Ask Management Theories Expert

Question: Siemens' Simple Structure-Not

There is perhaps no tougher task for an executive than to restructure a European organization. Ask former Siemens CEO Klaus Kleinfeld. Siemens-with €76 billion in revenue in financial year 2009/2010, some 405,000 employees, and branches in 190 countries-is one of the largest electronics companies in the world. Although the company has long been respected for its engineering prowess, it's also derided for its sluggishness and mechanistic structure. So when Kleinfeld took over as CEO, he sought to restructure the company, making the structure less bureaucratic so decisions are made more quickly. He spun off underperforming businesses and simplified the company's structure. One of the challenges of transforming European organizations is the customary participation of employees in executive decisions.

Half the seats on the Seimens board of directors are allocated to labor representatives. Not surprisingly, labor did not react positively to Kleinfeld's restructuring efforts, and picket lines became a constant presence outside his corporate offices. In his efforts to speed the restructuring, labor groups alleged, Kleinfeld secretly bankrolled a business-friendly workers' group to try to undermine Germany's main industrial union. Due to this and other allegations, Kleinfeld was forced out in June 2007 and replaced by Peter Löscher. Löscher has found the same tensions between inertia and the need for restructuring. Only a month after becoming CEO, he faced the decision whether to spin off the firm's underperforming €10 billion auto parts unit, VDO. He had to weigh the forces for stability, which want to protect worker interests, against U.S.-style pressures for financial performance. One of VDO's possible buyers was a U.S. company, TRW, the controlling interest of which is held by Blackstone, a U.S. private equity firm. German labor representatives scorn such firms as "locusts." When Löscher decided to sell VDO to German tire giant Continental Corporation, Continental promptly began to downsize and restructure the unit's operations. Löscher has continued to restructure Siemens.

In mid- 2008, he announced elimination of nearly 17,000 jobs worldwide. He also announced plans to consolidate more business units and reorganize the company's operations geographically. "The speed at which business is changing worldwide has increased considerably, and we're orienting Siemens accordingly," Löscher said. Under Löscher, Siemens has experienced its ups and downs. In 2008, its stock price fell 26 percent on the European stock exchange and 31 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2009, however, Siemens' earnings were up 32 percent, despite an ongoing global recession, and most indicators suggested 2011 would be an equally profitable year. Though Löscher's restructuring efforts have generated far less controversy than Kleinfeld's, that doesn't mean they went over well with all constituents. Of the 2008 job cuts, Werner Neugebauer, regional director for a union representing many Siemens employees, said, "The planned job cuts are incomprehensible nor acceptable for these reasons, and in this extent, completely exaggerated."

1. What do Kleinfeld's efforts at Siemens tell you about the difficulties of restructuring organizations?

2. Why do you think Löscher's restructuring decisions have generated less controversy than did Kleinfeld's?

3. Assume a colleague read this case and concluded, "This case proves restructuring efforts do not necessarily improve a company's financial performance." How would you respond?

4. Do you think a CEO who decides to restructure or downsize a company takes the well-being of employees into account? Should he or she do so? Why or why not?

Management Theories, Management Studies

  • Category:- Management Theories
  • Reference No.:- M92258944

Have any Question?


Related Questions in Management Theories

Assignment -for this assignment analyze and discuss your

Assignment - For this assignment, analyze and discuss your personal leadership style. Based on your experiences, current readings, work experience, education, and use of self-assessment instruments describe what you thin ...

Assignment -personal reflection 1 -instructions - watch

Assignment - Personal Reflection 1 - Instructions - Watch Milgram's obedience video: Milgram Experiment Proves We Blindly Obey Authority. Consider the following. Christ called his disciples to follow him (Mark 1:17). He ...

Assignment -instructions - please follow instructions for

Assignment - Instructions - Please follow instructions for all for Personal Learning Journal. And each personal learning journal should be of 300words. Each student will keep a personal journal to reflect and record thei ...

Healthcare information technology overview the current

Healthcare Information Technology Overview: The current healthcare industry utilizes a plethora of healthcare information technology (HIT) systems. HIT systems are designed to enhance quality outcomes, prevent adverse ev ...

Archetypes in actionsenge ross smith roberts amp kleiner

Archetypes in Action Senge, Ross, Smith, Roberts, & Kleiner (1994) noted: At its broadest level, systems thinking encompasses a large and fairly amorphous body of methods, tools, and principles, all oriented to looking a ...

Assessment descriptionyou are required to read the

Assessment Description You are required to read the following journal article article: 1. How Risky is Your Company? HBR. May-June 1999 You are also required to read a fictional case study based on a company that will be ...

Discussion - this discussion deals with the important topic

Discussion - This Discussion deals with the important topic of whether money is a motivator for increased job performance and satisfaction. Look at your own history of how you have been compensated, what problems you saw ...

Question - choose a product or technology interview five

Question - Choose a product or technology. Interview five consumers who buy that product and ask them what major problems they have with the product (or what major things they dislike about it). Then ask them to describe ...

Questions -1 choose an industry and then use the library or

Questions - 1. "Choose an industry and then use the library or the Internet to find data from secondary sources that will be highly useful in developing a marketing plan." Start thinking of the industry that relates to t ...

Developing leaders and organisations assessment - report on

Developing, Leaders and Organisations Assessment - Report on Promoting Individual Informal Workplace Learning Brief - You are the newly-appointed Human Resource Advisor in a medium-sized business that employs approximate ...

  • 4,153,160 Questions Asked
  • 13,132 Experts
  • 2,558,936 Questions Answered

Ask Experts for help!!

Looking for Assignment Help?

Start excelling in your Courses, Get help with Assignment

Write us your full requirement for evaluation and you will receive response within 20 minutes turnaround time.

Ask Now Help with Problems, Get a Best Answer

Why might a bank avoid the use of interest rate swaps even

Why might a bank avoid the use of interest rate swaps, even when the institution is exposed to significant interest rate

Describe the difference between zero coupon bonds and

Describe the difference between zero coupon bonds and coupon bonds. Under what conditions will a coupon bond sell at a p

Compute the present value of an annuity of 880 per year

Compute the present value of an annuity of $ 880 per year for 16 years, given a discount rate of 6 percent per annum. As

Compute the present value of an 1150 payment made in ten

Compute the present value of an $1,150 payment made in ten years when the discount rate is 12 percent. (Do not round int

Compute the present value of an annuity of 699 per year

Compute the present value of an annuity of $ 699 per year for 19 years, given a discount rate of 6 percent per annum. As