Mercedes-Benz Human Resource System and Motivation

Introduction

Mercedes-Benz is a German-originated company known for innovative design and manufacture of automobiles. Mercedes-Benz is among the world’s most renowned and established vehicle manufacturers. To date, Mercedes-Benz is famous for automobiles characterized by sophisticated technology and design. Its innovations have become a standard for advanced car design and technology. Mercedes-Benz has factories in many countries where Mercedes-Benz vehicles are assembled and manufactured.

Over the years, the company has come up with ground-breaking concepts of automobiles such as Mercedes-Benz 300, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Mercedes-Benz W107 350SL, Mercedes-Benz W123 Wagon, E-Class, E320, GL320 Bluetec, ML320 Bluetec, R320 Bluetec, and many others¹. This report looks at the history of Mercedes-Benz Company, the organizational structure of the company, and its major departments. The report further looks at the company’s resource management system and some ways the company has managed to motivate its employees.

History of Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz began with Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler when they built a vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine. The company was initiated in 1886 and has produced new and innovative automobiles that have used skillfully designed technology since its inception. In January 1886, the company obtained the earliest patent on an engine that made use of petrol². In 1901, the company released its earliest production automobile. It obtained the name Mercedes-Benz in 1928. The company also manufactured its first vehicle that same year, named Mercedes Benz SSK. At the time, the Mercedes-Benz SSK was the world’s fastest car. It was majorly used for racing.

Mercedes-Benz has manufactured the most renowned and established automobiles in the world since it was initiated. Also, it is the earliest automotive company that still exists in the world today. Mercedes-Benz has improved the Electronic Stability Program, which develops driving skills and helps drivers to have a better operation of their cars³.

Mercedes-Benz is a German company, however, the company has factories in many countries of the world where Mercedes Benz vehicles are assembled and manufactured. The company manufactures a variety of automobiles, including passenger vehicles, trucks, bicycles, buses, and vans. The company has manufactured multi-concept vehicles with an alternative driving force, such as the fuel-cell powertrain⁴. In 2007, Mercedes-Benz showcased seven different hybrid brands.

At the North American International Auto Show held in 2009, the company showed three different blueZERO innovations⁵. In the New European Driving Cycle held in 2009, the company also displayed the Vision S500 PHEV innovation⁶. The company has manufactured fuel-cell automobiles since 2002. The most recent version is characterized by 250 miles range, and scheduled for mass production in 2014; however, the product is available for rental contracts⁷. Early 2009, the company released the first production automotive hybrid powered by the lithium-ion battery.

Organizational Structure

The company has factories in several countries of the world, which possess a similar structure. The company’s organizational structure is characterized by two broad departments, which include the office and production departments⁸. The office department is constituted of several sub-departments, including the administrative and human resource department, finance and marketing service department, electronic data processing, and logistics department. While the production department is made up of the production control department, assembly department, welding department, vendor department, final department, development, quality, and control department.

The organizational structure of Mercedes-Benz Company has characteristics like the product and mixed organizational structure. The organization structure is more centralized; however, it has attempted to decentralize in recent years⁹.

Human Resource System

Mercedes-Benz Company achieves its goals in two major ways. The first is by spreading human resource concepts in the company. The second is by developing broadly minded middle-level staff for higher managerial duties¹⁰. Mercedes-Benz partners with the Ceridian LifeWorks Employee Assistance Program to achieve this and more. The Ceridian LifeWorks Employee Assistance Program is a consultancy firm that specializes in human resource management¹¹.

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) aims to achieve company goals through improved staff satisfaction, engaging and retaining staff by providing them with necessary materials to live productive and healthy lives. The company first contracted with the Ceridian EAP in 2005 to assist its human resource department¹². The company was in need of a third-party intervention to help employees with their challenges and difficulty, provide more staff benefits, enhance and maintain a staff-friendly company. At present, Ceridian provides employee assistance program services to all Mercedes-Benz staff in their different locations.

The company has recorded significant improvement in engagement of employees, labor relations and productivity, with Ceridian. According to the company’s resource manager, Sue French admitted that partnership with Ceridian has led to great success¹³. She further pointed out that there has been tremendous improvement in labor relations at particular locations where a personal dispute had hampered quality production, staff engagement, and working relationship. In a relatively short duration, the Ceridian human resource consultant addressed employee differences, accessed employee groups, and enhanced employee working relationships.

The collaboration with Ceridian has assisted Mercedes-Benz employees and the company as a whole. By partnering with the human resource consultant, the company has found solutions that are cost-effective. Trying to find these solutions in other ways would have cost more, and probably would have still left the company in a negative work setting.

Employee Motivation

Mercedes-Benz has pointed out that its principal objective is to make efforts of corporate social responsibility its major part of existence, so as to deliver back to the community as an important corporation and one of the leading automobile industries¹⁴. The company has therefore identified that to effectively establish this strategy; it has to ensure that its employees partake in corporate social responsibility projects and take part in this goal; also try to come up with valuable suggestions and ideas of new methodologies and approaches.

Mercedes-Benz is encouraging its employees to participate in the company’s welfare programs, where employees can identify the significance of the programs. The employees thereafter pass on what they have achieved from such programs and also encourage fellow workers to participate. Also, Mercedes-Benz encourages employees to initiate small public welfare activities such as employee clubs. An example of such a program is the “Family Day” held annually and aims at raising funds for the needy and staff welfare¹⁵.

The company has also recognized the importance of team building in motivating its employees. Mercedes-Benz has used team building to enhance and maintain stable incentives, structure, as well as communication, which leads to high employee motivation¹⁶. According to Sue French, employees perform better when they work towards the actualization of set goals¹⁷. In this light, the company encourages team building to help employees understand what themselves and their co-workers contribute to the general success of the company, and the roles they have to play.

Bibliography

CHARLES, H, ‘Global Human Resource Management at Mercedes-Benz’, Global Business Today, 2006, pp. 5.

JIA, B, ‘Business Week’, BusinessWeek, 2006.

Mercedes-Benz Concept BlueZERO: Modular Drive Concept for Electric Vehicles, Daimler AG, 2008.

Mercedes Introduces PRE-SAFE Brake Safety System, The Unofficial Mercedes-Benz Weblog, 2006. Web.

Mercedes-Benz report, organization chart, Mercedes-Benz, Germany, 2001.

SUE, F, Mercedes-Benz powers productivity with Ceridian Assistance Program (EAP) and HR consulting Services, Ceridian, Michigan, 2003.

The history of Mercedes-AMG GmbH, Media.daimler. 2007. Web.

Footnotes

1. The history of Mercedes-AMG GmbH, Media.daimler. 2007.
2. ibid.
3. Mercedes Introduces PRE-SAFE Brake Safety System, The Unofficial Mercedes-Benz Weblog, 2006.
4. Mercedes-Benz Concept BlueZERO: Modular Drive Concept for Electric Vehicles, Daimler AG, 2008.
5. ibid.
6. ibid.
7. ibid.
8. Mercedes-Benzes report, organization chart, Mercedes-Benz, Germany, 2001.
9. ibid.
10. Sue French, Mercedes-Benz powers productivity with Ceridian Assistance Program (EAP) and HR consulting Services, Ceridian, Michigan, 2003.
11. ibid.
12. ibid.
13. Charles Hill, ‘Global Human Resource Management at Mercedes-Benz’, Global Business Today, 2006, pp. 5.
14. Jia Bian, Business Week, BusinessWeek, 2006.
15. ibid.
16. ibid.
17. ibid.

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