Seagate Case Study with Teaching Note
Seagate Technology*
A case (with teaching note) on the role of senior business leaders in driving work/life cultural change.
Phyllis Siegel,
Rutgers the State University of New Jersey
The Wharton Work/Life Roundtable
A Division of the Wharton Work/Life Integration Project
University of Pennsylvania
* This research was funded in part by a Sloan Foundation Grant #B1999-76.
A note of special gratitude goes to: Alice Campbell, Scott Cooper, Debbie Hufnagel, and Ellen Ernst Kossek for their helpful assistance, participation, and contributions in the preparation of this case.
Copyright 2000 The Wharton Work/Life Integration Project
Seagate Technology
Executive Summary
Seagate Technology, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets products for storage, retrieval, and management of data computer and data communications systems.
The company has 85,000 employees located around the world. The case is centered on the Enterprise Storage group (ESP), a business segment that comprises roughly 40 percent of Seagate’s total annual sales and specializes in the design, manufacturing, and the marketing of ultra high performance disc drives.
Beginning in early 1998, Seagate shifted to a team-based work environment that involved redesigning the organization into core teams. CEO Steve Luczo and CTO Tom
Porter characterized the core team restructuring as necessary to ensure the company’s time-to-market (TTM) leadership, continued product performance, competitive advantage, and profitability. As of January 1999, there were a total of 17 core teams in operation at Seagate sites in Minnesota, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Singapore.
With major changes underway at Seagate, John Weyandt, the senior vice president in charge of ESG, articulated his business objectives as faster time to market, and employee work/life balance.
The case looks at the core team change initiative in the context of achieving employee work/life balance. In particular, the case examines:
A case (with teaching note) on the role of senior business leaders in driving work/life cultural change.
Phyllis Siegel,
Rutgers the State University of New Jersey
The Wharton Work/Life Roundtable
A Division of the Wharton Work/Life Integration Project
University of Pennsylvania
* This research was funded in part by a Sloan Foundation Grant #B1999-76.
A note of special gratitude goes to: Alice Campbell, Scott Cooper, Debbie Hufnagel, and Ellen Ernst Kossek for their helpful assistance, participation, and contributions in the preparation of this case.
Copyright 2000 The Wharton Work/Life Integration Project
Seagate Technology
Executive Summary
Seagate Technology, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets products for storage, retrieval, and management of data computer and data communications systems.
The company has 85,000 employees located around the world. The case is centered on the Enterprise Storage group (ESP), a business segment that comprises roughly 40 percent of Seagate’s total annual sales and specializes in the design, manufacturing, and the marketing of ultra high performance disc drives.
Beginning in early 1998, Seagate shifted to a team-based work environment that involved redesigning the organization into core teams. CEO Steve Luczo and CTO Tom
Porter characterized the core team restructuring as necessary to ensure the company’s time-to-market (TTM) leadership, continued product performance, competitive advantage, and profitability. As of January 1999, there were a total of 17 core teams in operation at Seagate sites in Minnesota, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Singapore.
With major changes underway at Seagate, John Weyandt, the senior vice president in charge of ESG, articulated his business objectives as faster time to market, and employee work/life balance.
The case looks at the core team change initiative in the context of achieving employee work/life balance. In particular, the case examines: