Samsung Initiatives

Describe the company and the major initiatives they have planned for the next 5 years. The Samsung Group (Samsung) is a South Korean international conglomerate that makes all types of electronic products under the Samsung brand. Samsung is said to make exports that consist of fifth of all exports made by Korean companies, and its revenues alone would make Samsung the world’s 35th largest economy. Americans know Samsung for producing products like television, washer and dryer, smart phone, camcorder, printer, and DVD among many Samsung products. Samsung like other major companies has what is called Green Initiatives. Samsung aims to become one of the most eco-friendly companies in the world by year 2013. To reach such lofty goal, Samsung wants to “reduce greenhouse emissions, offer more eco-friendly products, build eco-management partnerships around the world, and invest in eco-friendly R&D design facilities.” (“Samsung in $4.2 bln ‘green’ initiative”, 2009) More specifically, Samsung says it will spend $4.3 billion to go green by cutting air pollutant emissions by 50% by 2013 from 2008 levels and promised to develop energy-efficient products that use less operating and standby power to operate. In addition, Samsung wants to boost making its products using recyclable and eco-friendly materials. (Samsung to go Green, 2011) By taking such drastic measures to improve its image as eco-friendly, Samsung is following the footsteps of many other well known companies like Wal-Mart and Dell in going green. Samsung is also affecting its much smaller competitors who feel the pressure to go green to keep up with Samsung. (Samsung to go Green, 2011) Second initiative that Samsung is undertaking is to standardize 3D glasses technology in collaboration with other well known electronic companies like Panasonic, Sony, and XPAND 3D. These companies are striving to learn from previous technology regarding 3D products and maximizing advancement in technology by standardizing 3D technology with the latest technological breakthrough ideas. (“Panasonic, Samsung, Sony ,…” 2011) Samsung has spent lots of its resources to develop 3D technology with recent licensing of new 3D technology RDZ which combines high 1080p resolution TV and light inexpensive glasses to create a realistic 3D experience. Samsung like many other well known conglomerates and corporations are focusing not only on producing products with the latest and most high-tech products but are also investing in eco-friendly technology and ideas to promote goodwill from the public as well as to save money by being more energy efficient.
Determine which elements of administrative law will be most relevant to the upcoming initiatives and what the impact of those laws will be. Samsung will have to take into consideration all of the environmental laws that are out there while trying to fulfill its initiative to go green. The most important law that will affect companies like Samsung is the Federal Superfund Law otherwise known as The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). CERCLA gives the federal government the power to take action when a company releases or about to release hazardous substance without proper disposal. Courts have interpreted CERCLA as imposing strict liability on violators of the provision. Therefore, Samsung going green will help the company to stay away from violating CERCLA as well as federal and state passed legislative laws that protect the environment. (Bagley, pp. 430-431) Because Samsung is such a huge company, it has to make sure that its subsidiaries are also adhering to all applicable environmental laws. Otherwise, there is a chance that Samsung could be held liable for its subsidiary companies’ actions that are in violation of environmental laws. In addition, Samsung could also be held liable for its subsidiaries’ actions if the facilities that it operated were used by its subsidiaries to pollute. Therefore, it is very important that Samsung not only make sure that its employees follow all environmental laws and regulations but make sure that its subsidiaries are also adhering to all applicable environmental laws and regulations. (Bagley, pp. 433-434) To make sure that Samsung does not violate environmental laws and regulations, Samsung should go above and beyond just meeting the minimum standards. In addition, Samsung should keep a good record of what it is doing to meet the requirements of environmental laws and regulations to make sure that it is doing all it can to be environmentally responsible as well as to be able to show its good compliance to EPA in case EPA come knocking. (Bagley, p. 446) EPA gives incentives for companies like Samsung when they self-police to meet their obligations toward the environment. EPA may be more lenient when handing down punishment for violation of its regulations and federal laws when a company takes strong measure to follow environmental laws like CERCLA. There are nine conditions that companies would have to meet to get leniency from the EPA and marked leniency in civil penalties. Several of the EPS’s nine conditions have to do with self monitoring and reporting, preventing reoccurrence, voluntary and quick disclosure, no repeat violations, cooperating, and taking corrective measures. (Bagley, p.444) There are also business reasons why Samsung’s initiative to go green makes sense. Going green can mean savings that add up to millions of dollars. In addition, there is the image that Samsung would like to project to the public which is a company that is responsible and that cares about the community and the environment. A negative public image as a result of manufacturing bad products or committing bad behavior can negatively affect Samsung’s business. In addition, laws and regulations to protect the environment are likely to be tougher in standards over time. By enforcing tougher standards from the beginning than what is required by current laws and regulations dealing with the environment, Samsung would not have to up its standards every time the laws or regulations change because Samsung would already be practicing tougher standards to be environmentally responsible.
