Organizational Culture At Lincoln Electric Company Essay

Mr. James C. Lincoln started the Lincoln Electric Company with an initial investment of two hundred dollars in 1895. (Company History , n.d.) (Sharplin, 1989) His goal was to design and sell an industrial motor. Mr. John C. Lincoln decided to hire his younger brother Mr. James F. Lincoln in 1907, handing all management capabilities over to him in 1914.

The Lincoln Electric Company is indeed a success story. It remains the world’s leading welding machines and electrode manufacturer. Notably, estimates indicate that the company may be controlling about 40% of arc welding equipment market. It has two factories in US and 3 more factories abroad with a combined workforce about 3000 excluding field sales staff. However, the immense success the company has registered in its operations is tied to its long-standing management style. This essay discusses the Lincoln Electric Company’s culture and how impactful it has been in maintaining a motivated workforce.

The Lincoln electric company founded by John C. Lincoln is known as the world’s largest manufacturer of welding machinery and electrodes. The Lincoln electric company, is one of the influential and leading manufacturers of welding machines and electrodes as compared to other companies located around the globe that are known for the manufacturing of welding machines and electrodes. This company has several outlets in different countries that also engage in the same production of the electrodes and the machinery.

James Lincoln was the son of a congregational minister and his Christian values were a guiding principle in his managerial decisions. When viewing his employee policies, we can see the golden rule at work. The needs of employees at every level are thoughtfully considered and aligned with the needs of the company. More than that, the customer is also given great consideration and the creation of products with real value is given providence over marketing or advertising. There is a genuine commitment to creating real worth rather than short term profits. James treats both the customers and the employees with respect and dignity, creating a culture is that is people oriented. The only people involved in the business that are not see as important are the shareholders. They are not actively involved in the business and their interests are therefore seen as the least important. This attitude may have protected Lincoln from a gradual change toward a more aggressive or sales oriented culture.

The Lincoln Electric Company is one of the largest manufacturers of welding machines and electrons in the world today, with $1 billion in sales and 6000 workers worldwide. The company is also the pioneer in the development of the arc-welding industry and the originator of the innovative employee incentive system. “It was founded in 1895 by Engineer John C. Lincoln to manufacture an industrial motor of his own design. By 1909, it began to produce welding machines, and In 1914 James F.Lincoln his younger brother became the general manager, and actively promoted the welding industry, which expanded with the need to repair the navy vessels during the First World War”. Moley Raymond. (1962) The American century of John C. Lincoln. Retrieve from http://ech.case.edu/cgi/article.pl?id=LEC.

The Lincoln Electric Company is the world’s largest manufacturer of welding machines and electrons. Lincoln employs 2,400 workers in two U.S. factories near Cleveland, OH and approximately 600 in three factories located in other countries. (The Lincoln Electric Company p. 1.)

Lincoln Electric Company was founded by John Lincoln and his brother James Lincoln. The company is now the world’s largest manufacturer of welding machines and electrodes (Sharplin, 1989). As stated previously, the founders’ values have a huge impact on what becomes of an organisation’s culture and James Lincoln (and his golden rule) is a good example. From early on he took a different approach to managing his company than others at the time. James Lincoln’s innovative

These tough beginnings draw deeply the formation of Lincoln’s no-frills approach to how a company should be ran. John C. Lincoln was an engineer at heart and left the company to his younger brother, James F. Lincoln, who took the company onwards keeping the company family run and true to his brothers’ values. Not just an engineer, James philosophies were marked in Christian values, which contributed to the deeply engrained nature of the culture. Further, James possessed a deep sense of business acumen that fed the company’s general philosophies. One example is his customer

In 1895 John Lincoln resolved to open a business with a second patent for electric motors. He founded this business with a mere 200 dollars. His start up cost was the earnings he received from redesigning a single motor for Herbert Dow. His business launched out of a small one room factory. In 1906 he spread his wings and erected a new 3 story factory. Consequently, he filled those three stories with 30 new employees and the sales shot through the roof.

