Heft36 1 - SFB 580 - Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
Heft36 1 - SFB 580 - Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
Heft36 1 - SFB 580 - Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
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ALEKSANDRA JANOVSKAIA<br />
Furthermore, VW group has not used any ‘back<br />
door’ strategy to achieve compliance with new<br />
managerial goals but followed a route that took<br />
into consideration the previous experience<br />
of old managerial staff. Replacement of<br />
managerial staff by new people with experience<br />
of working in market economies could have<br />
been a strategy of the headquarters. However,<br />
this happened only to a limited extent. Only<br />
top management was replaced by the German<br />
expatriates, while the large share of local middle<br />
and line management was kept. Even in 2006,<br />
30% of old local managers were still employed<br />
by Škoda. The role of expatriates has been<br />
relatively limited in the medium term. Apart<br />
from Škoda’s experimental three year tandem<br />
program that has attracted a large number of<br />
German managers to the subsidiary, the usual<br />
trend in all subsidiaries is that only the top<br />
management team is dominated by expatriates,<br />
while the human resource manager is usually<br />
a local person. VW Bratislava and Škoda have<br />
several top local managers; Audi Györ has<br />
had the smallest number so far with only one<br />
local top manager - responsible for human<br />
resources.<br />
Another reason for the ‘productionist attitude’<br />
is the technical-engineering background<br />
dominant among local managers, rather<br />
than an orientation towards pure financial<br />
accountability and profit maximization. The<br />
training background of managers in engineering<br />
facilitates their technical-engineering orientation.<br />
This is how Škoda senior manager for<br />
industrial engineering describes his reasons to<br />
come to Škoda:<br />
I’ve studied mechanical engineering. [...] During<br />
my studies, in 1994, I was a trainee in the Audi<br />
plant. This is where I saw the first models of the<br />
new Octavia. And this is the point when I became<br />
fascinated by it. I told myself: ‘If we had this car in<br />
production at Škoda, this would be unbelievable’.<br />
Then, some time later, I saw this car on the street<br />
for the first time and this is when my decision was<br />
made – I wanted to go work for Škoda, because<br />
the cars that they produce there are amazing<br />
(Interview December 2006).<br />
The manager further reports that what was<br />
crucial in the new model was the new level<br />
of quality compared to previous models. Thus,<br />
engineering and technical excellence rather<br />
than pure financial parameters are the defining<br />
features of managerial thinking.<br />
Internal career progression is another factor<br />
that facilitates the preservation of productionist<br />
focus. Internal labour advancement has<br />
remained important and many of senior<br />
managers started as simple blue-collar<br />
workers. The director of motor production at<br />
Škoda was one of them. He has been working<br />
in the factory for 20 years. Originally, he was<br />
a welder, and then moved to the planning and<br />
preparing new models as a technical specialist<br />
before becoming the director of the engine<br />
plant (Interview December 2006). Similarly,<br />
the director of the SUV production at VW<br />
Slovakia was previously a blue-collar worker<br />
(Interview March 2007). Interestingly, the<br />
internal career ladder has also worked<br />
for trade union leader: the head of<br />
VW Slovakia’s human resources was<br />
a trade union leader during state<br />
socialist times (Interview March 2007).<br />
To sum up, the introduction of certain<br />
benchmarking and financial accountability<br />
page 93