VW Australia- Communications Audit

VW Australia
Communications
Audit
Matthew Pearce

Matthew Pearce Communication Audit
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Executive Summary
The VW Group is multinational automotive manufacturing organisation with the espoused
values of high quality vehicles, caring for its people and listening to its customers.
Our team undertook a communication audit of the Australian financial arm of the organisation
using a combination of online surveys, management interviews and research to assess the
strengths and weaknesses of the organization, specifically focusing on organisational
communication, leadership, culture and inter-departmental communication.
The analysis of the information collected during the audit found that the VW group had
developed and open work organisation culture that was performing well in regards to
communication. This was evidenced by the positive culture within employees and the central
role organisational communication played in the workplace.
The findings within the organisation were generally positive, however two key issues were
identified that threaten the commercial success of the company in Australia:
• The organisation was struggling with low customer service ratings
• The managing director becoming increasingly time poor to effectively manage their
strategic role
Our report identified a relationship between a Model II organisation and these issues, with our
key recommendation being that
1. Promoting increased dialogue between the lower tier employees
2. Having employees develop better negotiation skills
3. Consequently allowing General Mangers more time to increase their own interaction
and strategic oversight
Overall the organization serves as an example of the benefits that can be gained by
encouraging open dialogue within an organisation, but demonstrates the practical difficulties
faced in applying best practice theory within the field.

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Table of Contents
1.0. Introduction/ Organisation Background
2.0. Methodology
3.0. Data analysis
3.1. Employee survey
3.2. Management interview
4.0. Findings and Theoretical application
4.1. Successful Organisational Dialogue
4.2. Developing Employee and Manager Dialogue
5.0. Recommendations
5.1. Recommendation 1: Strengthen Employee-to-Employee Dialogue
5.2. Recommendation 2: Increase Employee Negotiation Skills
5.3. Recommendation 3: Increase Manager-to-Manager Communication
6.0. Conclusion
7.0. Reference list
8.0. Appendices
8.1. Appendix A: Company VW Questionnaire
8.2. Appendix B: Questionnaire Analysis
8.3. Appendix C: Managers Interview
8.4. Appendix D: VW Vision, Mission and Values
8.5. Appendix D: VW Newspaper Article

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1.0. Introduction/ Organisation Background
VW Group is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker
in Europe.    The Group operates 94 production plants in 18 European countries and a further
eight countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. It has 501,956 employees worldwide who
produce some 34,500 vehicles, are involved in vehicle-related services or work in the other
fields of business. VW Group sells its vehicles in 153 countries.
VW Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of VW Group. VW Australia acts as the
Australian distribution and brand support centre and is headquartered in Sydney, NSW. VW
has a dedicated team of 200 people handling all aspects of the companies Australian
operations from supporting sales growth and the expanded network of dealerships and service
facilities. VW Financial services specifically focus’s on the financial loans that support
dealerships sustainable expansion and creation.
The Goal of VW Australia is to support the mission of the Group to offer attractive, safe and
environmentally sound vehicles which are competitive in an increasingly tough market and
which set world standards in their respective classes. Its central vision is to ‘be the best
solution in services to the clients and dealers of VW Group.’
Presently VW Australia has experienced rapid sales growth. From 2009-2012 cars sold in
Australia increased from 30,087 to 54,892 at an average rate of 17.7%. Consequently it has
set the new all-time Australian record for car sales. However while this is a positive for the
company it has led to major shortages in service provision leading to:
• A consistently low customer service rating. Out of the twelve major Australian brands
it has been ranked last from 2012-2014 by the JD Power Customer Service Index
(CSI)
• Cutting product offerings from three major brands
• Suspending any plans for further cat dealerships within Australia
The objective of this report is to determine the reason for this oversight in service and whether
this could have been avoided with sound communication practices. Further it will investigate
whether changes are needed to the current communications model to improve effectiveness of

