Creating a High-Performance Culture in Siemens - Case Study Example

? Siemens: Creating a high performance culture Organizational Structure & Culture Siemens is a multinational electrical business with revenue of almost ?60 billion. The organization employs almost half of a million individuals throughout the globe. Siemens is situated in Munich, Germany. Siemens has its headquarters in the Berkshire and Bracknell, UK. It has approximately 100 sites through the United Kingdome having 20,000 personnel. The company’s products impact the lives of people in innumerable ways. It has integrated into the lives of a common person, from toasting bread to generating electricity. Traffic lights are manufactures by Siemens and doctors in hospitals have MRI lifesaving scanning facilities made up of Siemens under the flied of advanced medical scanning technology. For instance, if we compare the organizational culture and structure of Siemens with Samsung, it will be apparent that there business structure is based on family linkages and centralization (Unisg.ch, 2013). There organizational culture is inherited by their predecessors (Dinitzen, 2010). It is also important to understand that the culture of a firm is the common way of carrying out Fof a company develops gradually. It is made by the employees that work for the company—its supervisors and staff. What the company stands for, its norms, values and motives that it seeks to acquire (its vision), are underlying aspects in establishing a dynamic culture. An effective cultural performance exists when people in the organization accepts the same belief and where they rely and value everyone’s contribution. Siemens’ activities are based on effective teamwork culture. This focus on the team has been well integrated by the international CEO of the company, Klaus Kleinfeld. Working in team work can significantly impact the organizational performance and this has been well understood by Siemens. The quality of its people and their teams is the most valuable asset, specifically in today’s scenario where the flow of knowledge round the world is happening with lightening pace. Unlike Samsung where the most important component of their success is innovation and procedures which they carry out to bring new products for their consumers (Forbes.com, 2013). Thus, organizational structure and culture adopted in Siemens have been a major factor in its success and is a differentiation among other multinationals. Impact of organizational culture and structure on the performance of Siemens Successful management of human resources department in the businesses is a major concern for both the HR managers and other policy makers of the company. To gain a satisfied, committed, and well performing human resource for a business, managers must have persistency among the organizational system, structure, culture along with an appropriate strategy. Siemens strives to make all of it employees to be completely motivated and engaged in the organization and to feel themselves an important part of company success. People therefore need to know their important in the business. Keeping this notion in mind, Siemens develops precise expectations. Every employee plays a crucial role in acquiring results (Dinitzen, 2010). According to Siemens, their business effectiveness relies on the performance of each and every employee, their teams and the whole organization. Organizational structure, managerial practices, leadership and the process of decision making intervened by organizational culture, effective managerial style constructively influence employee performance. On the contrary, centralization, inadequate participation of employees in decision making, lack improvement, formalization and extreme specialization impacts the motivation of employees negatively (Macdonald, 2013). Expert guidance, decentralization, structure, adaptive culture, management activities, employee participation, collaborative management, work autonomy, safety and well-being, employee growth, and opportunities for employee development within organizational culture increases job satisfaction. Absence of these factors adversely impact the organizational productivity and hampers in the way of goal attainment. The reason behind Siemens’ success as discussed in the case study has been its flexible and adaptive organizational structure and culture which promoted employee satisfaction and regarded them as the most important element of the whole organization (Jelinek, 2010) Effectiveness of different Leadership Styles Leadership styles have important influences not only in small organizations however also in the world’s biggest organization. These styles impact everyone from top management the newest university intern. They develop the organizational culture that impacts the company and its productivity. Leader’s styles include how they associate to others within and outside the company, how they perceive themselves and their status, and to a very huge level—whether or not they are effective as leaders. If a job requires to be completed, how does a specific leader set out to get it accomplished? If a crisis emerges, how will a leader should tackle it? If the company requires the help of the community, how does he carry out his activities? All of these issues rely on leadership style (Bonnici, 2013). The leadership style adopted in an organization is evident in both the nature and associations with the community. If a leader