Samsung Opens Its First Global Leadership Academy Outside Of Korea

Hi Huneybees,

Panoramic view of the Samsung Global Leadership Academy SEA 

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and convergence technologies, recently announced the opening of the Global Leadership Academy SEA in Singapore. As the company’s first leadership development centre outside of South Korea, the Academy is an extension of Samsung’s vision to nurture future global leaders.

The auditorium at the new Samsung Global Leadership Academy SEA

2013 marks the 20th anniversary of Samsung’s new management declaration. 20 years ago, we dreamt of becoming a world class company. Today, Samsung is a world leader with No. 1 position in memory chips, TV, and mobile behind relentless pursuit of quality products.

Mr. Yeoh Keat Chuan, Managing Director of the Singapore Economic Development Board (L) and Mr. KK Park, President and CEO of Samsung Southeast Asia (R)

“As we move forward, we need leaders to develop new paradigm and thinking to deliver unprecedented levels of value and management standards in our products, services and business. We need to develop leaders who can preserve and grow company’s current value via developing customized locally relevant product offerings and communication plans under ‘Built for Asia’ theme. We also need leaders who can build new future value. These will be ‘Growth Engine Teams’ delivering solution based businesses.” --- Mr. KK Park, President of Samsung’s Southeast Asia Headquarters.

Guests experience smart learning through Samsung technology at the Samsung Global Leadership Academy in Singapore

These solution based businesses will be:-

1. Cross product solutions: like ‘Home Sync’ for total home solutions across different digital applicances
2. B2B/B2G solutions: leveraging largest variety of IT, Mobile, CE product portfolio offered by Samsung, and
3. CSR solutions: that address local market challenges using Samsung’s leadership in digital technology

Working in partnership with experts from top educational institutions, including Singapore Management University (SMU), National University of Singapore (NUS), Harvard Business School and INSEAD, the Academy aims to deliver over 70 courses. More than 5,000 Samsung employees, partners and key clients will be trained at the Academy every year.

Samsung’s commitment to Singapore and Southeast Asia region

Samsung’s decision to establish the facility in Singapore reflects the company’s longstanding commitment to Singapore and the Southeast Asia region.

“We chose to establish the Global Leadership Academy SEA here as Singapore is home to many talented professionals with diverse backgrounds and its focus as a higher education hub allows us to aggregate the best expertise.” Park added. “The Academy builds upon our investments in Singapore, on top of Samsung’s regional headquarters here with the local office.”

"We are delighted that Samsung has chosen to establish its first global Leadership Academy outside of South Korea, in Singapore.  Samsung's focus on leadership development strongly aligns with our belief that talent enables business growth and innovation. We believe that Singapore is the ideal location in Asia where companies can partner with premier institutions, leading human capital consultancies, and other like-minded companies to develop leadership talent for both developed & developing markets." said Mr Yeoh Keat Chuan, Managing Director of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

Singapore Economic Development Board Managing Director Yeoh Keat Chuan and Samsung Southeast Asia President and CEO KK Park participate in a smart learning session

Fostering a tech-savvy, creative learning environment

Spanning across 12,000 square feet, the Academy will be located at 30 Mapletree Business City. Designed to foster a smart and collaborative learning environment, the Academy is equipped with the latest digital and convergent technology including Samsung’s smart devices, visual displays, content and services. Faculty and executives will be able to leverage the connected infrastructure to drive high interactivity and engagement during seminars or classes.

To further inspire creativity, the Academy also features digital art pieces created by design students from Singapore’s Raffles Design Institute. These digital art pieces will be showcased using Samsung’s large format displays.

The Academy is officially launched today by Mr. KK Park, President of Samsung Southeast Asia Headquarters with the Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) and Samsung Global Headquarters, in the presence of valued partners and guests.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. We employ 270,000 people across 79 countries with annual sales of US$187.8 billion. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.

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What Do You Think About the Service Level In Singapore?

Hi Huneybees,

Customer service in Singapore does not seem to be good enough, according to a new survey. The toughest on lacklustre service quality were local customers with 56 per cent of those interviewed indicating that service staff could ‘go beyond the call of duty’ to make their service experience more memorable.

The survey was carried out by market research group Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) to get a better insight on the service debate in Singapore. With a representative sample size of over 460 participants, the survey was conducted earlier this year over a period of one month. The survey is supported by the Go the Extra Mile for Service (GEMS) Up project, a joint movement involving SPRING Singapore, the Singapore Tourism Board, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency, the Institute of Service Excellence at the Singapore Management University, and the National Trades Union Congress.

About 60 per cent or more of local customers, service staff and managers surveyed considered service in Singapore to be just acceptable, and nothing more. These results could concern those working to position Singapore as one of the world’s leading global cities, where service plays an integral part of the overall experience.

A more positive picture was painted by tourists visiting the Lion City. Some 74 per cent of the tourists interviewed acknowledged that service in Singapore was ‘above average’, with almost half – 49 per cent – going as far as saying the service in Singapore was better than in their home country (in Asia, the UK and the United States).

What is the root cause for the apathetic attitude to one of Singapore’s more important industries?

The managers and service staff attribute this to demanding customers. Some 73 per cent of managers and 64 per cent of service staff said increasingly demanding clientele was the main barrier to delivering good service.
They also believe that the government has a role to play. Some 87 per cent of managers and
91 per cent of the service staff agreed that the government can help drive service quality by promoting service-sector businesses as an employer of choice, attracting more talent into the industry.

Reinforcing this point, 53 per cent of managers said finding the right staff was the main obstacle in providing quality service. As a result, even though almost all agreed that service quality is important to their business profitability and customer loyalty, more than half were reluctant to invest in training their existing talent pool as the return did not merit the extra effort.

The survey brings to light one of the biggest challenges facing the service industry, and highlights the gap in the understanding of the role that everyone (customers, service staff, managers and the public sector) plays in the overall service quality equation.

All in all, the survey suggests the need for an attitudinal change where customers, managers and service staff need to play their part towards understanding and acknowledging the importance of quality service as well as work towards building a culture of compliment.



After travelling to several countries, I would love to say, Singapore is one of the best countries in terms of service level. I'm not being bias 'coz this is my home country, but seriously we do have more pros than cons as far as I have experienced.
Like the video above from Sam Driscoll, Singaporeans would try to go the extra mile to please the customers. I know in certain countries, I would have been shoved out of the restaurant if I had asked for more stuffs or if made the waitress walk a few more steps, I would feel her backstabbing knife!
The service level in Singapore has been improving over the years and I applaud those working the service lines. One such good example happened to me just a couple of weeks back when I visited Kinokuniya at Liang Court. I've been searching for a particular book and all I had was a coverpage image, the staff immediately recognize the book (she definitely know her thing) and checked her inventory telling me that she found 1 in their Ngee Ann City branch and have made a reservation for me. She then went on to recommend more books in the same genre to me and so, I was a happy customer. 
I went back the next week as my friend wanted another copy of the book and the staff greeted me, knowing exactly who I was and which book I was referring to. (Thank you lady!) This is an example of good service where it was not just displayed in the shop, but going the extra mile in after sales service.
Just 1 thing to point out though, maybe it will be nice if the staffs greet us like the Japanese do? A "Good day, welcome to our shop!" would definitely brighten my day more and raise our service level a notch up?

So what do think of Singapore's service level? Any stories to share?

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