Managing Change in the Computer Industry: The case of Siemens Nixdorf Information Systems
Subject
Economics, Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Publication Year
1999
Abstract
Siemens Nixdorf Information Systems (SNI) was formed in 1990 through the merger of Nixdorf and the computing division of Siemens. The complexities of integrating two companies with two very different cultures, combined with a worldwide recession and massive technological and market changes in the industry, produced a constant flow of red ink from 1990 to 1994 when Gerhard Schulmeyer was brought in as the new CEO. By 1997 the results were impressive: the firm had returned to profit, its organisation has been reshaped and employee commitment and morale were on the rise. This case traces this turnaround from the perspective of three different managers - Schulmeyer, at the top, as the overall leader of the transformation process; Robert Hoog, a divisional director, as he builds on the "top-down" forces to curve out the change agenda within his own division; and Klaus Karl, a young software engineer and team leader within Hoog's division, as he tries to both respond and contribute to SNI's radical change. Overall, the case illustrates the interactions among a top-down, a bottom-up and a middle-up-down change process and the roles of top middle and frontline managers within each of these interacting processes.
Topic List
Managing Change, Leadership
Industry
Information Technology
Publication Event Date
1997
LBS Case Number
CS-99-012
Location
Germany
Publication Organisation Size
12 billion DM Revenues in 1996
Project Funder
ESRC
Publication Research Centre
Entrepreneurship
Supervisor
Ghoshal S
Available on ECCH
No
