Lincoln does follow a hierarchy in their way of management as it flows from top to bottom. The top managers usually have the key role in decision making and the decisions made are implemented by the managers below them.
In the text, it is mentioned that the company has top executives, middle managers and production workers indicating hierarchy. The span of control of managers is also small with each manager supervising only 100 employees in a company with about 6000 employees. A hierarchical approach to management usually has a smaller span of control.
The managers in overseas companies exaggerated their goals to receive more resources from Lincoln. In as much as Lincoln decided to invest overseas, they are still managed by the top executive in the USA as they still depend on them to provide resources. They also form goals and send them to the US which indicates hierarchy as the resources are not decentralized (Daft, 2010).
The Lincoln system has a history in the US as they have never laid-off staff even in hard economic times. Hence, there is trust between the top management and the production workers. In the USA, Lincoln picked students directly from high school who were trained and cross-trained them to work in the organization.
The managers were picked from workers with great success. Lincoln usually promotes its workers to managerial positions rather than employing from outside. This indicates that the managers in Lincoln in the USA are people who have been brought up in Lincoln. Therefore, they have a positive attitude towards the system. The employees before joining the company are already aware of what is expected of them and are more likely to meet their goals (Daft, 2010).
Lincoln’s control system cannot be taken to other countries due to the difference in the manner in which things are done over there. The way they have been brought up to look at things is not the same as in the USA. The European human resource was not open to the idea of bonuses. The ways of doing things that are acceptable in the US and are considered by the American people as good and ideal may not necessarily be ideal to other people.
So that Lincoln’s managers make future international plants more successful, they have to study the environment in those countries in terms of both the customers and the human resource. They should look at companies that are successful and determine the kind of incentives they use to ensure maximum production from their workforce. This will guide them on the management strategies to be used and not just imposing a strategy that worked elsewhere in an entirely different culture (Daft, 2010).
Lincoln should not borrow money to pay bonuses. Information about how the company operates and its financial data was accessible to all employees. The employees are aware of the financial state at Lincoln and are likely to understand why the company cannot pay bonuses for a while as they solve the problem of the international investments that have gone sour (Daft, 2010).
The trust that has been built should be upheld by the two sides, not just the employers. Borrowing money may result in more problems as the money will have to be repaid with interest. The employees could instead be patient until the company is back on its feet to claim their bonuses. The managers should explain to the employees and get their opinion on the issue.
Reference
Daft, R. (2010). Management. London, UK: Cengange Learning.