English to be VW’s language
Group’s major policy change in bid to attract world’s best
TROUBLED car company Volkswagen has finally found a new way to convince people it is a proper international organisation and no longer a regional German giant. It has changed its official language to English.
Traditionally the most Germanfocused of all of Germany’s seven major carmakers, VW started moving towards English by making it the official language of its commercial vehicle group before moving the entire company over from now, locking it in by 2021.
Still reeling from the scandal, investigation into and fines from Dieselgate, VW has made the move to try to attract more international expertise as it moves towards both electric and autonomous technologies.
It is also yet another move that would have been impossible under old boss Martin Winterkorn, whose English was poor, though even new group chairman Matthias Mueller has frequent difficulties with it.
It is a far cry from the premium German brands, with BMW chairman Harald Krueger and Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche fluent in English after stints in the US.
Audi chairman Rupert Stadler speaks perfect English, too, but often prefers speaking German.
“Diversity and international experience will be more important for management than ever before,” VW group personnel boss Karlheinz Blessing said. “We will promote a culture of discussion and decision making, accept that errors are made, support selfcorrection, strengthen entrepreneurial thinking and action, encourage agility and reinforce overarching cooperation throughout the group.
“In future, English is to be the group language. Digitalisation, connectivity and e-mobility will fundamentally change our industry. This is why we are realigning our management culture in good time,” Blessing said.
He also flagged a fasttrack for women managers to redress a man-heavy management structure.
The core intention, though, is to depoliticise the traditional Wolfsburg-Braunschweig Volkswagen Group power centres in favour of a global perspective.
Wolfsburg was a block of farmland near a town called Fallersleben before VW began in the 1930s and would become a ghost town if the company ever left.
Being stuck in this one-company town meant VW employees, from top to bottom, lived in a bubble and viewed the rest of Germany, much less the world, with suspicion that often bordered on contempt.
But with the changes, Blessing said, access for international top performers and cooperation among top managers would be improved.
“We want managers to cooperate in the overall interests of the group and leverage the potential available within this great company with comprehensive knowledge and a concerted effort.” – BDlive