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operations. Whereby our goal is to analyse the underlying challenges and opportunities for
VW Australia into the future.
2.0. Methodology
In order to get a complete and representative picture of the organisation’s communication
structure, this study has used primary data collected through both a quantitative questionnaire
and a qualitative interview. The report focused on one department directly responsible for the
financial services as quoted in the introduction. This department consisted of one General
Manager and 20 employees who report directly to him.
The questionnaire was the base we used in order to conduct our primary research and
consisted of 31 questions given to all the employees within the work group. The employee
survey was built around four broad areas:
1. Organisational Communication
2. Organisational Leadership
3. Inter-Department Communication
4. Organisational Culture
Of the 20 possible respondents, 11 completed the survey, which is a response rate of 55 per
cent. The results from the questionnaire were analysed and common response pattern
identified
A Qualitative interview was consequently conducted with the general manager, based on the
findings from the quantitative research and in-depth questions were designed. A complete
analysis was developed post interview to further examine the commonality of findings.
To provide meaningful advice to VW, data collected from the surveys and interview were
further combined with relevant academic literature using the triangulation method thereby
providing VW with a comprehensive report and recommendations:

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Analysis
Analysis of the research will
form the core of the reports
findings and subsequent
recommendations.
The primary function of the
analysis is to identify the key
issues to be discussed in the
evaluation from which
recommendations can be drawn.

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3.0. Data Analysis
3.1. Employee survey
Regarding the organisational communication, the most common communication form are face
to face, followed by emails and then meetings, which are also stated as the top three most
effective ones. Every one of the respondents agreed that the mission statement is
communicated effectively to them, 100% of these confirm that they understand the mission.
Of this 40% felt they were very connected to the mission, vision and objectives, while 20%
felt moderately connected and 40% were neutral. Of all the respondents no one felt
disconnected to VW´s mission. This indicates a clear vision of the organisation that is
connected to all.
The data collected from the survey gave indications of a soft and effective leadership style.
All participants rated their leader as either ‘very approachable’ or ‘approachable’ (81.2% and
18.2%). Also, they trust managers’ judgement capability and evaluate managers’
communication as effective (36.4% of ‘very effective’, 54.5% of ‘effective’). Overall the data
collected from the survey proved that the leadership is effective, although it is mixed thoughts
about how much the manager is listening to the employees when making decisions. It was
shown that 50% think their managers always listen to employee’s suggestions when making
decisions. 60% of the respondents described the communication as effective. The results from
the survey showed that the organisation rely on clear goals and numbers. This indicates that it
is an outcome driven organisation, which also supports the claims that both the leadership and
the communication within the organisation are effective (Appendix B).
There is a good cooperation between the different departments, they are generally very open
to share information with each other and there is a low level of competition between them.
Regarding the willingness to share important information to other departments, 50% claimed
that other departments are willing to share such information; 30% said always; 20% said
sometimes and no one said seldom or never (Appendix B).
All in all, the organisational culture can be described as open and engaging. When asked if
there is a culture of openness and sharing within VW, 50% claimed that openness and sharing
are constantly encouraged; 40% said that the employees regularly engage; and 10% were
neutral. When asked what characterises their organisation, 72% of participants voted that the

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organisation was ‘united’ and 18% voted for ‘very united’. If conflicts arise, they are
according to the respondents handled and solved within a timely manner, and the trust among
the employees and between managers and the employees were both described as good (see
Appendix B). To sum up, the organisational culture can be described as collaborative, non-
competitive with high emphasis on trust (Appendix B).
3.2. Management interview
Through the interview, important findings from the survey become stronger as it was
confirmed and supported by the GM. When asked how the employees are as communicators,
the answer was that they are good communicators, but that there are times of friction that
takes time to mediate and solve. This supports the answer from the survey; that conflicts are
usually solved within a timely manner. The interview proved that the employees
communicate very well with their manager and the communication between the employees
were said to be good most of the time. However, the General Manager admits that there are
times he has to put his own work on hold in order to figure out and mediate friction that has
occurred (Appendix C).
The GM sees himself less as a boss and more of a team captain and constantly encourages
employee feedback. He promotes a two-pronged approach when leading employees of
personnel of accountability and personal brand. His style of management is that of a
‘contingency manager’, managing all staff by promoting their strengths and helping them
where they find challenges. Thereby reflecting what VW global encourages in their managers
through full leadership assessment and development on all levels. The organisation seeks
consistency, not conformity on an international scale. Based on the information gathered from
this interview, the leadership style can be described as soft (Appendix C).
It was further confirmed that the employees are heard when making decisions, as it was stated
that objectives are set through the team, or described as ‘Management by Objectives.’ This
also underpins the fact that the organisation relies on teamwork, which was indicated through
the survey. The organisation was again described as uncompetitive, and those who leave the
organisation were said to be people who typically are not comfortable with a flat management
style. Compared to earlier work places, the GM describes VW as the flattest he ever has been
a part of. The interview gave a clear picture of the organisation as flat (Appendix C).

