Semco - A 'Maverick' Organization
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Case Details:
Case Code : HROB060
Case Length : 10 Pages
Period : 1953-2004
Pub Date : 2004
Teaching Note :Not Available
Organization : Semco
Industry : Diversified
Countries : Brazil
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"I don't want to know where Semco is headed. It doesn't
unnerve me to see nothing on the company's horizon. I want Semco and its
employees to ramble through their days, to use instinct, opportunity, and
ingenuity to choose projects and ventures."
- Ricardo Semler, CEO, Semco.1
"Admiring though many are, few have tried to copy him. It
seems that the way he works, letting his employees choose what they do, where
and when they do it, and even how they get paid, is too upside-down for most
managers. But, just maybe his is the way for the new world of business."
- Charles Handy, in "The Handy Guide to the Gurus of
Management".3
Introduction
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Semco SA (Semco), a Brazilian company which manufactures over two thousand
different products including industrial pumps, cooling towers etc. and also
provides environmental and internet services, saw its revenues growing from $32
million in 1990 to $212 million in 2003 (Refer to Exhibit I).
It achieved this growth rate in an economic environment characterized by
staggering inflation, and chaotic national economic policy in Brazil.3 Between
1982 and 1998, Semco's productivity increased nearly sevenfold and profits rose
fivefold. Semco was also one of the most sought after Brazilian companies as far
as employment was concerned.
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Turnover among its 3,000 employees was about 1% during the period 1994 to
2004. Repeat customers accounted for around 80% of Semco's 2003 annual
revenues.4
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The culture at Semco was unique in the sense that there were no
power-packed job titles; employees including top managers themselves
did the photocopying, sent faxes, typed letters, and made and
received phone calls.
There were no executive dining rooms, and parking was strictly
first-come, first-served. Organizational profits were shared with
the employees and the salaries were set by the employees themselves.
Behind this "maverick" organization was Ricardo Semler (Semler), the
CEO of the company who referred to himself as the Chief Enzyme
Officer. |
Semco - A 'Maverick' Organization
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