WIRE
1/2008 February
Editorial
Different is indeed better
The supervisory board is intensifying its criticism of Siemens’ former chairman of the board of directors Klaus Kleinfeld. Push come to shove, they may even recommend that the shareholders do not approve the former manager’s actions. In this way, the door to claiming damages would be left wide open. After all, we’re talking about more than a billion euros here! Many may be overjoyed that at least one top dog at last had his wrists slapped. But we must remember that nothing is simply black and white. Whereas some power-hungry managers think more of their own renown and of lining their pockets, others have their gazes firmly fixed on the shareholders and their yields. In their excessive thirst for success many use price increases, mass redundancies for the sake of greater productivity or, as in the case of Siemens, lucrative bribes as a kind of panacea. Such means are often tolerated, if not demanded by shareholders. After all, insiders were well aware of the dubious goings-on at Siemens. They knew but did not point fingers for the simple reason that they believed that the end justified the means. That things can indeed be different is demonstrated by Bill Gates who, before retreating into retirement, is challenging Apple and Google once more. Or Porsche’s head Wendelin Wiedeking, who ensures that everyone is entitled to a share of the profits. It is interesting to note that the stock exchange value of the VW concern jumped to an impressive EUR 25bn in 2007. Porsche’s shareholders are rubbing their hands in glee over the EUR 3-6bn growth and even the staff are happy, receiving a sizeable share of the success. In his book entitled “Don’t Follow the Crowd”, Wendelin Wiedeking justifiably criticises crude profit maximisation in the managerial echelons. And it appears that neither the quality of the company’s vehicles nor its business partners have suffered as a result. On the contrary, although Porsche isn’t the only reason for its success, supplier Leoni AG also reports record profits. When speaking of top managers and “not following the crowd“, one shouldn’t forget to mention the supervisory board chairman of Trumpf GmbH + Co. KG, Professor Dr.-Ing. E.h. Berthold Leibinger. He has been awarded the Alexander Rüstow Plaque by the Aktionsgemeinschaft für Soziale Marktwirtschaft (Society for a Social Market Economy) for his entrepreneurial and social services to society. These examples demonstrate that amidst all the ambition for power and profit maximisation, there are also good managers who have different interests at heart. On that positive note, I would like to wish us plenty of different thinkers throughout 2008.
Different is indeed better
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The supervisory board is intensifying its criticism of Siemens’ former chairman of the board of directors Klaus Kleinfeld. Push come to shove, they may even recommend that the shareholders do not approve the former manager’s actions. In this way, the door to claiming damages would be left wide open. After all, we’re talking about more than a billion euros here! Many may be overjoyed that at least one top dog at last had his wrists slapped. But we must remember that nothing is simply black and white. Whereas some power-hungry managers think more of their own renown and of lining their pockets, others have their gazes firmly fixed on the shareholders and their yields. In their excessive thirst for success many use price increases, mass redundancies for the sake of greater productivity or, as in the case of Siemens, lucrative bribes as a kind of panacea. Such means are often tolerated, if not demanded by shareholders. After all, insiders were well aware of the dubious goings-on at Siemens. They knew but did not point fingers for the simple reason that they believed that the end justified the means. That things can indeed be different is demonstrated by Bill Gates who, before retreating into retirement, is challenging Apple and Google once more. Or Porsche’s head Wendelin Wiedeking, who ensures that everyone is entitled to a share of the profits. It is interesting to note that the stock exchange value of the VW concern jumped to an impressive EUR 25bn in 2007. Porsche’s shareholders are rubbing their hands in glee over the EUR 3-6bn growth and even the staff are happy, receiving a sizeable share of the success. In his book entitled “Don’t Follow the Crowd”, Wendelin Wiedeking justifiably criticises crude profit maximisation in the managerial echelons. And it appears that neither the quality of the company’s vehicles nor its business partners have suffered as a result. On the contrary, although Porsche isn’t the only reason for its success, supplier Leoni AG also reports record profits. When speaking of top managers and “not following the crowd“, one shouldn’t forget to mention the supervisory board chairman of Trumpf GmbH + Co. KG, Professor Dr.-Ing. E.h. Berthold Leibinger. He has been awarded the Alexander Rüstow Plaque by the Aktionsgemeinschaft für Soziale Marktwirtschaft (Society for a Social Market Economy) for his entrepreneurial and social services to society. These examples demonstrate that amidst all the ambition for power and profit maximisation, there are also good managers who have different interests at heart. On that positive note, I would like to wish us plenty of different thinkers throughout 2008.
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