There's new boss at Chrysler, and his name is Sergio Marchionne. On the job just a few days, Mr. Marchionne has shown that he plans to run a tight ship at Chrysler. His first move was to appoint powerful divisional heads with profit and loss accountability.
He has initiated a top-to-bottom shake-up, naming 23 executives who will report directly to him. Some of the 23 are from Fiat and others were promoted within Chrysler.
More subtle changes were made at Chrysler headquarters. The Chrysler building is the second largest office complex in the U.S., after the Pentagon. Marchionne said that he will not move into the executive offices at Chrysler, which he once described as a "mausoleum." New telephone short codes were issued to executives so they could have instant contact with the head office in Turin, Italy.
This lightening change has left some Chrysler employees in dismay. They have already lived through German management with Daimler, and now a new Italian style of leadership.
Anyone who has worked for a well-run auto dealership knows this style of management well. Most dealerships are tightly run with the owner calling in to his managers each day for that day's sale numbers. Managers' livelihood depend on meeting monthly quotas set for the dealership, as do the livelihoods of the sales persons. It's a highly intense and performance-based work ethic. We can guess that this style of management will emanate from Marchionne himself. Marchionne might want to send his executives to work in one of his best-run dealerships to see first-hand what is expected of them.
Do you believe that Marchionne's style of leadership will succeed?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-14-2009 @ 5:31PM
mfl62 said...
I've known him for over 20 yrs and his sense of commitment, his tenacity, and his integrity are unwavering. I can almost assure you that he will succeed. B-I-L.
Michael
6-21-2009 @ 7:33PM
Thomas N Beaver Sr said...
I like my Grand Cherookee but I'm wondering why I should go ahead and replace it with a new one when I get ripped off for $511.00 for a simple control module. I just bought a brand new Dell inspiron 1525 for $450.00 and I know they made a profit on it. If You want me to buy your product then treat me like a valued customer,not like a sucker with fewer brains than a knat. I expect you to make a profit but lets be reasonable about or I will go somewhere else.