is distrustful and envious of his authority, others in the firm are likely to act in the same manner while dealing with other colleagues and public. On the contrary, if a leader is cooperative and flexible, he/she will likely to motivate the same behaviors among employees and to work in a cooperative manner with other businesses. In numerous ways, the leadership style defines a company. If the company is to be trustworthy to its philosophy and objective, its leadership styles must be persistent with them. For instance, an autocratic leader within a democratic company can cause disorder. A leader focused only with the bottom line in a company created on the significance of human norms may undermine the objective of its operation. For this, being careful of both the leadership style and impact on employees is highly imperative for sustaining the organization on the right path (Dereli, 2010). Siemens leadership motivates its employees to participate in the company processes and share their views for yielding better innovation. This democratic or employee-centric leadership style has been the best fit for the Siemens, however different organization adopt different leadership style to suit their requirements. If we take an example of Coco Cola, the CEO of the company likes to establish a positive displeasure. According to him the leadership style is not quick enough, not creative enough, and not commercial enough, it is all about business mentality. The CEO believes in leading and motivating his employees through positive criticism always (CNNMoney, 2013). Factors Affecting Individual’s Behavior There are numerous internal and external aspects impacting the employee behavior. Leadership Leaders and managers play a crucial part in impacting the behaviors of employees within organization. It is the obligation of leaders to determine a direction for group members. More frequently in businesses, it has been noticed that workers do not feel like working when they are supervised by rigid bosses (Kippenberger, 2002). Organizational Culture Employees require to feel easy at their workplace and to stay happy and positive. Policies and rules should be without any discrimination. Employees should be encouraged to regard their managers and they should also be motivated to follow the code of ethics (Markovic, 2012). Job Roles Employees should be inquired to carry out the best thing they can do. Leaders or managers should not compel them with loads of work; however they should encourage employees to improve their skills gradually (Miles, 2012). Successful Communication Managers require interacting effectively with their group members. When employees feel ignored, they lose their motivation and interest in their jobs. They need to have sufficient importance in the decision making process and manager should invite them to share their opinions and grievances so that they can be heard immediately. Personal Well-being If the employees suffer from bad personal or family life, they will feel distracted the entire day. Employees with chaotic background tend to react illogically at workplace (P.A, 2009). Work Relationships Employees need to have friends and acquaintances at workplace. People need to talk and discuss their experience which is only possible with a warm and friendly work place. Managers should allow their employees to interact with others which would lead to a reduction of stress and boredom at the organization (Plessis, 2006). Organizational theory underpins the practice of management Organizational and management theory is utilized in numerous facets of a working organization. A number of people strive to follow the theory to help them transform into better their works or more effective in their lives. Although, this might direct them facing sacrifice some of their personal beliefs to get professional success. In the same manner, management theory might also underpin the individual values of some people (Reynolds and Holwell, 2013). For example, they might deviate with a specific rule or regulation that has been evolved by the organization. However, for the purpose to carry out their work as manager successfully and with proficiency, they require to shift away from their principles and do the job. It is complex to try to do both management and organizational theories because the psychological fix between the manager and the employee still requires to be maintained (Simmons, 2008). Different Approaches to Management The underlying factors of organizations have sustained the same over the years. Companies have aims, be they open or implicit, appeal people, acquire and utilize resources to gain the goals, utilize some type of structure to separate (division of labor) and collaborate activities as well as depend on specific people/positions to direct or manage others. It is imperative to establish a view point of understanding about businesses because organizational and human behaviors are impacted by the persons in organizations and the particular traits in the underlying factors in the organization. They way they acclimatize themselves to the context is also important. There is substantial literature and knowledge, known as organizational theories, establishes over the years depicting what is happening in organizations. The theories of organization are in the form of propositions which look to explore or expect how persons and groups react in various organizational structures (Jelinek, 2010). Individual