The Financial Times presents a more than interesting analysis of German pride, the VW Group. Considering the medium in which it was published, it could also be characterized as quite provocative, even subversive. In addition to presenting general facts about how the mentioned group, along with its affiliated companies and supplier network, forms the backbone of the stable German economy (and consequently the EU), the analysis also covered the complex management structure and the constantly rewarded laziness of workers, an unusual social responsibility that approaches engagement, and a strange understanding of what society should actually serve.
Indeed, any sober microeconomist will readily determine that the relationship with shareholders is crucial and fateful for the destiny of any corporation. One should not forget other stakeholders, but those who financially drive legal entities are still the foundation of the capitalist way of doing business. VW, however, has different views on the relationships of key factors, which have been mocked for decades until the global crisis revised them. Now, the strange and those capable of surviving are sought. By all accounts, the people’s vehicle is such. So, how do they specifically differ from others? Here are a few details. The company strongly believes that its mission is not the payment of dividends and the creation of cash surpluses, but the creation of a quality product portfolio linked to the German state. Workers have long ceased to be perceived as a cost calculated into the product, so management, together with local authorities, has devised an unparalleled social security policy.
They would rather reduce wages than lay off employees, and all of this can be controlled by the workers themselves, who are strongly represented in the management of the company. Although the productivity of their workers is significantly lower than that of their Far Eastern counterparts, management claims that quality is not a matter of speed and that they do not want such measures of efficiency. The company is a global player with a real vision to become the strongest player in the industry, yet it is local in its management structure. Namely, only Germans lead the company both at home and abroad. No matter how global it is, it accepts and perceives itself as small and local. Directors walk through the plants, and the circle of people involved in creating a new product is extremely wide. Experts say that, despite the complex structure and opaque system of levers and brakes, the likelihood of a Toyota-style scandal with defective vehicles occurring is quite low. They have a habit of multiple checks, and high-ranking employees do not hesitate to enter any part of any process. Perhaps this is because they are partially a family business in which the descendants of Porsche, the designer of the Beetle, play a significant role.
