Case Study Analysis Lincoln Electric: Venturing Abroad

Lincoln Electric Company also believed in a lean labor force to lessen workers hours as the demand dropped and then compensated for that with overtime hours in periods of busy demand, where the workers could make more wages.

What do you think of Lincoln’s emerging international strategy by the mid-1990s? Does this company have a competitive advantage that can be transferred to the global environment? How is Massaro’s recent overseas initiative different from Lincoln’s earlier failed approach?Lincoln Electric: Venturing Abroad

(Sharplin A., 1989). Since its incipient in the 17th century, the company has survived diverse challenges, and the key towards their success can be vividly linked to various sets of values and beliefs the founders and employees infused into the company’s system of operation - the culture and ethos that governs the workplace’s operational habits of the employees. Evidently, as a result of this, the company is considered as one of the best managed manufacturing companies in the

With the years going by, Lincoln Electric Company, despite its excellent performance in production, has been growing in a very steady speed, and never really grew to a large scale company.

2. Lincoln needed continued organizational development just as Lincoln’s equipment needed continued maintenance to remain viable. James Lincoln was a principled visionary and an organizational development innovator[d]. However, he did not prepare successors for assuming the critical role that continued organizational development. Neither of his successors, first William Irrgang and later Georges Willis, had contributed anything of note in developing the organization to meet Lincoln’s changing environmental demands. In particular, during Willis’s tenure, Lincoln did not even practice organizational maintenance: “By 1992, nearly all of the newly acquired plants, plus France, were operating in the red [and corporate executives] paid little attention [p 7].”Lincoln needed to develop the Asian organization and to develop the entirety ofLincoln as a wholly integrated organization in order to meet the demands of its expansion effort.

The new strategy also entails Massaro to keep a closer watch on the international operations in stark contrast to the swim or die approach undertaken previously. Lincoln's structure has changed somewhat to accommodate this greater need for supervision. For example, a president is named to head international operations in each of the five regions, North America, Europe, Russia/Africa/Middle east, Latin America and Asia. These presidents held vice-presidential rank in the corporate structure to underline the importance of the subsidiaries to the overall global strategy of Lincoln. They play vital roles in supervising sales staff in their regions, advising Massaro on the need to create manufacturing capacities in their respective countries and also developing interregional cooperation such as sourcing goods from the Lincoln factory that could provide them most profitably despite it being in another territory. Compare this to previous internationalization strategies where the subsidiaries were left to their own devices and resulted in several inefficiencies both in terms of range of products manufactured as well as other costs incurred. Finally, Massaro also had to tweak the imposition of Lincoln's famed incentive system. The new internationalization strategy concedes that the system cannot simply be transplanted for use in another region because

The Lincoln Electric Employees' Association was formed in 1919 to provide hearth benefits and social activities.This organization continues today and has assumed several addittional functions over the years.

All the founders of the company had a great deal of continues influence on the positioning of the company today, form John C. Lincoln to James F. Lincoln. John C. Lincoln started it all and James F. Lincoln, who is the younger brother of John, took over the company to another level. One of James Lincoln 's early actions as head of the firm was to ask the employees to elect representatives to a committee that would advise him on company operations. The Advisory Board has met with the chief executive officer twice monthly since that time. This was only the first of a series of innovative personnel policies that have, over the years, distinguished Lincoln Electric from its contemporaries.

In order to make future international plants more successful than previous acquisitions, Lincoln Electric’s managers may consider re-evaluating their management control approach; carefully evaluating the international labor laws and regulations of the plant prior to deciding whether or not to invest in it; and providing increased training and development to managers and workers of both the parent company and host company to ensure understanding of both sides’ cultural values and beliefs.

The founders of the Lincoln Electric Company left a legacy of an organization culture that promotes high productivity through sound management policies which have stood the test of time. The exponential growth of the company after the death of James F. Lincoln was a direct result of the establishment of a rich culture mix based on values that were widely shared and accepted by the members of the organization. Management empowered employees to become part of the decision making process through the contribution of ideas through the Advisory Board which was elected by the employees from amongst themselves. Reward management systems and all the other artifacts of the Lincoln Electric’s distinguished strong organizational culture will be analyzed in greater detail in this essay.

Lincoln Electric is one of the leading producers and manufacturers of Arc Welding Products and Electric Motors. It is undeniable that the success of Lincoln Electric lies on the foundation of the various company policies introduced by James Lincoln.

Lincoln serves their customers first, and stockholders last. Lincoln's goal is to evolve continually to offer better quality products at a lower price point. These views have not changed since the very humble beginnings of the company. The company's motto is the actual is limited, but the possible is immense. James Lincoln began managing this business by asking employees to elect members to weigh in decisions about company operations in a twice-monthly meeting. This practice still continues. The turnover is nearly nonexistent, with the exception of retirements and employee relocations. And the list of benefits available to employees is extensive, including job security for a guaranteed amount of hours and stock purchase option, bonuses, and

The Lincoln Electric company, under the leadership of James F. Lincoln saw a major shift in the way business was to be directed and operated with visionary mind-set emulating companies like Ford, Wal-Mart, Merck, 3M as focus was towards the customer’s needs and employee’s compensation. Philosophically customer needs become critical as the reason for being in business and the employees also being the vehicle in achieving the needs of the customers as the case study by Sharplin, A (1989, p.3) clearly positions the companies aspirations. James Lincoln places much importance on the relationship with employees that is guided by mutual respect and individual effort.

The discussion between promoters of best practice and best fit approaches has sparked widespread controversy in the human resource management (HRM) area. The topic has gained much scholarly attention because it not only addresses a theoretical controversy but also possesses a high degree of practical managerial significance. The essay has the aim to analyse best practice and best fit approaches in HRM of a multinational enterprise. The reader receives insight into Lincoln Electric's organization through a case-study analysis of practical HR approaches serving as a basis for developing practical managerial implications in the last part of the paper.

While there are several contributing factors aiding the Lincoln Electric Company to excel in creating a wonderful business culture, there is a constant evolution of progress. During its startup in 1895; the founder (John C. Lincoln) was able to experience moderate success and growth through the standard business practices of the day.