Case Study
Case
lncident
2
549
Case tsac?eB#sa6 *
SIffi IW ffi F.*S' S*
M PLffi STre#*YU
ffi
ffi*ru*T worldwide. He also announced Plans to consolidate more business units and reorganize the company's operations geographica\ "The speed at which business is changing *oria*ia. has increased considerably, and we're orienting Siemens accordingly," Loscher said. Since the switch from Kleinfeld to Loscher, Siemens has experienced its ups and downs. Since 2008, its stock price hai fallen 26 percent on the European stock exchange and is down 31 percent on the NewYork Stock Exchange' That is better than some competitors, such as France's AlcatelLucent (down 83 percent) and General Electric (down 69 percent), and worse than others, such as IBM (up 8 percent) and the Swiss/Swedish conglomerate ABB (down 15 percent). ihough Loscher's restructuring efforts have generated far less controversy than Kleinfeld's, that doesn't mean they went over well with all constituents. Of the 2008 job cuts, \Merner Neugebauer, regional director for a union representing many Siemens employees, said, "The plannedjob cuts are incomprehensible nor acceptable for th.r. ..uro.rs, and in this extent, completely exaggerated'" When asked by a reporter whether the cuts would be controversial, Loscher retorted, "I couldn't care less how it's portrayed." He paused a moment, then added, "Maybe that's the wrong term. I do care." Questions 1. What do Kleinfeld's efforts at Siemens tell you about the difficulties of restructuring organizations? o'lat, 2. 'vVhy do you think Loscher's restructuring decisionS \-*.. have generated less controversy than did Kleinfeld's?
than to There is perhaps no tougher task for an executive fuk former Siemens a European organization' restructure CEO Klaus Kleinfeld.
companies in the world' Although the company has long been respected for its engineering prowess, it's also derided for its sluggishness and ilechanistic structure' So when Kleinfeld took over as
lncident
2
549
Case tsac?eB#sa6 *
SIffi IW ffi F.*S' S*
M PLffi STre#*YU
ffi
ffi*ru*T worldwide. He also announced Plans to consolidate more business units and reorganize the company's operations geographica\ "The speed at which business is changing *oria*ia. has increased considerably, and we're orienting Siemens accordingly," Loscher said. Since the switch from Kleinfeld to Loscher, Siemens has experienced its ups and downs. Since 2008, its stock price hai fallen 26 percent on the European stock exchange and is down 31 percent on the NewYork Stock Exchange' That is better than some competitors, such as France's AlcatelLucent (down 83 percent) and General Electric (down 69 percent), and worse than others, such as IBM (up 8 percent) and the Swiss/Swedish conglomerate ABB (down 15 percent). ihough Loscher's restructuring efforts have generated far less controversy than Kleinfeld's, that doesn't mean they went over well with all constituents. Of the 2008 job cuts, \Merner Neugebauer, regional director for a union representing many Siemens employees, said, "The plannedjob cuts are incomprehensible nor acceptable for th.r. ..uro.rs, and in this extent, completely exaggerated'" When asked by a reporter whether the cuts would be controversial, Loscher retorted, "I couldn't care less how it's portrayed." He paused a moment, then added, "Maybe that's the wrong term. I do care." Questions 1. What do Kleinfeld's efforts at Siemens tell you about the difficulties of restructuring organizations? o'lat, 2. 'vVhy do you think Loscher's restructuring decisionS \-*.. have generated less controversy than did Kleinfeld's?
than to There is perhaps no tougher task for an executive fuk former Siemens a European organization' restructure CEO Klaus Kleinfeld.
companies in the world' Although the company has long been respected for its engineering prowess, it's also derided for its sluggishness and ilechanistic structure' So when Kleinfeld took over as