Siemens is a 150-year-old German company, but it's not the
company it was even a few years ago. Until recently, Siemens
focused on producing electrical products. Today, the firm has
diversified into software, engineering, and services. It is also
global, with more than 400,000 employees working in 190 countries.
In other words, Siemens became a world leader by pursuing a
corporate strategy that emphasized diversifying into high-tech
products and services, and doing so on a global basis.
With a corporate strategy like that, human resource management
plays a big role at Siemens. Sophisticated engineering and services
require more focus on employee selection, training, and
compensation than in the average firm, and globalization requires
delivering these HR services globally. Siemens sums up the basic
themes of its HR strategy in several points. These include the
following:
- A living company is a learning company. The high-tech
nature of Siemens's business means that employees must be able to
learn on a continuing basis. Siemens uses its system of combined
classroom and hands-on apprenticeship training around the world to
help facilitate this. It also offers employees extensive continuing
education and management development.
- Global teamwork is the key to developing and using all the
potential of the firm's human resources. Because it is so important
for employees throughout Siemens to feel free to work
together and interact, employees have to understand the whole
process, not just bits and pieces. To support this, Siemens
provides extensive training and development. It also ensures that
all employees feel they're part of a strong, unifying corporate
identity. For example, HR uses cross-border, cross-cultural
experiences as prerequisites for career advances.
- A climate of mutual respect is the basis of all
relationships—within the company and with society. Siemens
contends that the wealth of nationalities, cultures, languages, and
outlooks represented by its employees is one of its most valuable
assets. It therefore engages in numerous HR activities aimed at
building openness, transparency, and fairness, and supporting
diversity.
Questions
- Based on the information in this case, provide examples
for Siemens of at least four strategically required organizational
outcomes (for example, customer service), and four required
workforce competencies and behaviors.
- Identify at least four strategically relevant HR
policies and activities that Siemens has instituted to help human
resource management contribute to achieving Siemens's strategic
goals.
- Provide a brief illustrative outline of a strategy map
for Siemens.