Samsung’s Corporate Responsibility: Combating Human Trafficking in Its Supply Chain Essay

Company Background

Samsung is a multinational technology company widely recognized for its consumer electronics products. Increasingly, more ethical customers are demanding that firms produce their goods in an ecologically and socially responsible manner. In such a scenario, Samsung is aware of the need to produce goods that meet the expectations of conscientious consumers. This ensures that neither worker rights nor personnel payments are compromised. The work that goes into creating the finished product is also well taken care of.

Why Human Trafficking Needs to Be Addressed

Various forms of victim abuse exist, such as forced labor, sexual exploitation, slavery, and organ trafficking. Victims are frequently moved legally to another nation so that the crooks who perpetrated the crime can profit from them. Approximately 14,500 to 17,500 people are reportedly trafficked into the US every year, with women and children making up the majority of the victims (Rein, 2022). Since few options exist in their native countries, many people are drawn to human smugglers by false assurances of future career opportunities. The US Department began tracking the subject when information on human smuggling started to appear in the country’s Department of Justice yearly statistics published in 1994 (Rein, 2022).

The growth of the race in its entirety is the responsibility of everybody, and those who prey on the defenseless should be brought to justice. Human trafficking can have a significant impact on businesses in several ways. A company can be intrinsically connected to the activity through the hiring, transportation, harboring, or acquisition of an individual with the goal of exploitation. If the company’s facilities, goods, or services, for instance, are utilized by traffickers to facilitate their activities, then the corporation may be linked to human trafficking. If a business sources products or employs services made or offered by victims of human trafficking, it may be held accountable.

Samsung Addressing Human Trafficking

To educate its Polish stakeholders on mitigating business risks related to modern slavery, Samsung effectively organized an online seminar on May 20–21, 2021, in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) (IOM, 2021). Fifty people from Samsung Poland, local vendors, and other company associates attended the training. Samsung Electronics and IOM co-hosted training on the subject in Malaysia and Hungary in June and November 2019 (IOM, 2021). The courses aimed to increase understanding of safeguarding the rights of migrant workers who participate in the firm’s distribution networks among business partners and employees. Samsung Electronics and IOM have persisted in looking for solutions to combat modern-day slavery and advance employees’ rights throughout their worldwide supply chains.

Samsung’s strategy ensures the business can identify, mitigate, and compensate for human rights risks. When supplying products or services to Samsung, vendors must adhere to the guidelines defined in Samsung’s human rights practices. Executives and working-level workers meet twice weekly on the GLI Council to address labor and civil rights problems. This company is firmly committed to upholding the Core Conventions of the International Labor Organization, as outlined in the ILO’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the International Bill of Human Rights. The compliance approach involves identifying key suppliers that pose a modern slavery risk across the entire organization, administering self-assessment surveys to these critical suppliers, and modifying the recruitment process for prospective suppliers to incorporate modern slavery-related questions.

During the reporting year, Samsung undertook several initiatives to examine and address the dangers of modern slavery, including:

• Creating an internal manual for the Migrant Worker Policy.
• Adding 50 Human Rights Champions to each of our international affiliates.
• Teaching 583 international supplier companies about their obligations under labor laws.
• Steering specialized audits of suppliers to check for forced and juvenile labor.

Due to its attempts to eradicate forced labor, Samsung’s business has been placed second in the Know the Chain ICT assessment. Additionally, it was ranked sixth in the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark’s ICT Manufacturing Industry. This is an extract from the Samsung slavery act 2021: “Since the publication of our first modern slavery statement in 2016, we have committed to maintaining a sustainable and responsible supply chain. This statement continues for the financial year ending 31 December 2021 (Samsung Electronics, 2021).” This is evidence that the Samsung company is against modern slavery and is addressing the issue in its communities.

