Samsung angling to manufacture ‘startup’ corporate culture

In a move that’s telling of the Korean tech giant’s growing concerns about its ongoing stability in the current market, Samsung has announced that it’s planning on revamping its corporate culture from the ground up. The goal is to eliminate hierarchies and create a more casual, conversational organization that echos of the startup companies that are proving to be so competitive in the industry. Debates are ongoing as to whether or not the massive company will be able to pull off this feat, seeing as it employs over 300,000 people.

This change is reminiscent of the bygone days of 1993, when the company attempted to undergo a similar reorganization that executives said would “change everything but your wife and children.” As a killer whale among piranhas, Samsung is attempting to become more nimble so as to remain competitive in an increasingly startup-fueled industry. With a saturated smartphone market, Samsung is feeling the decline of component and smartphone sales across the board.

The changes the company is looking to implement seem pretty healthy across the board. The loosening of the militaryesque organization may make Samsung less rigid, and by cutting back on dress code requirements and mandates for weekend work, the company is aiming to put much less pressure on its workforce. Also, long after-work drinking sessions are something of a tradition among Korean businesses, but Samsung is taking efforts to make these seem less mandatory so as to give their employees more freedom for social life and family. Internal meetings are being cut across the board, and reporting is getting simplified as well. The primary aim is to inspire in their workers a “winning spirit” that will encourage them to improve productivity and be more engaged in their worklife.

Whether or not these changes will be successful of course remains to be seen. It’s difficult to steer a freight vessel the size of Samsung with the same mechanisms that guide a schooner, but it’s clear that something must be done if Samsung wants to keep their employees healthy, happy, and productive through the stress of 2016. What do you think of Samsung’s reorganization plans? Will the be a good thing for the tech titan, or will they ultimately not be able to pull it off? Let us know your prediction in the comments below!