BMW Dream Factory and Culture, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Corporate culture and work environment are those elements that have a huge influence on the working process and performance of every company as they motivate personnel for a better performance and serve for the creation of an effective communication structure within the company. In this paper attributes of a well-developed organizational culture will be discussed on the example of BMW Company.

Culture at BMW

The first element that distinguishes the corporate culture of the BMW is its trepreneurial nature. Employees of all positions and levels work together on the basis of equality and inter-communication and thus only few hierarchical barriers exist within the company. For example, top managers work closely with their subordinates and peers; such a system contributes to the development of ties that help the company to flourish. For instance, such an attitude towards communication within the organizational structure makes the company more dynamic and innovation-oriented. Furthermore (that’s the second element), all the employees of BMW are motivated to raise their voices regarding the question of “making Bimmers better or boosting profits” (Edmondson, 2006) through a number of informal networks that exit within the company and during various brainstorming sessions.

And the third element that contributes to the BMW’s corporate culture is the presence of “an enduring sense that things can go wrong” which is being taught to all newly-hired employees (Kurylko, 2007). Thus the management of the company acknowledges the possibility of a failure and tries to consider the errors of the past in the development and implementation of new business plans.

In the next section of the paper I will describe the leadership model that the management of BMW uses and what positive consequences for the company its application has.

BMW’s Model of Leadership / Its Impact on Organizational Culture

The management of BMW practices the democratic or participative style of leadership, thus giving the possibility to all employees to participate in the process of brainstorming and decision-making. This can be proved by the example of Jan Knau who, while being only a junior associate, was asked to come up with the design of a flexible assembly line and whose project was used in the construction of a new factory in Leipzig. The application of such leadership model shows that the management of the company is ready and willing to listen to young specialists who can come up with fresh and creative ideas. And it influences organizational culture by showing employees that the management acknowledges their creativity and desire to improve the final product of the company thus developing feelings of openness and togetherness among workers of all levels.

It is quite logical to assume that the application of democratic leadership has positive effects on the employees’ performance and leads to job satisfaction. In the next section of the paper I’m going to show what job characteristics are present in BMW that make its personnel satisfied with their job.

Job Satisfaction at BMW

It seems to me that employees derive high job satisfaction at BMW due to the presence in the company’s working style and environment of all the characteristics that enrich a job (according to the Job Characteristics Model).

Task identity. Employees at BMW can experience the meaningfulness of the work they complete because they are provided with explicit identity of their tasks. For instance, the BMW designers very often receive only a rough goal of the project they need to develop and it is absolutely their own prerogative to make whatever concepts they want. At this point they are free to be innovative and creative as they know that all their propositions will receive appropriate attention of the top management of the company. Thus BMW designers have high internal work motivation as they go through an identifiable piece of work and they observe its outcomes. And such a system works for other employees of the company as well.

Autonomy. Employees at BMW are provided with sufficient amount of autonomy at their jobs as the management of the company applies democratic style of leaderships that not only motivates workers to participate in decision-making, but also gives them the possibility to make certain decisions on their own in a course of the task they’re completing. For example, the designer Sebastian Trubsbach was given the autonomy to develop a new design for a car that the company wanted to stop producing and in the end this design was adopted and new production process was launched.

Job feedback. Workers at BMW enjoy high level of feedback on the work that they have done which motivates them to improve their performance. As a part of organizational culture the company conducts a great variety of discussion sessions during which employees have the possibility to raise their voices on the issues being discussed and also to receive meaningful evaluation of the job they have already completed.

Another important issue that is a part of the corporate culture is the level of creativity that the company applies in its projects. This issue in regards to the BWM will be discussed in the next section of the paper.

Attributes of Organizational Creativity

1. Flexibility of BMW’s factories. BMW is the only auto producer that allows a wide range of variations of basic models. Thus customers can order various configurations to be made based on their own taste and financial possibilities. In such a way “BMW excels in mastering complexity and tailoring cars to customers’ tastes” developing a kind of customization (Cokayne, 2007).
2. Unconventional approach to factories’ construction. BMW builds its factories in the way that makes their inner space open and airy thus stimulating the communication and impromptu discussion of ideas between line workers, engineers and other staff.
3. Employees’ inclusion in profit sharing. BMW was one of the first companies that in 1972 began to think of payment for employees’ performance. Back then a plan was set that provides workers with an annual bonus that amounts to one and a half months’ extra pay. Such HR creativity makes employees more flexible and devoted to the company.

Impact of the Culture and Work Environment on BMW’s Results

The corporate culture and work environment that exists in BMW have great positive impact on the results shown by the company. First of all, the freedom of employees to propose their own ideas and to participate in discussions and the process of decision-making gives the company an opportunity to stay innovative, creative and to meet all the challenges of the global business world. Secondly, the system of financial remuneration that exits in BMW makes its employees more flexible and dedicated to their company and the work they do, decreasing levels of absenteeism and turnover. Thirdly, as all the newly-hired associates are required to learn the most important events of the corporate past, thus all the employees have the sense of place, history, and mission that unites them and helps the company to stay dedicated to its traditional culture and style.

Conclusion

A conclusion may be drawn that the BMW Company not only has a truly serious attitude towards its corporate culture and the working environment of its employees, but also constantly striving for its improvement. This has a huge positive impact on the company’s performance allowing it to meet all the challenges of the competitive business world and to stay one of the top employers on the global business arena. The corporate culture that is established in BMW can serve as a positive and challenging example for its competitors and all other companies.

References

Cokayne, R. (2007, September 3). BMW plan offers workers stable income. Business Report.

Edmondson, G. (2006, October 16). BMW’s Dream Factory. Business Week: 70-80.

Hersey, P., Blanchard, K., & Johnson, D. (2008). Management of Organizational Behavior: Leading Human Resources (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Kurylko, D.T. (2007). Job swap works for BMW. Automotive News, 48.

Spillane, J.P. (2004). Towards a Theory of Leadership Practice. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 36(1), 3-34.