mr lee also increased the autonomy of successful businesses by eliminating cross bus 590109

Samsung, the South Korean based multinational conglomerate, arrived at its current world leading position through a process of benchmarking and refinement. When he succeeded his father as Samsung Group chairman in 1987, Lee Kun Hee set about transforming the conglomerate from a Korean competitor to a global leader. Mr Lee insisted that the Group’s subsidiaries should measure their performance against global leaders in their field, rather than benchmark against other Korean companies. Business units that did not measure up to global performance, such as sugar and paper processing, were divested even though they were profitable, because they were not capable of achieving leadership in global markets. Investment was concentrated on a handful of businesses deemed capable of competing globally. Mr Lee also increased the autonomy of successful businesses by eliminating cross business subsidies and below market transfer prices, thereby freeing the businesses to compete more effectively in global markets.