INTEGRATIVE CASE 1.0 DISORGANIZATION AT SEMCO: HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES AS A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE OVERVIEW Semco was originally founded as a maker of marine pumps in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1953. For decades, under the leadership of founder Antonio Curt Semler, Semco operated in a traditional hierarchical fashion with strict rules and policies and tight bureaucratic control. However, after Ricardo Semler took the helm, he envisioned a very different type of workplace, one that is operated by self-managed teams in a decentralized design. Every six months, the organization reinvents itself, with one of six rotating CEOs taking the lead and a multitude of teams reorganizing based on current performance and future opportunities. Since that time, and led primarily by the employees of Semco rather than top leadership, Semco has grown into a highly successful, diversified organization with many related and unrelated business interests. The organization loses very few employees through attrition, yet it receives thousands of applications from job candidates eager to work in a respected and respectful organization. In general, the elimination of bureaucracy has allowed this organization to become extremely agile and adaptive in an ever-changing business environment. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS TO ASSIGN 1. How would you describe Semco’s organization design before and after the changes implemented by Ricardo Semler? 2. In what ways is Semco’s design similar to and different from the holacracy structure described in Chapter 3? 3. Describe the rather unusual Human Resource policies now in effect at Semco. 4. How did Semco handle downsizing during a weak economy? How did that approach benefit the company? DISCUSSION 1. How would you describe Semco’s organization design before and after the changes implemented by Ricardo Semler? In the early days, Semco was a classic hierarchical structure with centralized control. In fact, Semco’s management maintained a very tight control over