excellence engages developing everyone that performs for the organization, not only the executives. Siemens’ talent management belief engages making sure that every worker is offered with the direction and help to acquire their complete potential. This helps them to perform at their highest levels, every day. At Siemens, every employee words together to obtain organizational aim as well as fulfilling their personal objectives. Every person shares the same dreams and vision. In this culture, employees become able to improve and accept bigger responsibilities within the organization. By comparing the Siemens employee centric management approach with the Apple’s style of management, it will be evident to note that the Apple Inc. has been carrying out the command control management approach (Business Insider, 2013). Since, the organization aims to deliver high quality products with cutting edge innovation, the company’s vice presidents and manager are held rigidly responsible for their achievement and when they fail to deliver, they are the only one who held responsible. HR Management Approach Human Resource management approach signifies the firm’s workforce. This approach focuses the procedures involved with the human resources. The entire operations of the management revolve around the most precious asset of an organization, its people (Collings & Wood, 2009). Open System Management Approach This approach for management tries to elaborate organizational attitude through evaluating the structure of the organization (Coleman, 1979) Contingency Approach to Management According to this theory, the best way to manage an organization is the surrounding in which it belongs to. There is no one best way to handle the activities within an organization since there is an extensive array of external and internal factors which should be considered while managing (Roberg, 1979). Internal Process Approach This approach has a dearth of internal tension with easy internal functioning. There is a precise link presents between organizational procedures and performance (Bordens & Abbot, 2011). Impact of leadership in organizational change Leadership bears a straight cause and effect association with organizations and their effectiveness. Leaders define values, change tolerance, culture and employee encouragement. They form institutional policies comprising their implementation and efficiency. Leaders can emerge at any point of an entity and are not specific to management. However, effective leaders do attain one thing in general (Pasmore et al, 2010). They impact those encompass them in order to gain optimal benefit from the organization’s assets, comprising its most crucial and costly: its human resource. Exiting leadership theories explain leaders relied upon characteristics or how impact and power are utilized to acquire objectives. When utilizing trait based metaphors, leaders might be determined as autocratic, bureaucratic, democratic or charismatic. If perceiving leadership from the viewpoint of the distribution of power and its consumption to prevent results, leaders are transactional, situational or transformational (Dinitzen, 2010). Various leadership styles in the process of change can be described as below: Calm at Chaos Leaders who can effectively direct in times of change are those are easy and calm with chaos or the uncertainty. The only prediction about change is that it is unpredictable. Creative Creativity is the skill to extract information through a huge range of sources and implement that information in innovative and new ways to generate value or resolve problems. Creative leaders are effective in managing the change situations since they acquire information from various internal and external sources to solve the issues arising during change. Effective Communicators It is imperative for leaders to be effective communicators always, however specially during the phases of change. It will enable to them to understand employees expressions and opinions about change which would help them in preventing change resistance (Denison, 2001). Comparison of Different Motivational Theories Maslow Maslow’s need model has immense potential in the corporate world. If the management can locate which level its employees reached, they can determine on appropriate rewards. An individual begins from the bottom of the pyramid (hierarchy) and will first seek to fulfill basic needs like food, cloth, and shelter. Once these physiological requirements have been fulfilled, they no longer remain the motivation. So the person shifts up to the next level. Then comes the safety requirements at work which could comprise the physical safety and the prevention against unemployment or income. The social needs identifies that many people want to associate with groups or individuals. This level includes the desire of love and feeling of belonging. The esteem needs demands the recognition for a job well performed. Finally, the self-actualization refers to those people who think about personal fulfillment by the degree of their success which they acquire (Maslow et al, 1998). Herzberg Frederick Herzberg’s motivational theory evaluated the job behavior of 200 employees who were inquired to remember when they had undergone negative experiences at work. The hygiene factors are relied on the requirement for a business to prevent unfavorable conditions at work. If these aspects are considered insufficient by workers, then they can