1. Describe SEMCO’s organizational culture. What artifacts are mentioned in this program that represent and reinforce this culture? What strategies or practices does SEMCO apply to specifically support its culture?
2. SEMCO is apparently a very successful company. Which of the four perspectives of organizational effectiveness described in Chapter 1 best explain this organization’s success?
3. SEMCO SA is featured in Chapter 12 of this book as an example of shared leadership. What information in this video program indicated that SEMCO encourages shared leadership?

This video program gives the viewer a rare glimpse inside the fabled operations of the Brazilian conglomerate, SEMCO SA. Two decades ago, Ricardo Semler transformed his father’s rigidly hierarchical shipbuilding supplies business into an organization that embraces egalitarianism and worker autonomy. Today, almost all of SEMCO’s 3,000 employees set their own work schedules. They are encouraged to move around to different workstations, in part so that supervisors have difficulty knowing who is at work and who has gone home. Employees are also key decision makers, choosing everything from the office furniture to how much they should get paid. But SEMCO is not a laidback country club. Employees are rewarded for how well their work unit performs, so co-workers will not tolerate those who fail to pull their weight. Also, although employees can set their own salaries, those who ask for too much money find themselves without a team willing to keep them on the payroll. This video program also describes Ricardo Semler’s recent initiatives in education and ecotourism, both of which also give employees authority and responsibility.