CASE STUDY

HOW BOB HAAS MAKES IT WORK AT LEVVI STRAUSS Lev Smarss ind hy Roberr Haas, the founder's four employees sews buttons on 4.037 pains of grras yrrat irand-nephew, hac incraced its sales berton-fy jeans a day. According to Peler Thige by 11 percent ito more than st.6 billion) and prof. pen, vice president of manulacturing. all managits byimone than 50 percent sioce 10i5. The spec- ers at Levi are tryingt to make work for employers tacular nevules hove conse alwas berause tevi more meamineful. Manayers are ureed to speak Streiss sharyod the way it dal business. Thst, openly to employees, reward them for quality Livi pound tens of millions of datiars into new:. work, and give ther more power to make deciproduct developenent, marketine, and consuater sioms in areas that directly. affect them. tochnology. Sccoss, Haas has focused the organi. The following "Aspirations Staternent" reaation on baske product lines, downsized the on- flects what Levi Strauss values: ganization by laying off more than four thousand mantecrs, and trimmed the number of products by two-thirds. Thind, a new computer system helped ofreamline manufacturing and distribu. tion by linking Levi dincetly to retivilers and fabric supplien. This new system enables customers to. order and pay electronically for new itwentory. We all want a company that our people are prond of Links with suppliers let Levi finetune the and comanitsed io. Where all emptoyees haw as op. portanity to contribute, Jearn, grow, and advansk based on merie, not politics or boid krowind Wh amounts and kinds of fabrics it orders to meet. want our peopie to feel respected, treated fairly, lis. consumer demand. The poal of the system is to. electronically monitor the manufacture of a pair tened to, and involved. Above all, we want sathfar. tion from accoinplishments and frienduhips, bal of jeans. When the customer buys jeans in some anced perwonal and professional lives. and to hare. store, that sale is communicated directly to a fun in our enleavors. plant. If the plant's imventory level for that style of jeans is low, an order to manufacture them is When we describe the kind of Levi Sirauss 4 Co. We automatically placed. Lastly. Levi started to pay want in the future, what we are talking about is attention to what its customers wanted. In just building on the foundation we have inherited af. four years, Docker's, a line of casual clothing firming the best of our company's traditions, cloc aimedatthelessslim,overtwenty-fivemarket,hasbecomeahalf-billion-dollarayearsuccess.NewBchaviors:Leadershipthatexemplifiesdirect-ness,opennesstoinfluence,commitmenttothe ing gaps that may exist between principles and Haas paid attention to the global market. As._ success of others, willingness to acknowledge out markets open and geographic barriers have be-_ own contributions to problems, personal account. come increasingly blurred, Levi took advantage__ ability. teamwork, and trust. Not only ruust wo model these behaviors but we must coach others to going on. Even women are now wearing jeans. Diveraity; Leadership that values a diverse work Until recently, few people would have ever imag- force (age, sex, ethnie group, etc.) at all levels of the ined this happening in Japan. In addition to sell-_ organization, diversity in experience, and diversity ing overseas, Levi is manufacturing oversens as in perspectives. We have committed to taking full well. Most Dockers, for example, are made in the advantage of the rich backgrounds and abilities of Caribbean basin. The reason: Dockers require all our people and to promoting a greater diversity fwice the amount of labor that 501 jeans do. The in positions of influence. Differing points of view greater the labor, the more the emphasis is to will be sought; diversity will be valued and honesty manufacture outside of the United States. rewarded, not suppressed. To raise productivity as well as help keep mo-_ Recognition: Leadership that provides greater rale high. Levi is trying a gain-sharing program. recognition-both financial and psychic-for indiAt its jeans factory in Blue Ridge, Georgia, em-_ viduals and teams that contribute to our succest. ployees and plant management set productivity Recognition must be given to all who contribute: mprovement goals and agreed to split thesavings _ those who create and innovate and also those who vith employees-Iast year, continually support the day-to-day business n extrests. quirements. n extrat $450. Before the gain-sharing program, Evhical Managemeru Practices: Leadership that epito mizes the stated standards of ethical behavior. Whis est. At another one of its jeans plants in El Paso, must provide clarity about our expectations and mus xas, employees work in teams. Each team of enforce these standards through the corporation. 0UESTHONS: 1. What leaulrohip shilhs has fiake thowat of itaikio and anow aspirathins. tiesty with those ani-gharpet? 3. What are socner prothesten of leabins people whe live in tormes imintries ? Hius deas li. vis. "Aspiration \$yateroctit" help lacatsis do. this easiet