Ricardo Semler - Maverick
...e called would do well. Why? Because, people act differently when it¡¦s their company/business on the line. Pedro, a co-coordinator at SEMCO, was always home by 5:30 p.m. But, once his satellite unit was started, he would found at his office at night and more often than not, he¡¦d bring paperwork back with him. Another advantage in passing on the business to the companies own employees is that they already know the work culture so this avoids cultural clashes, not to mention that you will be working with people you know and trust. So now we come to the main issue. ¡§Should companies give their employees a launching pad?¡¨ An unequivocal YES would be my answer. SEMCO is simply taking their belief of empowerment and trust one step further. Not only is SEMCO saving the cost of excess manpower (fixed labour) and machinery they eventually receive income by renting out that machinery. The Satellite Program prevented SEMCO from having to retrench employees and in fact enabled them to open their own businesses. So, I¡¦d have to say that Semler went ahead and did what most big companies would advise against and has done it successfully¡V but then again, he always has. Theory: - Handling Retrenchment In order to equip leaders with the human resource skills needed to address the needs of their subordinates during transformation and restructuring and manage their own anxieties; it is essential that they be trained to deal with these issues. Such training should concentrate on giving them skills in: „U Providing correct information when asked questions by subordinates on matters pertaining to the restructuring. „U Handling retrenchment interviews „U Dealing with different emotional reactions of subordinates. „U Acknowledging and handling own emotions and anxieties. „U Providing support to peers and colleagues. „U Recognizing potential issues of "survivors." „U Supporting and motivating those who stay behind. Maverick Way „U Fire the employees ¡V give them their severance pay „U Help them set up the satellite units „U Providing counseling on how to go about the administrative functions „U Loan them the machinery free „U Charge them rent when they start making a profit „U Sell them the machinery at bargain prices „U Provide them with business „U Allow them to sell to competitors So what way would we choose? The traditional one or the maverick one? Ch. 33. Rebirth So now the factories are empty or at least half-empty. Did SEMCO require them anymore? The most logical answer would be ¡¥No¡¦. It made more business sense to close down the factory units and bring them closer to headquarters in Santo Amaro. A lot of people in the company were against closing down the factories. Transplanting the units and closing down the current bases was a difficult decision to make but slowly over time they too saw the financial sense it made. In one situation, the union actually tried to talk Semler out of shifting the factory but he stood firm as he knew they wouldn¡¦t have much of a problem finding new jobs. Semler knew that closing down most of the factories and consolidating them was the answer. However, in spite of consolidating the plants, the structure didn¡¦t change a bit. It remained a decentralized company. So when should one shut down operations? The most obvious answers would be when it stops making a profit¡Kbut for SEMCO there was more at stake. Semler and his team decided to close down operations when: „U When there is poten...