The Lincoln Electric Company ( LEC ), is a very interesting company to analyze because as noted in the book, Principles of Management in chapter 8, culture is a more powerful way of affecting, controlling, and managing employee behaviors, than organizational rules and regulations. In the LEC, study case paper, Prepared by Arthur Sharplin, McNeese StateUniversity, Lake Charles, LA 1989. we can see how the culture in the company has outlived the founders and in fact the culture got stronger with minor adjustments, just like any other company that makes adjustments in order to coexist in the current times.
LEC seems to have an organizational structure in which, all 3 interrelated levels are in effect. Going in more this is combined with the leadership of the management in which there are rules in place, but at the same time they are flexible and people oriented without loosing focus of the main objective in the production of the company, which is somewhat related to the culture because the culture sets the pace for the leadership, and a good reward system, starting for the wages that are paid to the employees, this can be reflected in the minimal if not zero turnout of employees, because the get paid above industry average, also they are in a piece pay system, which allows them to make more money, there is also a merit pay bonus plan, in which they get semiannual evaluations, this evaluations have a direct impact on their annual bonuses, at the same time the have the option of stock buying option, not everyone buy stocks, but the ones that do, have a sense of belonging, because they can see how the company profits are doing, thus having an effect in their performance, because now , all of a sudden is not just them working for someone else’s company, now they are part owners of the company in which they work in, the bonus program that LEC has in place is outstanding, (i.e. in 1979, the bonuses totaled $
Each organization big or small has its own values, ways of doing things and assumption that it operates in. The principles and ethics that exist in each of these companies are the baseline through which the company operates its affairs. This is what can be called as that organization’s culture. The culture in existence has an impact on the productivity, effectiveness and efficiency (Keyton, 2011). The basis of setting the most appropriate culture of a company is not only to move or increase the profitability but also to make the stakeholders happy and satisfied. One aspect of that is the employee or the human resource the firm who put their expertise in the firm and add a bit of creativity and innovativeness to move the products. Chick-Fil-A operates in a competitive industry thus it requires all the stakeholders.
Just as there are cultures in larger human society, there seem to be cultures within organizations. These cultures are similar to societal cultures. They are shared, communicated through symbols, and passed down from generation to generation of employees. Many definitions of organizational culture have been proposed. Most of them agree that there are several levels of culture and that these levels differ in terms of their visibility and their ability to be changed.
In 1895, James F. Lincoln started the Lincoln Electric Company with only $200 and a patent to an electric motor he had developed. Over the years, the company began to grow slowly and surely, even through the Great Depression of the 1930 's. Now, the company has several factories in the United States and overseas, employing thousands of people. Uniquely, even in a company with many workers and personnel, the level of employee satisfaction is high. Why was this company able to thrive and is still active during economic hardship, a factory fire, and changing times? It is due in large part to the business ethic and culture of the Lincoln Electric Company. We will discuss how James Lincoln 's beliefs influenced the way his company was run, and why
...ategic positioning is its incentive management system, which is what differentiated the company from its competitors. Lincoln Electric had excellent labor relations where an “open door policy” was implemented between executives and employees. Under Lincoln’s incentive system, the workers were rewarded for their productivity. The employees’ earnings and promotions were determined in direct proportion to their individual compensation towards the company’s success. This served as an effective system that motivated workers to be more efficient and increase the productivity of high quality products with reduction to costs. Lincoln Electric’s strength in being a player in the manufacturing industry is building high quality products at a lower cost than their competitors. The company follows a low-cost strategy that is supported through their incentive management system.
1. How was Lincoln able to grow and prosper for so long in such a difficult commodity industry that forced out other giants such as General Electric, Westinghouse and BOC? What is the source of Lincoln’s outstanding and enduring success?
As we learn from the case study, the Lincoln Electric Company is the largest global manufacturer of machines for welding, which are used in all kinds of construction projects. This means that the company has a large global presence and many employees, so its culture affects thousands of its workers. Even though it is now 2014, the company still has a large market share and very satisfied employees, so clearly the culture leaves employees satisfied and motivates them to work hard for the company.
