The Lincoln And Lincoln : A Case Study On Business Culture Essay

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.

In a book titled Principles of Management; Carpenter, M., Taylor, B., Erdogan, B. (2009) define Organizational culture as “a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that show people what is appropriate and inappropriate behavior (p. 184). They argue that organizations have identifiable characters just like people do but that in case of organizations these characters are usually known as organizational cultures (p.183).

Every organization has values and beliefs that define what they do and how they do things in the organization. These values have significant influence on how the employees behaves and the general performance of the organization – it is these set of values and beliefs, rooted deep in the company’s organizational structure that depict the “dos”, “don’t” and the “hows”, of the organization and these unequivocally represents the culture of the organization. This concept became popular in the 1980s when Peters and Waterman in their book: “In search of Excellence” presented the profound argument that, the success of any organization is inextricable linked to the quality of its culture. (Carpenter, M., Taylor, B., Erdogan, B. 2009 p183). The purpose of this paper is an attempt to analyse the impact diverse cultures played in the success of the Lincoln Electric Company.

The founder, James F. Lincoln used his Christian upbringing as the basis for his vision of how he defined entrepreneurial success. The customers ' needs are first priority, the employee second, and the stockholders are last. Quality and cost efficiency are the two most important factors considered in their product engineering and manufacturing. The hierarchy is stringent, however, the culture of the company is greatly people-oriented. This company has a strong culture that is instilled in new employees from the beginning and continuously practiced by every member of every facet in the organizational structure.

3. Lincoln’s culture could not be imposed but must be nurtured. “Willis retained the existing managers of most of the acquired companies to take advantage of their local knowledge, but directed them to implement [underlined by author]Lincoln’s incentive and manufacturing systems [p 6].” While Willis appreciated the benefits of implementing Lincoln’s systems, he did not consider James Lincoln’s caveat that “All those involved must be satisfied that they are properly recognized or they will not cooperate – and

Lincoln Electric Company was founded in 1895 by John C. Lincoln, who was joined by his brother younger brother James in 1907 (Lincoln Electric, Inc., n.d.). From the very beginning these no-nonsense brothers set about building a company that valued its customers first, prioritized frugality, focused on delivering ever increasing value and lower consumer costs. The company has a borderline fanatical commitment to achieving competitive advantage through an employee incentive system that drives productivity well beyond any norms for the industry, or manufacturers as a whole. To this day, the influence of the founders is clear in the entire structure of the company and its operating philosophies.

Founded in 1865 by John C. Lincoln, the company is known in today’s world for its high worker productivity. The secret behind this extra ordinary success lies in the company’s founding philosophies and established policies over the year. The term ‘Organizational Culture’ was not even in practice when the company established its unique policies like reducing working hours, paid up life insurance, health benefits, social activities, paid vacations, and the pension plans. These measures not only motivated the employees but also helped build trust and partisanship. In Charles G. Herbruck’s words “... these were expressions of mutual respect for each person’s importance for the job to be done.” It can be assumed that Lincoln Electric

This paper summarizes the culture of The Lincoln Eclectic Company. First we take a look at the influence of the company founders and how their beliefs/values exits today. Then we will review various topics such as, the companies golden rule, the performance appraisal system, the way people communicate in the company, and bonus plan, to name a few, all of which make up and highlight the companies culture.

The Lincoln Electric Company is a successful business. They boast record profits, have remarkably low employee turnover, and have created an organizational structure that is both researched and respected. The have managed to do these things by focusing on key elements of their business: valuing their employees, having an open door policy, and creating employee ownership.

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

Upon review of the Lincoln Electric Company case study conducted by Arthur Sharpish of Harvard University, I came to find that the culture within the company is what elevated Lincoln Electric above all other companies in that field. When analyzing the report I considered many aspects of the company in order to determine what exactly that separates Lincoln from their competition.

The creation of the Lincoln Electric Company organizational culture which is instrumental to it many years of existence and immerse growth, prosperity and benefit to the world originated from James F. Lincoln. According to the text book, it outlined that a company 's culture is inevitably tied the personality, background and values of its founder or founders, as well as their vision for the future of the organization. From The Lincoln Electric Company case study, the Company Philosophy of James F. Lincoln, who was the son of a congregational minister and who Christian principles were at the center of his business philosophy. In his statement, "The Christian ethic should control our acts. If it did control our acts, the savings in

The simplest definition of culture is how things get done in an organization. Each company has a culture and Lincoln Electric Company seems to have a strong culture based on limitless possibilities. Continuing influence and vision of the founders are still evident when analyzing the company and its vision.

Shortly after the Great Depression The Lincoln Electric Company was born. The company survived the hard times but did not thrive. The original owner John Lincoln later decided he would be better served as an engineer and inventor and handed the hat of management over to his younger brother James Lincoln. One of James’ first initiatives was creating a committee of employees to keep him informed of everyday operations. The advisory board has met twice a month ever since and is an effective way of communicating. It’s one of the many influences from the original founders. James, with the help of the advisory board, established programs to empower the employees, including welding training, employee stock,

The Lincoln Electrical company has an organizational structure rooted in the values and principles set out by its two founders, John Lincoln, engineer and inventor, and later his brother James F. Lincoln. The company has a strong company culture that persists to present. Both brothers left their imprints on the company, but the primary shaper of its values and principles, and success should be attributed to James Lincoln.