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Although the interviewee gave evidence of an organisation with positive characteristics, he
did note the following challenges:
• How does the flat structure of the organisation support rapid growth as being
experienced?
• The role the GM has at the moment does not match his job description of being a
strategic manager and while things within the organisation are OK, the big things may
not be done well enough. It is difficult to be strategic when too much time is spent on
daily communication. The following answer was given when asked for a description
on his role as a General Manager of the finance department: “When checking with a
time tracker, I found that on a regular day I spend 80 per cent of my time on day-to-
day operations and 20 per cent on strategy” (Appendix C).
4.0. Findings and Theoretical Application
4.1. Successful Organisational Dialogue
Flat Management refers to ‘the number of employees reporting to a supervisor’, and it
determines how tall or flat the structure is in an organisation (Daft 2012, pp. 267). A flat
structure ‘which has a wide span, is horizontally dispersed, and has fewer hierarchical levels,’
(Daft 2012, pp. 267) adopted avoids disadvantages from a tall one. These problems include
expense, complicated and often confusing communication and slow decision-making
processes (Griffin 2010). There are strong indications of a heterarchical structure within VW
and as such it has shown openness, ‘authentic leadership’ and ‘double loop learning’ that is
characterised by a Model II organisation (Mauzutis & Slawinski 2008).
Mazutis and Slawinski (2008) characterises a Model I institution as that which employees
behaviours are predominately defensive, evasive and focused on self-preservation thereby
restricting organisational dialogue and learning. This is typically reflected in a top down
structure where communication is a one directional linear process. In contrast, their ‘Model II
Organisation’ (Mauzutis & Slawinski 2008) is characterised by ‘authentic leadership’ and
‘authentic dialogue.’ It was shown that the culture in VW is open, and sharing is highly
valued as well as being commonplace, which are typical Model II characteristics (Mauzutis &
Slawinski 2008). VW has implemented an authentic dialogue style, in which the
communication is ‘open, balanced and transparent’ (Mauzutis & Slawinski 2008, pp. 447)
within the organisation. It is clear to see that VW benefits from a flat structure as it enhances

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the communication between the top management and the operational workers, which further
increases the quality and the efficiency of decision-making processes.
Evidence from the questionnaire suggests that at VW the decision-making processes involves
all levels within the organisation and is not a task for the top management only. Tourish &
Hargie (2009) highlights the importance of including the employees in decision-making
processes to ensure that they feel committed to the outcome of the decisions. When they feel
committed, they are also more likely to handle customers in a way that makes them willing to
come back (Tourish & Hargie 2009). It’s flat management structure allows top management
to get in touch with operational employees, and strengthen the communication between each
other, which is evidenced in the survey and interview. The communication flow in VW is,
according to the Appendix B, open all the way to the top executives. Outcomes from data
indicate that employees can go to their manager for assistance when needed. Likewise, the
managers are reliable and have the abilities to make the right decisions on behalf of the
employees and the organisation. Therefore, conflicts can be resolved without delay. As a
return, productivity raises and then supports the rapid growth of VW Group.
Northup (2006) indicates that an organization’s culture and working atmosphere have a major
influence on employee’s readiness to open up and become more communicative. The
presence of a fully shared understanding of VW’s vision, mission and objectives indicates that
the dialogue within the organisation is effective. These shared ideals can be considered a
consequence of the central role dialogue has in the organisation, consequently creating shared
and mutual understanding (Mauzutis & Slawinski 2008). Senge (1995) argues that dialogue is
a process where the participants learn how to think together, in which the whole group as a
team creates the outcomes. As one of the core values to VW is to be ‘a living commitment to
our customers’ (See Appendix D), it is important that it’s employees feel committed and
connected to what the organisation represent and stand for, in order to maintain a high level of
motivation that further drives them to perform a good job (McShane, Olekalns & Travaglione
2013).
All of this can be considered a result of ‘authentic leadership’ shown by VW’s General
Manager. Managers who possess such leadership style practice an open, truthful, balanced
and encouraging communication culture (Mazutis and Slawski 2008), which according to the
conducted research was identified in VW (See Appendix B). According to Northup (2006),

