Siemens is no stranger to change; adapting to current market needs while constantly striving for excellence is what the company strives for.
Company leadership is more than willing to go the extra mile for its employees, from stock-taking bonuses to providing them with dynamo motors – everything necessary is done to improve employee morale.
After World War II, the company underwent significant restructure. They adopted more transparent U.S. accounting practices and established operations overseas.
The Company’s Beginnings
Over its long history, Siemens has enjoyed tremendous success due to their expertise at engineering refinements of other people’s inventions. Siemens wasn’t afraid of taking risks either; an example being their decision to invest in electrical cable production when others weren’t interested. These risks proved worthwhile as Siemens enjoyed rapid expansion during the 19th century due to their ingenuity and opportunism.
By the 1920s, Siemens had expanded their operations to encompass power plant construction, railway engineering and shipbuilding. They even ventured internationally by building a power station on Ireland’s Shannon River as well as laying submarine cables across Mediterranean and Atlantic oceans.
World War II proved disastrous for the company. Numerous factories were destroyed by air raids, forcing the firm to relocate or shut down numerous others.
Siemens successfully rebounded postwar by diversifying their offerings, expanding into foreign markets, and investing heavily in research and development. They pioneered long-distance high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system using thyristor technology; later in the 1980s they turned their attention to microelectronics with MEGA project to advance chip production.
As the millennium approached, Siemens recognized that globalization would become a core part of its business strategy and recognized that its homogenous culture wasn’t compatible with their new goals. Therefore, they restructured themselves again, increasing to 15 different business units with differing levels of independence.
Since the turn of the millennium, Siemens has placed significant emphasis on digital technology and sustainability. In 2010, Siemens won their largest wind farm order yet in Iowa before receiving another significant public transportation contract from San Francisco two years later. Furthermore, Siemens has invested significantly in solar energy through the purchase of various photovoltaic manufacturing companies.
The Company’s Growth
Siemens expanded its global presence during the years leading up to World War II by purchasing and operating factories in Australia, Japan, and Brazil while simultaneously opening subsidiaries in the US. Rapid advances in microelectronics enabled Siemens to diversify their product offering while improving efficiency; furthermore, development of an assembly line allowed for better division of labor and more consistent output.
After World War II, Siemens expanded by acquiring new companies and restructuring itself as necessary. By 1969, Siemens had consolidated its operations into six largely autonomous operating groups – components, data systems, power engineering, electrical installations, telecommunications and medical engineering.
By the late 20th century, Siemens had become one of the world’s premier industrial conglomerates. Although experiencing setbacks along the way, Siemens managed to remain resilient and focus on innovation to continue its success.
Throughout the 1970s, this company led digitalization efforts with its EWSD electronic exchange system and Hicom private communications systems; additionally it developed one of the first computer-based digital switching and fax machines. Furthermore, they pioneered environmental protection with CHP (combined heat and power) plants and water management systems.
At the turn of the 21st century, General Electric faced numerous difficulties. For example, their US subsidiary was caught up in a bribery scandal involving contracts awarded with Israeli government and a subsidiary of Greek state electricity monopoly PPC; this scandal led to Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against it.
Additionally, Siemens had to deal with legal issues. Beginning in 2005, the Munich public prosecutor’s office initiated an investigation of Siemens for dealings with foreign governments and political figures to avoid sanctions against Iran and Sudan. Siemens avoided prosecution through agreeing to implement a compliance overhaul involving hiring 500 full-time compliance personnel.
Early this century, Siemens identified three megatrends – increasing urbanization, rising world population and changing demographics, and climate change – and sought solutions by acquiring firms specializing in such areas while managing them responsibly while respecting scarce resources and the environment.
The Company’s Challenges
Werner von Siemens was an electrical engineer and inventor who laid the groundwork for what became one of the world’s largest conglomerates companies, Siemens AG. Belief in technological advancement was at the core of his vision; within years of opening their business doors they established global presence while remaining agile enough to respond quickly to changes in fashion and technology allowing it to weather any potential disruptions that arose along its path. The firm quickly adjusted to changing trends while adapting quickly enough to unforeseen hiccups to remain profitable despite any setbacks experienced along the way.
After World War II, the company endured significant revenue and asset losses; however, its strategy for recovery was calculated. Diversifying its portfolio by developing products to increase production efficiency; exploring new medical technologies; streamlining assembly lines; and cutting costs were all effective ways of maintaining profitability.
This company also made strides to acquire companies that would help it broaden its market presence, with particular success in India’s emerging market. By 1955, they opened their first manufacturing plant in Mumbai and began producing healthcare equipment and railway signalling gear.
Siemens became embroiled in an international bribery scandal during the early 2000s that involved subsidiaries in Bangladesh and Venezuela, costing the company an estimated 1.2 Billion Euro in fines. Siemens was forced to fire several senior managers as well as hire non-German CEO Peter Loscher who oversaw a comprehensive compliance overhaul involving hiring approximately 500 full-time compliance staff globally.
At this same time, they also implemented a program allowing employees to purchase shares at discounted prices – an initiative which proved extremely popular and is now part of employee culture at their workplace. Their success encouraged other companies to launch similar employee share schemes.
Today, Siemens is an expansive multinational corporation operating across five major fields: Industry, Energy, Healthcare, Infrastructure & Cities and Financial Services. Employing over 300,000 staff worldwide and offering an array of products and services such as traffic-light systems to skyscraper heating solutions; however, as with any multinational corporation it has its share of obstacles to face.
The Company’s Success
Siemens is an established company with decades of experience, yet they remain undiscontent with the status quo. From stock-taking bonuses to their groundbreaking dynamo motor technology, Siemens always finds ways to improve both employee morale and customer experiences – becoming one of the world’s premier electrical engineering firms along the way.
Even during difficult economic conditions, they have continued to expand by acquiring companies and opening production plants around the globe. This strategy has given them a strong presence in key markets while helping them face and overcome any challenges that have come their way.
They have also developed products to assist their clients in solving issues, such as wind turbines which provide clean energy to thousands of American households, mass transit systems that help cities reduce operating costs, ground movement radar for airports, and much more.
This company has also expanded their presence globally by purchasing back patents and brands that had been confiscated during wartime, and by winning contracts such as San Nicolas power plant in Argentina and national telecommunications network in Saudi Arabia.
One of the greatest challenges that the company has experienced recently was when they became embroiled in a major bribery scandal caused by deals the company made with Greek government officials during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, using off-shore accounts and other methods to cover up any payments that went amiss.
The company has managed to overcome these challenges by quickly adapting and continually improving. They achieved this through restructuring their business models, altering research activities, and taking advantage of well-planned mergers. Furthermore, in 2008 they took the initiative of changing their corporate structure in response to globalization – by creating Sectors and Clusters designed to respond flexibly to customer demands.
