Task: Case Study on the Corporate Strategy of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacture Company (TSMC).
1. Read 3 articles and write a summary about TSMC.
2. Correct the case study abstract.
3. Present as many "Citations" and references as you can for the Human Resource, Research and Development and Intellectual Property protection aspects of TSMC to enrich the case study presented materials.
Article 1:
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.: The Semiconductor Services Company
Founded in 1987, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) was the world's first pure foundry, focused solely on the manufacturing of semiconductors. Operating in the cyclical semiconductor market, the company managed to grow rapidly and to become the world's 8th largest semiconductor manufacturer with more than a 50% market share in the foundry business. In the company's early days, TSMC management focused on manufacturing excellence and technology leadership. As competition in the sector intensified in the late 1990s, the company began to focus on customer service to differentiate itself further from companies like UMC, its next-door neighbor and closest competitor, and the rapidly growing Chinese foundries. The company invested heavily in the development of innovative, value-added services and proprietary information systems that would facilitate better communication and improve customer service, putting in place eCommerce applications such as eFoundry and Enterprise Supply Chain Management suites. TSMC management believed that customers, typically U.S.-based integrated circuit design houses facing high financial stakes, rapid technological innovations, short product life cycles, and intensive competition, would choose a foundry business partner based on quality, trustworthiness, and reputation, as opposed to price only. Could superior customer service make an impact in a capital-intensive, process- and quality- oriented industry such as the semiconductor industry, or would TSMC have to compete on price? Explores these issues, as well as other factors affecting TSMC's strategic path as it moves forward in the mid-2000s.
Article 2:
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)
TSMC created the semiconductor Dedicated IC Foundry business model when it was founded in 1987. TSMC served more than 400 customers in 2010, manufacturing more than 7,000 products for various applications covering a variety of computer, communications and consumer electronics market segments. Total capacity of the manufacturing facilities managed by TSMC, including subsidiaries and joint ventures, is expected to to reach 13.6 million eight-inch equivalent wafers in 2011. TSMC operates two advanced 12-inch wafer GIGAFAB™ facilities (fab 12 and 14), four eight-inch wafer fabs (fab 3, 5, 6, and 8), and one six-inch wafer fab (fab 2). TSMC also manages two eight-inch fabs at wholly owned subsidiaries: WaferTech in the United States and TSMC China Company Limited, and its joint venture fab, SSMC in Singapore. One additional 12-inch Fab (fab 15) is under construction and is expected to go on line in 2011.
Article 3:
Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited engages in the computer-aided designing, manufacturing, packaging, testing, and selling integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices; and manufacturing masks. It offers a range of wafer fabrication processes, including processes to manufacture complementary metal oxide silicon (CMOS) logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, embedded memory, BiCMOS mixed-signal, and other semiconductors. The company’s semiconductor products include logic semiconductors that process digital data to control the operation of electronic systems, as well as standard logic devices that include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, graphic chips, and chip sets; and mixed-signal/RF semiconductors, which combine analog and digital devices on a single semiconductor to process analog and digital data for use in hard disk drives, wireless communications equipment, and network communications equipment. It also offers memory semiconductors that are used in electronic systems to store data and program instructions; CMOS image sensor semiconductors, which are primarily used in camera phones; and high voltage semiconductors, including high voltage CMOS, bipolar-CMOS-DMOS, and ultra-high voltage technology products for use in various panel-size display driver and power IC applications. In addition, the company provides design and technology platforms, and multi-project wafer processing services. It serves fabless semiconductor companies/systems companies and integrated device manufacturers primarily in North America, Asia, and Europe. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan.