Essay Sample on Samsung’s Response to a Problem: The Failure of Its Galaxy Note 7 Smartphone

At some point every business, regardless of level of success, will encounter a major problem with one of is products. The organization’s response to the problem clearly illustrates its determination, or lack thereof, to operate in an ethical manner. The actions of an organization reveal the principles of an organization because they are generally voluntary and personal based on a perception of right and wrong (Byars & Stanberry, 2018). Ethical business leaders always search for solutions that benefit the most stakeholders even if those actions result in short-term headaches for the organization itself. The purpose of this paper is to analyze Samsung’s response to the failure of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone to determine if their actions were ethical or unethical in nature.

A New Smartphone with a Significant Problem

In 2016, Samsung released the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone to much fanfare due to all on the innovations included in the phone. At the time, many believed Apple (Samsung’s main competitor) products would not have the same level of technological advances in their new smartphone, but the before Apple’s product launch the battery problems in the Galaxy Note 7 rendered those differences moot (Hartley, 2017). Shortly after product launch, Note 7 batteries started experiencing thermal runaway in phones all over the world. This ultimately led to a recall of millions of phones to minimize danger to customers. However, by the time the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall, US customers reported almost 100 incidents of battery failures (Moynihan, 2017). Complicating issues, Samsung first believed the failure was due to faulty manufacturing of one of the types of batteries used in its phone, initiating a replacement program for phones with the presumed faulty battery installed, but customers continued to experience thermal runaway problems in replacement phones. Samsung immediately discontinued production of the Galaxy Note 7 and introduced an exchange program for any customer who had purchased the phone. Furthermore, Samsun issued an update to limit the charge capacity of existing phones to protect customers who had not exchanged their phone for a different model. Samsung also adopted new safety requirements for batteries produced and developed procedures to test batteries throughout the manufacturing process for quality (Moynihan, 2017). Samsung’s swift response to this problem prevented possible harm to millions of customers. 

An Ethical Analysis of Samsung’s Actions

Samsung realized shortly after release of the Galaxy Note 7 that it had a significant problem on its hands. Essentially the organization had two choices: do nothing and hope the problems are isolated or act swiftly to prevent a significant harm to a customer. Samsung chose the latter option and quickly issued a recall. Even though the recall release did not occur smoothly, Samsung issued a clear message that the new phones needed to be replaced (Hartley, 2017). The decision to issue a recall placed demonstrated Samsung’s dedication to operating ethically on the world stage. Additionally, Samsung had built a reputation of quality across many products, including other smartphones, to allow them to recover from a single failure. The decision to halt production of the Note 7, must have been difficult for leaders within Samsung, because Apple’s release of its new phone coupled with problems with Samsung’s new option could sway consumers to move to the organization’s biggest rival in the marketplace. Samsung’s ability to choose to recall and offer replacement of the faulty smartphones and halt production altogether clearly illustrates the organization’s dedication to ethical business operations. Samsung’s clear emphasis on customer safety was further displayed as the company utilized advertising dollars to publish ads on television and in newspapers apologizing for the failure of its product (Hatley, 2017). In the end, Samsung was fortunate its major competitor in the marketplace utilizes a different operating system on its phones, and Samsung’s previous smartphones performed well for customers. Most smartphone users have a particular liking for either Android or Apple IOS software and are unlikely to move from one operating system to the other. Additionally, Samsung’s previous performance relative to other Android phones likely made customers think twice before moving to a different brand of phone. Regardless of fortunate timing, Leaders within Samsung acted with integrity at every point of this crisis. A professional of integrity strives to be the best they can be in all interactions with others (Byars & Stanberry, 2018). When an organization acts with integrity, it is easy to recognize. Samsung’s ability to choose acting with integrity while potentially losing millions, if not billions, of dollars in revenue clearly indicates the company places ethics as a priority in all business decisions. Samsung’s actions are consistent with the utilitarian view of ethics. Utilitarianism states that an ethical action is one that achieves the greatest good for the largest group of people (Byars & Stanberry, 2018). One can look at Samsung’s actions and clearly see their actions benefit the most people. First, the organization protected the public from harm due to the faulty batteries in their smartphone. Second, one can argue the action taken by Samsung, while it hurst the company today, will likely have lasting positive impacts on its public image. 

In summary, Samsung’s response to a smartphone crisis provided the organization an opportunity to prove its dedication to ethical operations. Employees of successful organizations take pride in their ability to address every enterprise with honesty and fair play (Byars &Stanberry, 2018). Samsung clearly places a premium on acting with honor and their actions will likely pay dividends in the future.