SAGE Business Cases - Management Assignment Help

Assignment Task

Abstract
This case shows how ThyssenKrupp (tk) has altered its innovation process in recent years. CEO Heinrich Hiesinger has brought in a former colleague from Siemens, Reinhold Achatz, to lead a transformation of the R&D function at the company. With tk’s roots over 200 years old and its highly divisionalized organization structure, Achatz had to be thoughtful and strategic about how to manage this change. At the same time, tk needed to boost its organic growth, which put pressure on the organization to move fast. The case follows projects through the new innovation process and invites students to place new projects into the proper place in the innovation
process.

Case
Reinhold Achatz stared out of his office in Essen, Germany. He had worked as the chief technology officer of thyssenkrupp (or tk, as it was now known after a recent rebranding effort) for several years now. In that time, he had transformed the company’s innovation process, with the steadfast support of tk’s CEO Heinrich
Hiesinger. But innovation never stops. New challenges and new opportunities were surfacing from many parts of the company. Several new projects, in particular, needed to be addressed and incorporated into tk’s innovation process. Looking out his window, he wondered both how to organize these particular projects and whether his transformed process would be sufficient to meet the needs of tk, as the company looked for new sources of growth.

History of tk
tk’s history goes back over 200 years, back to the earliest days of the steel industry. Both Thyssen and Krupp were well over a hundred years old, and much of their early history was centered in the steel industry. The two companies were merged together in 1999. Today, the company is a German multinational conglomerate, headquartered in Essen and divided into 461 subsidiaries with about 2,000 locations worldwide. Its steel business ranked at position 15 of the largest steel producers worldwide in 2016. In addition to steel, thyssenkrupp’s products range from automotive components, machines, elevators, and industrial systems and services to shipbuilding. Its revenues in financial year 2016/2017 amounted to 41.5 billion euros, and the company employed roughly 159,000 people.

Previous management at tk had made an unfortunate decision to invest in steel production in South America to serve as a low-cost platform to supply steel to the attractive North American market. However, this attractive business opportunity turned quite unattractive among other reasons after the exchange rate between the Brazilian Cruzeiro and the U.S. dollar flipped. This prompted a change in management, and Heinrich Hiesinger was brought in from Siemens to take over the reins as CEO of tk. Hiesinger, in turn, brought in Achatz a year later, whom he had worked with during his career at Siemens. Achatz reflected, “Heinrich Hiesinger told me, don’t do anything for three months. Look around and see what needs to be done. I want to change the company, and I need someone who understands what I have in mind, and can do it.” Achatz’s boss, Dr. Heinrich Hiesinger, echoed this recollection.

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