Konkuk University Medical Center and its ... - Korea IT Times

Opinion
Samsung Electronics’
Knowledge Management System
Kim Tae-sub, Chairman of KDC Group
Samsung closed the gulf between its rivals after adopting its knowledge management system
In April, 2009 the Visual Display
Division of Samsung Electronics' Digital
Media Business had just completed work
on a ground breaking high-resolution
LED TV. The company was vigorously
engaged in a massive campaign to announce
this remarkable product, which
was expected to take the global TV market
by storm. The Visual Display Division
was poised to take a well deserved
breather from the marathon development
and production phases of this landmark
project and take a moment to bask in the
glory of their achievement. Shortly, they
came to understand why it is often said
that no good deed goes unpunished. The
Division was blindsided by the call to initiate
a new mission. Samsung management
issued an edict: The Visual Display
Division will roll out full-HD 3DTV within
a year. There was no time to waste resting
on their laurels, it was time for the division
to get cracking .... again. Korea's
Hyundai IT had developed a 3DTV in
2007 and Sony was making systemic
preparations to beat Samsung Electronics
to the market with a 3DTV of their own.
There was little doubt that Samsung
Electronics was playing catch-up. The best
and the brightest of relevant departments
were assembled to staff the new mission.
Two task forces, identified as C7000 and
C8000, were immediately established. The
task forces dusted off the results of studies
on 3D that were conducted over the past
several years and began to give them a
fresh look. At this time Samsung Electronics’
knowledge management system
(KMS), called the Test and Error Management
System, or TEMS, was called upon
to play a key role in the project. TEMS,
which is known by Samsung electronics
engineers as the "treasure chest", contains
all information related to each step of
Samsung Electronics' product development.
The one-year process of developing
3DTV is also enshrined in TEMS, as is to
be expected. In fact, in addition to the stellar
efforts of the highly committed team in
the Visual Display Division, it was
Samsung Electronics’ knowledge management
system that was responsible for closing
the gulf between them and their rivals
and making it happen in just one year. In
his book, Management Challenges for the
21st Century, Peter Drucker noted "The
21st century is a knowledge-based society,
where knowledge workers are the most
important factor of production. In other
words, conventional economics' production
factors, the 4Ms - Man, Machine,
Material and Method - will be replaced by
workers armed with knowledge. Thus,
management of knowledge workers will
form the foundation of corporate management."
As the technology of TV has
evolved to deliver HD 3DTV, so has the
methodology of producing world-class
products and maintaining a competitive
advantage in the global marketplace.
Samsung demonstrated in practice what
Drucker proposed in this book, that by
leveraging the value of their KMS, they
were able to achieve the goal of HD 3DTV
in a year. This is a fact that is surely not
lost on their rivals.
Kim Tae-sub / tskim@kdccorp.co.kr
26 KOREA IT TIMES | October 2010