Discuss applicable sales, licensing, and e-Commerce laws the company will need to take into consideration during their initiatives. If Samsung in collaboration with other companies come up with unique technology to revolutionize 3D glasses or television, Samsung and its collaborators should patent the technology to prevent other companies from coming up with 3D products that incorporate their ideas. Samsung has many patents related to its electronic products that the company needs to vigorously defend against copycats. However, since Samsung’s patents are highly sophisticated, it is unlikely that small businesses will be able to make use of Samsung’s patents. In fact, Samsung has recently been in a heated legal battle with another powerful multinational company, Apple, as a result of alleged patent infringement by Apple. The lawsuits do not go into the specifics of the patents. However, Samsung accuses Apple of infringing on its patents with its iPhone while Apple accuses Samsung of infringing on its patents with Samsung’s Android smartphones and tablets. (Meyer, 2011) On the other hand, there is very little danger of the Samsung brand name being used since Samsung is so unique. Samsung also has billions of dollars at its disposal to fight any companies that violate its patent and trademark rights. With regards to its second initiative to develop 3D technology, Samsung should be careful not to violate antitrust laws by collaborating with other giants in the electronic industry and keeping small companies from being allowed to develop its own ideas to further 3D technology. The argument that 3D technology needs to be streamlined sounds self serving. In fact, Samsung and fellow giants in the electronic business appear to be monopolizing the 3D technology by stating that 3D technology needs to be streamlined, and they are the ones who can lead the way in developing the technology.
Make recommendations for the company to minimize the threat of lawsuits relating to privacy protection, product liability, or intellectual property rights. Most states have adopted strict liability for product liability cares. This means that the plaintiff only has to show that the defendant sold the product in a dangerous or defective condition and that condition caused his/her injuries. (Bagley, p.333) However, plaintiff as the injured party usually wants to show that the defendant was negligent in manufacturing the product to get higher damages including punitive damages. (Bagley, p.334) Samsung would want to minimize threats of lawsuits by continuing to make high quality products and immediately pull products that get unusual number of complaints. This is because a large part of judgment against a company can be for punitive damages. If a company knows about the danger of a product and repeatedly ignores the complaints, a jury or a judge may allow punitive damages to be assessed on that company to teach the company a lesson. Therefore, Samsung should do its best to respond quickly to consumer complaints regarding its products. However, it there are injuries as a result of making 3D glasses for consumers, strict liability would apply in most states. Since 3D glasses are not inherently dangerous products, Samsung cannot defend lawsuits arguing that the glasses are unavoidable unsafe product like dynamite would be. Samsung recently decided to protect itself by putting warning label on the 3DTVs that it sells to consumers. One warning states, “Pregnant women, the elderly, sufferers of serious medical conditions, those who are sleep deprived or under the influence of alcohol should avoid utilizing the unit’s 3D functionality.” Suzanne Kantra wrote on a blog, Techlicious Blog, that the warnings may go too far to warn a class of people who are really in no danger at all from watching 3DTV. However, one cannot blame Samsung for being extra cautious to warn people of potential harm that even Samsung may not know about. By including a warning label in its 3DTVs and 3D glasses, Samsung may be counting on being found not negligent. If so, Samsung could lose a product liability case based on strict liability and still avoid paying high damages or punitive damages because a jury may find that Samsung did all it could to make the product safe when manufacturing the product. Conclusion In conclusion, Samsung would have to be very careful to take into consideration various issues regarding product liability as well as environmental laws when carrying out its initiatives. To make the initiatives successful, Samsung has to consider all of the legal and social consequences for the actions that the company takes in its desire to reach the goals stated in the initiatives. With careful planning and good legal counsel, Samsung has better chance to avoid future lawsuits and build goodwill from the community. In addition, Samsung should also take legal action when it is necessary to vigorously protect its patents from any infringement as well as be proactive in following all environmental rules and regulations while implementing the Going Green Initiatives.

References
Bagley, Constance E., Savage, Diane, (2010). Managers and the Legal Environment. Ohio Cengage Learning.