feel unhappy at work. The motivational factors of employees at work based on their personal needs for growth. When these factors exist, they create positive impacts on the employee motivation (Wren & Greenwood, 1998). ERG He reformed Maslow’s needs theory into three precise and broader perspectives. The existence needs included the need for fundamental material things, the human’s physiological and safety needs. The relatedness needs include the ambition a person has for sustaining important interpersonal associations, getting fame and recognition. And finally, the growth needs include need for personal development and personal development as well as improvement (Chilton & Bloodgood, 2013). Mc Clelland McClelland’s theory of motivation defines that every individual has one of three major forces of motivation: the needs for achievement, power, and affiliation. These drivers of motivation are not intrinsic; people develop them through the culture and real life experiences. The achievers prefer to solve issues and acquire their goals and those with a strong thrust for affiliation do not prefer to take risk and value their relationships more than anything else (Miner, 2007). Usefulness of Motivational Theories for Managers Motivation is a crucial element that mostly under consumed by managers in modern workplace. Managers utilize motivation in the organization to influence people to perform, both in groups and as individuals, to yield the optimum outcomes for organizations in the most competent and successful manner. It had been observed that motivation had to be produced externally, however it is now realized that every person has his own factors of motivations that drives them to perform well. It is the responsibility of the manager to cautiously recognize and address these aspects of motivation (Iqbal, 2013). Also, motivation can be adequately or inappropriately acquired and can either hamper or enhance performance. Management must realize that they are handling with humans, not machines. Motivation engages getting human beings to perform something since they want to do it. That is why it cannot be acquired without realizing its importance. Management must also utilize the adequate rewards to attain the desired outcomes. Simply expressed, if the right motivational context is in place, organizations will be bestowed with productive employees. Nature of Groups and Groups Behavior in Siemens According to the Siemens case study, their business effectiveness relies on the performance of every employee, their teams and the complete organization. A high performing team is the one in which all of its participant’s collaborate towards shared objectives and have a feeling of shared roles and outcomes the team obtains (Tjosvold and Smith et al., 2005). As the group performance enhances over time, the outcomes becomes better as well. Quality is the component of Siemens’ international plan of action related with human resource growth. It has four core aspects: Acquiring a culture with increased performance Enhancing the international talent hub Reinforcing expert professions Siemens’ Leadership Excellence Programme (SLE) The Siemens follows a high performing work force methodology which engages everyone. The international talent pool is created of all of the employees working in Siemens. Within the organization, every employee enjoys the opportunity to grow their own niches and to gain further professionalism. Moreover, the SLE initiative offers the highest quality of leadership and management training. Factors that may promote or inhibit the development of effective teamwork at Siemens There are mostly dozens of external and internal aspects that separate successful and failed groups. Also, what makes some groups tough, be it efficiency, strength, or high levels of potentials which can transform other groups weak. These characteristics may benefit teamwork and promote healthy work environment in all types of work groups (Wulbern and Hanisch et al., 2002). Variety Successful teams accept and are made up of diversified cultures, skills and personal traits. Variety can encourage innovation and creativity and can increase awareness among employees as well as generate respect for disparities, which will strengthen valuable teamwork (West, 2013). Communication Successful communication is provided through precise and open channels of communication. All members of the team should be on the same level with respect to their roles, aims, and schedules. This unity is provided through effective communication. Management Teamwork is strengthened through effective management. All teams get advantage from one or numerous sources of motivation and guidance; leaders or managers can help collaboration through co-coordinating the tasks of team members and promoting team members to express their thoughts during meetings. Team building activities Successful teamwork is establishes through shared practice and experience. The utilization or prevention of team building efforts can be a crucial factor in defining the establishment of successful teams. In the modern technological and speedy business context, Siemens focus on all those factors which contribute to a successful outcome. On the contrary, there are other aspects which hamper the growth of a successful team work and about which managers should be highly concerned in order to minimize them as much as possible. For instance, factors that inhibit the effective teamwork