Lincoln Electric was founded at the end of the 19-th century by John C. Lincoln. He was a talented engineer who invested 200 dollars in his product electrical motors. Soon he was replaced by his younger brother James F. Lincoln, and the founder of Lincoln Electric dedicated his time to engineering activities and inventions. James F. Lincoln was a different type of inventor. He was a good manager with the nice strategic point of view over manufacturing. At the beginning of the 20th century, the company started manufacturing welding machines which become their iconic product. That is not the only thing Lincoln electric became famous for. The incentive management plan was one of a kind at that time and was the first step of creating company culture with a high focus on the employees, something unheard among the other manufacturers at that time of the century. Both Lincoln brothers were inventors and this was crucial for the earlier company development. Both were pioneers and the vision and the mission that was integrated especially from James Lincoln played a major role in the dramatic company development during the World War II.

9). This, however has not stifled the atmosphere of equality at Lincoln, that is consistent with the POCP. The management style at Lincoln Electric is best summarized by a quote from James F. Lincoln, brought to attention by Sharplin on page 9, “...Management is the coach who must be obeyed. The men, however, are the players who alone can win the games.” The spirit of this quote is exemplified, not only by the empowerment of employees, but also by the lack of preferential treatment for stakeholders who are usually given a great deal of consideration. Management is not afforded any extravagance, even being made to eat in the same area as blue collar workers (p. 10). Stockholders take last priority on Lincoln’s list of stakeholders ( p. 3). Lincoln was very focused on improving the efficiency of his processes, not for the profit of stockholders, but for the benefit of the customer. He knew that everything else would follow. Lincoln, instead of catering to the wishes white collar stockholders, made an effort to enhance the financial well being of his employees. By setting aside 50% of the company’s stock for employee ownership (p. 10). The inclusiveness of the employee ownership program, as well as the way other stakeholders are treated is essential to maintaining a sense of fairness at the Lincoln Electric Company and in turn their

The company, Lincoln Electric was created way back in the year 1895 by Mr John C. Lincoln, with the production of manufactured goods being its centre activity. For many decades, the firm has been a top leader, in the production of arc-welding goods the world over. By the time World War II come to an end, over fifty producers of arc-welding goods were present in the United States of America, but presently, roughly only six major manufacturers still exit. The Huge majority, that include huge top firms such as General Electric and Westinghouse, pulled out of this from of manufacturing mainly, due to the fact that Lincoln, sold high-value, top-quality products at lower rates that came with outstanding customer service.

Getting started during an economic depression in the late 80s, that too with a capital investment of just $200.00, John. C Lincoln introduced his own new design for electric motors in the market. Moreover, after the joining of John. C’s younger brother, James F. Lincoln. The company not only expanded its product line but, introduced the world’s first portable wielding machine as well. After turning over the company fully to James, he established an Employee Advisory Board which later on help the employees cover up in a group life insurance, later on introduced a piece rate pay method and made them earned paid vacations for the first time in the country’s history in 1923. The company also launched an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, which helped them received their first annual Incentive Bonus in 1934.

Lincoln Electric’s founder, a John C. Lincoln, was a man of sound business practices who, after being frozen out of Elliott-Lincoln Company in 1895, built his own company from the ground up, starting with one of his patents and building improved motors from its design (Sharplin, 1989). James F. Lincoln, John C. Lincoln’s brother, joined the company after John had a battle with a bout of typhoid, in 1907. He became acting head of the company in 1914. James was a man of sound, ethical business practices who valued customers first and employees second, and who put exceptional emphasis on fairness of compensation and humane treatment of his employees.

The general outlook of The Lincoln Electric Company shows that it was a successful company regardless of the death of James F. Lincoln in 1965. The many college management texts refer to the Lincoln plan as a model of achieving high worker productivity.