Australia, a major share of socially responsible activities is being initiated
by Samsung with the partnership of other NGOs. For instance, Samsung Australia partnered with
Social Ventures Australia in initiating Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) for
different schools (www.socialventures.com.au 2018). Under this initiative, disadvantaged
students are given the opportunities to make themselves eligible with the changing trend and

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requirement in the corporate world. Another major social initiative being promoted by Samsung
in Australia is “Make my IDEA” campaign (www.campaignbrief.com 2018). The objective of
this campaign is to encourage the students in thinking new innovative ideas. They are invited to
submit their innovative ideas and win prizes. Thus, with the help of this initiative, Samsung is
promoting their social engagement programs in Australia.
Thus it is being identified that there is a huge difference in approach of corporate social
responsibilities of Samsung between South Korea and Australia. One of the major differences
being identified is the coverage of different sectors. Social activities of Samsung in South Korea
are more diverse and cover more areas than in Australia such as covering healthcare, education,
environmental protection and community development. Thus, the approach of the social
responsibilities of Samsung is more extensive in South Korea than in Australia. Another major
difference identified is the initiation of social activities by Samsung in South Korea, while in
Australia; social programs are initiated with a partnership with different NGOs. This is also
denoting that the levels of involvement of Samsung in initiating social programs are also
different in South Korea and Australia.
Recommendations
It is recommended that Samsung should have the standardized approach of their
corporate social responsibilities. This will help them in effectively aligning their brand name
with that of their social activities. In addition, having the standardized approach will also help
Samsung to get known for their certain activities. This will further help them to leverage the
popular activities in enhancing the brand value and exposure. In addition, it is also recommended
that Samsung should consider more root level causes for promoting their corporate social

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responsibilities. This is due to the reason that education and health welfare that are currently
being promoted by Samsung are common and are practised by the majority of the organizations.
Thus, picking up more root level social problems will have more effectiveness and Samsung will
be able to create a more distinctive image in the market. Furthermore, Samsung should have the
separate informative page in their official website regarding their corporate social responsibilities
in different countries. It is seen that Samsung is having all social activities in South Korea stated
but not the activities in Australia.
Conclusion
Thus, it can be concluded that Samsung has extensive strategies of corporate social
responsibilities. However, it is also identified that they are having a different level of
involvement in diverse countries. In this report, the social activities of Samsung in Australia and
South Korea are being discussed and analyzed. This report concludes that Samsung has a more
diverse range of social activities in South Korea compared to Australia. This report also
recommended a few steps that will further help Samsung to have a more effective social
approach in the global market.

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Reference
Lim, S.J. and Phillips, J., 2016. Institutional Origins of CSR in Korea. Oughtopia, 31(1), pp.355-
386.
Medappa, P.K. and Srivastava, S.C., 2017. From corporate social responsibility to disruptive
innovation: Samsung’s green memory initiative. In The Role of Corporate Sustainability in Asian
Development (pp. 55-73). Springer, Cham.
Park, Y.R., Song, S., Choe, S. and Baik, Y., 2015. Corporate social responsibility in international
business: Illustrations from Korean and Japanese electronics MNEs in Indonesia. Journal of
business ethics, 129(3), pp.747-761.
samsungcsr.cafe24.com (2018). Local Sharing | Samsung Electronics Social
Contribution. [online] Samsungcsr.cafe24.com. Available at:
https://samsungcsr.cafe24.com/community-sharing/local-community.html [Accessed 18 Jul.
2018].
www.campaignbrief.com (2018). Samsung Australia launches national 'Make My Idea'
competition via Leo Burnett, Sydney. [online] Campaign Brief Australia. Available at:
http://www.campaignbrief.com/2017/11/samsung-australia-launches-nat.html [Accessed 18 Jul.
2018].
www.socialventures.com.au (2018). Samsung - Social Ventures Australia. [online] Social
Ventures Australia. Available at: https://www.socialventures.com.au/supporters/samsung/
[Accessed 18 Jul. 2018].