Kelon builds Whampoa Military Academy?

View Cases & Discussions >>>

●Case Study

In the widely read book "Building to Last", Jim Collins pointed out - America's Founding The sages thought: "What kind of procedures can we create so that the country can still have many good presidents behind us?" The same is true in running a business, procedures and systems are above all else, not some people, some star.

So, what does a well-functioning system consist of? by idea. There is no right or wrong idea, the key is focus and long-term adherence. As the saying goes, it is necessary to "choose the good" and "stubborn". People who agree with the corporate philosophy and possess the capabilities required by these concepts are talents.

To analyze Kelon's case, we might as well follow the idea of system-idea-talent.

For Kelon, whether the recruited people are compatible with the company's culture is the first consideration when letting them in. Just like checking your blood type before a blood transfusion. We are not worried about Mr. Nan Guo among them, we are worried about those who sing well, but cannot always sing with everyone.

Relying on new methods to cure chronic diseases

"Old Dai" of a consulting company does not believe that new flesh will grow on its own carrion, and disdains the old system that caused Kelon's huge loss of 1.5 billion. "It is this kind of system that has not been updated for a long time that made Kelon almost enter the bottomless abyss when he persisted until 2001. For this stubborn disease, any operation that does not hurt his muscles and bones will eventually lead to the abyss."

"Lao Dai" has high hopes for MBA: "Those MBAs with rich basic theories, strong acceptance of management ideas and methods, and without shadows and historical burdens, can interpret Kelon's corporate culture." He He praised the steps of Kelon's "Whampoa Military Academy" plan, because "the three stages of the plan provide a buffer period for MBAs to adapt as soon as possible." He commented that Kelon's move was a kind of "shock therapy" , "Apart from this, are there any other options?"

"Borgward" of a Shenzhen design company's point of view is: "Greencool and Gu Chujun's ambition is to be the leader in the global refrigeration industry. How much does it take? Management talents? Can Gu Chujun not be in a hurry? Therefore, to implement this plan, one is to plan ahead, and the other is that Kelong also needs to change blood."

As the saying goes: "If you are familiar with 300 Tang poems, you can recite them even if you don't know how to write them. ". What MBA learns is actually the methods of management, the methods of being a person and doing things, and these methods are lacking in Chinese enterprises and entrepreneurs, or they have not been fully refined and sorted out. In an enterprise, if more people use these methods, there will not be a situation where there is no solution or only one solution to the management problem.

Consistent means of targeting

When you're going to fight mosquitoes, it's definitely a mistake to raise your anti-aircraft guns. From the case, one of Kelon's goals is to control costs. Many netizens questioned the use of MBA to control costs. "Yan Xinsheng" of a securities company "conservatively estimated": "The salary of 400 MBAs alone is more than 20 million yuan a year." Yu and others of a logistics company also pointed out, "This is a good idea. , but the implementation is very difficult."

If only from the perspective of cost, a netizen "Lin Dongsheng" of a certain group in Fujian may have a more economical plan. "Select personnel from the existing marketing elites to study MBA courses in batches. , this can achieve the results we can expect, and the probability of retaining talents is very high. The cost is low and the effect is good."

Talents are not only from MBA. According to statistics, from the 1970s to the present, the company with the highest return on investment in the US stock market is Southwest Airlines. This company is in an industry that is not very sunny, and has maintained double-digit growth every year for the past two decades, while other companies in the industry have been devastated by the economic downturn. The company's formula for success, where low cost is always the most important metric, has never hired an MBA. On the contrary, in investment banks and consulting companies, MBAs grab a lot, and they also create considerable profits for the company. Therefore, it doesn't matter who you recruit, the key is that the company's goals and means should be consistent.

Kelon's second goal is to increase market penetration. Therefore, its "Whampoa Military Academy" plan is mainly aimed at the marketing department. That is to say, Kelon's blood supply is only inclined to a certain department. In this regard, the "zty" of a high-voltage switch company in Xiamen has a different view: "Any enterprise is composed of many departments. When the quality of the marketing department personnel changes greatly, how to coordinate the relationship between employees in various departments and even with the boss of the company? The contradictions and conflicts caused by differences in thinking methods between the two companies are issues that the senior management of Kelon Group must consider. "The enterprise is a whole, and a headache cannot be just a doctor's head, and a deformed giant cannot be regarded as a giant.

Space for talent development

Faced with people's accusations of "lack of practical experience" and "underachievement" of MBA, "mariahx" of a Wuhan branch of express express bluntly: "My practical ability for MBA is very good. Confidence. The State Education Commission stipulates that MBAs must have certain work experience before they can apply for the exam.” Therefore, it is biased to say that they have no actual combat experience. “Anyone who enters a new company is a newcomer. In terms of companies, there are also problems in employing and educating people. Many companies have too high expectations, but neglect the guidance and training work. Kelon's plan is a phased plan, and I am confident."

The "Old Dai" in the previous article also holds the same view. He believes that "Chinese MBAs have re-understood their own expectations after several years of ups and downs, and began to move towards rationality." An advertising company in Shandong "ltj" also said: "Kelon's training for 300 MBAs is a practical exercise. If there are unsuitable people, they can be replaced. There is no need to worry too much about the execution ability of MBAs. Everyone starts the same."

It's also cost-effective to marry someone

Some netizens worry that when these recruited MBAs find out that the actual situation of the company does not meet their expectations, they will quit their jobs, and the company is "cultivating talents for competitors". "Da Kaiyuan" of a software company in Suzhou holds this view: "These MBAs will become the targets of other companies to poach talents in the future, and Kelon will become a school for MBAs to grow. At that time, the talent gap will give Kelon. A devastating blow."

This concern is not unreasonable, but it depends on how Kelon treats it. When Welch was picking a successor for GE, three were ultimately shortlisted. Immelt won, and the loser went to serve as CEO of two other big companies. When it comes to developing talent for a competitor, that's typical, but GE hasn't been hit. There are also many people from "P&G China", and "P&G" has not been "devastated".

Biologists say that the best living creatures are the ones that are best for their surroundings, and the same applies to businesses. The flow of talents is normal. As we said earlier, people will disappear, but systems and ideas will not. As long as there are good systems and concepts, no matter how many people wave, they will not take away a cloud of the company.

This article is organized by Hercules Yang. For more case studies and online discussions, please visit the CEConlines website.