Lincoln Electric Management Plan

The Lincoln Electric Company is a manufacturer of welding machines, and it is the largest in the world. They employ 2,400 workers in the United States factories located in Cleveland, Ohio, about 600 in factories abroad, and another 200 sales employees. The turnover rate for the company is very low, and employee morale and productivity are high. The incentive management plan for Lincoln is very well recognized, and many schools use Lincoln’s plan as a basis to increase employee productivity. (Sharplin, n.d.). I happen to live near Cleveland, and I can say as a resident that Lincoln has a good reputation. It is known in Cleveland to be a great place to work. Starting from the beginning, Lincoln Electric had a company culture that focused on …show more content…
The first indication of this I noticed upon reading is the fact that after one year with the company, every employee is guaranteed they will not be let go except on the grounds of misconduct. They are also guaranteed 30 hours of work or more each week. Lincoln seems to believe in this, as there have been no layoffs since 1949. (Sharplin, n.d.). This policy is certainly an indication of a positive organizational culture and employees can know they have a secure job, so they are less likely to leave. To not have any layoffs in almost 70 years is extremely …show more content…
Ownership of stock will provide incentive due to the fact that the employee will feel they will benefit from the profitability of the company. Lincoln also feels that the ownership of stock will help develop the individual employee and create less of a divide between the workers and management. Many other companies seem to have a rift between management and the employees below them, but that doesn’t seem to be the case at Lincoln. Another incentive is that openings are advertised internally and any employee can apply for the positions. Employees may seek to perform better in order to move up in the company, thus creating an environment of encouragement and belief in their workers. (Sharplin, n.d.). Upon analyzing the Lincoln Electric Company, it is clear they have established a culture that works for them that puts focus on the customer and the employee and in return has helped them to be an extremely successful company. With a culture that puts an emphasis on participation, high morale, and little supervision, the company becomes more team-oriented and less beurocratic. The influence of the founders seems to still be heavy within the company today and helped to establish the key ethics of the Lincoln Electric