are mainly the absence of trust and fear of conflict. Organizations must ensure to handle these issues so that they cannot hamper in the process of effective team building. The impact of technology on team functioning within Siemens Innovative technology has been infused into the organization at an exponentially high ratio over the last few years. With all advancements in competencies and productivity provided by new technologies, there are factors of concern that must be regarded completely by any company before executing a new technology. The execution of this new implementation, specifically IT (information technology), is mandatory for an organization to sustain in today’s competitive market and in the prospect. In order to understand the significance of the technology in the business, organizations need to be more efficient in the adoption of these technologies. They will require realizing the way that customers, employees and managers will utilize and interact with it (Loughlin, 2010). Conclusion For Siemens, human resources, like it innovation and technology, are a prime source of competitive advantage. In order to make the most out of these assets, Siemens make sure that its employees perform on establishing the organization’s heritage of creativity. Siemens also believes that there are numerous ways to make the people feel cared and involved. These, along with the issues and factors discussed in the paper, enable the reader to understand the importance of a healthy organizational culture and structure as well as effective team building, technology and employee motivation. All these aspects combine to establish a successful organization as Siemens. References Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Top of Form Bonnici, C. 2013. Creating a Successful Leadership Style: Principles of Personal Strategic Planning. R&L. BORDENS, K. S., & ABBOTT, B. B. (2011). Research design and methods: a process approach. New York, McGraw-Hill. Business Insider. 2013. 8 Management Lessons I Learned Working At Apple. [online] Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/management-lessons-i-learned-working-at-apple-2010-7 [Accessed: 13 Nov 2013]. CHILTON, M. A., & BLOODGOOD, J. M. (2013). Knowledge management and competitive advantage: issues and potential solutions. CNNMoney. 2013. What really happened at Coke - Fortune Management. [online] Available at: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/11/21/buffett-coke-shakeup/ [Accessed: 13 Nov 2013]. COLEMAN, C. J. (1979). Personnel, an open system approach. Cambridge, MA, Winthrop Publishers. COLLINGS, D. G., & WOOD, G. (2009). Human resource management: a critical approach. London, Routledge. DENISON, D. R. (2001). Managing organizational change in transition economies. Mahwah, N.J., L. Erlbaum. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=61005. Dereli, M. 2010. Leadership Styles. VDM Publishing. Dinitzen, H. 2010. Organisational theory. Hans Reitzels Forlag. Forbes.com. 2013. Welcome to Forbes. [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml [Accessed: 13 Nov 2013]. Iqbal, T. 2013. The Impact of Leadership Styles on Organizational Effectiveness. Grin. Jelinek, S. 2010. The Impact of Management Practices and Organizational Structure on Firm Performance. Grin. Kippenberger, T. 2002. Leadership Styles: Leading. Wiley. Loughlin, J. 2010. The Importance of Technology . to the Transcendental Future. Centretruths Digital Media. Macdonald, R. 2013. Cultural Impact on Human Resource Management. Grin. Markovic, M. 2012. Impact of Globalization on Organizational Culture, Behavior and Gender Role. IAP. MASLOW, A. H., STEPHENS, D. C., HEIL, G., & MASLOW, A. H. (1998). Maslow on management. New York, John Wiley. Miles, J. 2012. Management and Organization Theory: A Jossey-Bass Reader. Wiley. MINER, J. B. (2007). Organizational behavior 4: from theory to practice. Armonk, N.Y., M.E. Sharpe. P.A, E. 2009. Approaches to Management. Discovery. PASMORE, W. A., WOODMAN, R. W., & SHANI, A. B. (2010). Research in organizational change and development. Volume 18 Volume 18. Bingley, UK, Emerald. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10400674. Plessis, M. 2006. The impact of organisational culture on knowledge management. Chandos. Reynolds, M. and Holwell, S. 2013. Systems Approaches to Managing Change: A Practical Guide: A Practical Guide. Springer. ROBERG, R. R. (1979). Police management and organizational behavior a contingency approach. St. Paul, West Pub. Co. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/4593608.html. Simmons, D. 2008. Organizational Culture, Workplace Incivility, and Turnover:. Pro Quest. Tjosvold, D., Smith, K. and West, M. 2005. The Essentials of Teamworking: International Perspectives. Wiley. Unisg.ch. 2013. Untitled. [online] Available at: http://www.unisg.ch/~/media/Internet/Content/Dateien/InstituteUndCenters/IfB/Lehre/Lehrbuecher%20und%20Fallstudien/Case%20Studies/Siemens_310-114-1S_Inspection%20Copy_C_en.ashx [Accessed: 13 Nov 2013]. West, M. 2013. Effective Teamwork: Practical Lessons from Organizational Research. Wiley. WREN, D. A., & GREENWOOD, R. G. (1998). Management innovators: the people and ideas that have shaped modern business. New York, Oxford University Press. Wulbern, D., Hanisch, P., Martinet, C., Sapone, D. and Bagheri, A. 2002. Beiersdorf - how does culture impact on a small German multinational. Grin. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More