Abstract

In 2000, the Germany-based BMW Group (BMW) sold off The Rover Group (Rover Group) that it had acquired in 1994, but it retained its iconic MINI brand. As part of the changes initiated, BMW shifted production from Longbridge to Cowley (in Oxford), the plant which had rolled out the original Mini. BMW wanted to come out with a new MINI. However, the management at the new plant faced challenges in upgrading the site and processes and in preparing for the launch of the new vehicle. It also had to face the huge challenge of integrating the erstwhile Rover and BMW cultures, which differed vastly from each other. Besides, there was a strong feeling of ‘us’ and ‘them’ among the employees. The massive layoffs that accompanied the production shift from Longbridge to Cowley complicated matters further. This prompted BMW to launch ‘The New Oxford Way’ (NOW) program which was aimed at integrating the erstwhile Rover and BMW cultures, improving productivity, and decreasing costs by empowering the workers. As part of the initiative, huge investments were made to refurbish the Oxford plant as it prepared to come out with a new generation MINI. A key component of the NOW was the Working in Groups (WINGS) project that was aimed at increasing the involvement of the workers by empowering them. The initiative soon started showing results, leading to better employee morale, reduced costs, and increased productivity. In 2002, the production target (100,000 units) was exceeded by 60 percent. BMW was also credited with handling its production strategy well in keeping with the high demand for the MINIs in the subsequent years. In 2004, the Oxford plant rolled out the 500,000th MINI in August 2004, two years ahead of schedule, and in the following year, production for the year crossed the 200,000 mark. The company was credited with transforming the culture of the Oxford plant from a culture marked by confrontation and negativism to that of a performance culture.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Study the production strategy adopted by the BMW Group pertaining to MINI
• Understand the issues and challenges in job design and team working
• Understand issues and challenges in employee empowerment
• Understand how the culture of the BMW Group Oxford Plant was changed from that of confrontation and negativism to a performance culture
• and Analyze ‘The New Oxford Way’ (NOW) program and the ‘Working in Groups’ initiative.

Keywords

The New Oxford, Working in Groups (WINGS) project, Performance Culture, change program, Teamworking, continuous learning, self-steered teams, communication, empowerment, production strategy, productivity, post merger integration problems, Industrial relations, Target management process, training, reward management, team-building, group dynamics, Plant Oxford, automotive industry, MINI