The company motivates employees by providing “reward” and “engagement”. Reward is evaluating the employees properly and giving reasonable salary, and are divided into three parts:
The culture of appreciating employees for their hard work and achievements by incentives shows how the organization values their employees. Lincoln believed “Status is of great importance in all human relationships. The greatest incentive that money has, usually, is that is it a symbol of success... The resulting status is the real incentive... Money alone can be an incentive to the miser only. There must be complete honesty and understanding between the hourly worker and management if high efficiency is to be obtained”. This shows how harmoniously the labor and management have to work together to produce
...r investigate what sort of rewards or fringes would their employee’s desire compared to the old method of monetary incentives for the beneficial for the company”.
The bottom layer would follow the guideline so they can achieve the company objectives. The group structure is Chairman Board of Directors Group of Executives Board of Management Group of General Management The main departments within the group are: Administration Division Business Division Customer Support Division Network Development Division Production Services Division R&D Department Finance Department Human Resources Each division has managers for supervision. The staff in each division needs to follow the managersÂ’ decision. Every member of staff clearly understands their role and responsibility under the hierarchical structure. It is because each layer gets different responsibilities.
This essay gives a basic idea of what organizational culture is, and emphasis on the controversial issues of managing organizational cultures. As there are various definitions for organizational culture, and none of them are universally agreed. Therefore, for an easier understanding by readers, the definition of organizational culture given in this essay focusing on levels of culture, and will be discussed t together with Schein's(1983) framework. Before talking about managing organizational cultures, the types will be introduced first. Because, there are some descriptions about managing different types of organizational cultures, in the following content.
Corporate culture is the shared values and meanings that members hold in common and that are practiced by an organization’s leaders. Corporate culture is a powerful force that affects individuals in very real ways. In this paper I will explain the concept of corporate culture, apply the concept towards my employer, and analyze the validity of this concept. Research As Sackmann's Iceberg model demonstrates, culture is a series of visible and invisible characteristics that influence the behavior of members of organizations. Organizational and corporate cultures are formal and informal. They can be studied by observation, by listening and interacting with people in the culture, by reading what the company says about its own culture, by understanding career path progressions, and by observing stories about the company. As R. Solomon stated, “Corporate culture is related to ethics through the values and leadership styles that the leaders practice; the company model, the rituals and symbols that organizations value, and the way organizational executives and members communicate among themselves and with stakeholders. As a culture, the corporation defines not only jobs and roles; it also sets goals and establishes what counts as success” (Solomon, 1997, p.138). Corporate values are used to define corporate culture and drive operations found in “strong” corporate cultures. Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, and Bonar Group, the engineering firm I work for, all exemplify “strong” cultures. They all have a shared philosophy, they value the importance of people, they all have heroes that symbolize the success of the company, and they celebrate rituals, which provide opportunities for caring and sharing, for developing a spiri...
In large organisation, competition is not only in the market for goods and services but also for the quality of employees. As such, a large organization can only become attractive to the most skilled and high quality workers if it has an effective compensation and benefit plan. The key purpose of an effective compensation and benefit system is to provide employees with the right rewards for their work and right behavior in the workplace. Typically, organizational success is determined by the quality of employees an organization has. In turn, the organization can only attract such quality workers and maintain them through effective compensation and benefit
The incentive management plan was a model to achieve high worker productivity. The legacy left by the founders allowed the company to enjoy success achieving higher earnings; therefore, continuing providing bonuses which maintain employee morale high and a very limited turnover staff, if any at all. Any employee leaving the company was either for retirement or something more attractive than what he was obtaining as a Lincolns employee.
It brought organisational culture to the performance of a company, which has become a critical topic in management department. In addition to organisational culture, organisations need to be aware and prepared for changes in the expanding workforce as business grows. Companies are faced with maximizing benefits as well as profits while minimizing negative factors that come from those changes. There is no one answer to the issue, but some of the guidelines are clear. Awareness of organisational culture, teamwork, individual performance, external environment adaptation, leadership, and measurement of organisational culture are key factors that lead a company to perform better.