BMW Group Plant Oxford's 'The New Oxford Way' (NOW) Program: From Culture Clash to Performance Culture

Operations Management|Operations Strategy|Case Study|Case Studies

ICMR HOME | Case Studies Collection

Case Details:

Case Code : OPER073
Case Length : 19 Pages
Period : 2006-2008
Organization : BMW AG
Pub Date : 2009
Teaching Note :Not Available
Countries : UK
Industry : Auto and Ancillaries

To download BMW Group Plant Oxford's 'The New Oxford Way' (NOW) Program: From Culture Clash to Performance Culture case study (Case Code: OPER074) click on the button below, and select the case from the list of available cases:

Price:

For delivery in electronic format: Rs. 300;
For delivery through courier (within India): Rs. 300 +Shipping & Handling Charges extra

» Operations Case Studies
» Operations Short Case Studies
» View Detailed Pricing Info
» How To Order This Case
» Business Case Studies
» Case Studies by Area
» Case Studies by Industry
» Case Studies by Company

Custom Search

Please note:

This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.

Chat with us

Please leave your feedback

<< Previous

Excerpts

Background Note

The BMW Group was founded in Munich, Germany, in 1916. The origins of the group can be traced back to 1913 when Karl Friedrich Rapp (Rapp), a Bavarian who worked as an engineer in a German aircraft company, started a company called Rapp Motoren Werke in a suburb of Munich...

The Challenge

BMW found that it had bitten off more than it could chew when it failed to turn around the ailing British car maker. In fact, it reached a point where its own sustainability was at stake. Experts pointed out BMW's troubles were in part, caused by post merger integration problems, which were themselves the result of the two companies having very different cultures...

Operations Management Case Studies | Case Study in Management, Operations, Strategies, Marketing Management, Case Studies

The New Oxford Way (NOW)

In 2000, BMW invested more than £230 million in refurbishing the Oxford plant. It also realized that just throwing in money would not be enough to sort out the problem and started the NOW program. The program was designed by BMW's head office communication team with the active involvement of the Oxford plant's change management and communications teams...

Results

Experts felt that BMW had started reaping the benefit of the NOW program from an early stage. The program helped increase production and to decrease absenteeism significantly.

"The development of self-steered teams diminished the power of the traditional hierarchical structure and gave much more responsibility to the working teams in the manufacturing area. It placed continuous improvement and the achievement of plant improvement targets directly into the hands of the team members," said Schneeweis...

Exhibits

Exhibit I: BMW Group Timeline
Exhibit II: BMW Group -Key Figures
Exhibit III: History of Oxford Plant

Custom Search


Operations Management ICMR Textbooks Collection	Operations Management Workbooks Collection	Case Studies in Operations Management - Vol. I Case Study Volumes Collection