Current Public Opinion About Samsung Company’s Efforts

Samsung highly values producing unparalleled experiences and developing enduring customer bonds. The Reputation Institute (RI) report ranks Samsung as the highest-ranked and most respectable business in the United States, based on its actions (GRRI, 2020). Samsung is ranked first in the poll’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) sector for its progress in integrating its social and corporate asset value. The yearly poll measures how well-regarded businesses are perceived to be in people’s views. Based on several key factors, including its CSR initiatives focused on the environment, social norms, philanthropy, inclusivity, and its ability to meet customers’ needs, Samsung has experienced significant growth in its public perception.

“Deal Breakers” Leading to Ending Contracts with Employees, Customers and Suppliers

A mutual agreement involving many parties is legally enforceable and can address any eventuality. If the agreement does not contain a clause allowing for termination by warning for any cause, it cannot be lawfully withdrawn since it does not fulfill the services specified. Another deal-breaker should be the inability of one of the consenting parties to make debt payments or fulfill their end of the transaction. A contract will be prohibited if a lawful order is issued forbidding the execution of such an agreement. Thus, it should be another deal breaker. The primary goal of any employment or business contract is to outline the terms of the working relationship (Moedl, 2020).

Recommendations for Taking an Actionable and Ethical Position

• Businesses without defined principles may be at a disadvantage when creating ethics programs. When workers believe that values drive an ethics program, it is most effective.
• Most ethical experts concur that senior management backing is essential for an ethics program to be effective. Senior directors should attend practice conferences, regularly embody morals in dialogues and conferences, and align their behavior with corporate values.
• The Samsung Corporation should involve its executives in the ethical process by establishing an ethics board or incorporating ethics as a regular topic of discussion in the board’s agenda.
• Comprehensive rules should link the company’s ideals to all relevant legislation. These rules should cover all the moral dilemmas that workers will likely encounter and be updated frequently as new problems arise.
• The organization’s purpose and vision assertions incorporate ethical ideals and objectives. Senior managers and staff may better understand the importance of ethical principles and values as a core component of all business operations and planning, rather than as an afterthought to be considered only when significant choices have already been made.

Needs to Be Addressed, Corrected, and Implemented

Customer service is a vital component of corporate processes that significantly impacts how the public perceives the organization. The business should implement service guidelines covering all potential facets of the client experience. It should employ individuals who are knowledgeable about what constitutes good customer service.

It should incorporate continuing customer service education into the organization’s professional growth strategy to constantly challenge employees to improve. The business should encourage staff to report the most common complaints and comments from customers to the company. Employees may also be rewarded for providing excellent service.

Comparison of Samsung and Its Close Competitors

According to Yahoo Finance (2019), both Samsung and Apple can fulfill their immediate financial commitments, as their main financial statistics indicate that they outperform their respective industries (Omarini, 2020). Apple has a higher stock turnover ratio than Samsung. Apple Inc. is more efficient in servicing its short-term debt obligations than Samsung because it uses its resources more proactively and effectively to create revenue. One of the main factors contributing to the popularity of Apple devices is that they may improve over time. For example, Apple releases a new iOS software version annually, providing iPhone customers with free access to the latest features and upgrades.

References

Apple Inc AAPL Financial Information. Morningstar, Inc. (2019). Web.

Global RepTrak 2020 Reputation Institute – ranking the Brands. (2020). Web.

IOM and Samsung Electronics continue efforts to eradicate forced labor practices in the supply chain. International Organization for Migration. (2021). Web.

Migrant worker policy – samsung electronics. (2020). Web.

Moedl, M. M. (2020). Two’s a company, three’s A crowd: Deal breaker terms in equity crowdfunding for prospective venture capital. Small Business Economics, 57(2), 927–952. Web.

Omarini, A. (2020). Fintech: A new hedge for a financial re-intermediation. strategy and risk perspectives. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 3. Web.

Rein, R. (2022). Suffering at the margins: Applying disability critical race studies to trafficking in the United States. Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, 42(2), 183–256. Web.

Samsung Electronics (UK) ltd modern slavery act statement 2021. (2021). Web.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd 005930 Financial Information. Morningstar, Inc. (2019). Web.