One area of leadership that fairly compelling in the case study was how Wiedeking took the dramatic step of moving his senior managers to new positions or persuaded them to retire (Womack & Jones, 2004).
It must have been extremely difficult for him to acknowledge that those he worked so closely with would simply not be able to effectively embrace the new changes in a way that was needed. In most traditional companies the executive senior management structure is mostly insulated from these types of dramatic structure changes. This move sent a serious message to the organization that anyone that is unable or unwilling to embrace lean techniques at Porsche was not welcome.
Culturally this must have been very difficult for the workforce to accept since job stability has long been considered a right in that country. In many ways Wiedeking for taking the unusual and dramatic step of leaning out his senior management structure as it sent a very positive message to the rest of the organization that they are all in it together.
QUESTION: Do you feel that it was the right thing to do letting all of the tenured senior management go and Why?
Referencing style: Harvard style