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highly effective managers are excellent communicators who have high levels of interpersonal
competence that will lead directly to high personal achievement. Successful managers will
always strive to increase their open free areas and to reduce their blind, hidden and unknown
areas (Northup 2006). Isaacs (1999) also highlights the importance of a good communication
within an organisation, as he claims that people who do not communicate, can neither work
together. It was further shown that the manager possessed good listening skills (See Appendix
B). According to Groysberg & Slind (2012) a manager with a high focus on communication
understands the relevance of listening, which they again claims that lead to useful and
effective dialogue.
4.2. Communication Gaps Within VW
While a non-competitive and collaborative culture is considered an efficient and effective
work environment, in practical terms transferring to a complete open environment does have
its limits. While at the moment this does not present a problem in VW, it could pose a
possible issue as stated within the management interview (See Appendix C) as VW shows
rapid growth into the future.
Due to the lack of managers overseeing a rapidly increasing employee base in VW, this has
led to more day-to-day administrative and supervisory responsibilities flow to each manager
(Griffin, 2010). Extra responsibilities not only equal a massive workload for a manager, but
can also be a distraction from an organisational strategic standpoint as is evidenced in VW.
As the General Manager from VW Group states, his official role is to focus on the strategy
and future business development, including marketing communication, brand management,
dealership and pricing. However, with 20 subordinates/employees and 13 reporting directly to
him, 80% of his time is spent on day-to-day communication, and only 20% of time is on the
strategy. This also leads to not enough daily interactions with the other General Managers, as
too much time is spent dealing with their own employees. Consequently this has led to less
intra-organisational collaboration and dialogue in the upper level of the organisation. This
lack of communication between managers, has led to strategic gaps as is evidenced in the low
CSI rating (See Appendix E).

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While the cause of this failure cannot be linked directly to the effectiveness of communication
in the organisation, the presence of a positive culture is evidently not a protection from this
type of strategic failure occurring. Bates et al (1995) argues that strategy and culture are so
deeply intertwined on so many levels and when focusing on outcomes. Both aim to develop a
consistency in direction, decision-making and norms within the organisation. While VW
appears to have motivated staff that enjoys their roles, there is a suggestion in the findings
that communication is stronger between managers and their staff rather between the staff
themselves and between managers as a result of this open structure.
5.0. Recommendations
5.1. Recommendation 1: Strengthen Employee-to-Employee Dialogue
Continuing to strengthen the dialogue among the employees at lower levels is considered an
important issue that should be focused on, as this could reduce the time the GM spends on
day-to-day issues with them. This might further improve the collaboration level among
employees, as it supports Senge (1995) viewpoint of dialogue that is given in the previous
section.
5.2. Recommendation 2: Increase Employee Negotiation Skills
Negotiation is another important attribute not only for managers but also for employees. To
develop negotiation skills, employees need to distinguish several negotiation strategies as
win-win, win-lose, lose-win or lose-lose. Analysing personal styles can help them find the
way to affect negotiation. To achieve the best outcome from negotiation, employees also need
to exchange information in a way that establishes trust and confidence. This is particularly
important within VW because too much of the General Manager’s time is spent solving
employee conflict and negotiating outcomes. If employees developed their own skills this
would again free up the managers time.
5.3. Recommendation 3: Increase Manager-to-Manager
Communication
As it stands there is not enough daily contact between mangers to develop a deeper dialogue
between them. Currently General Managers communicate predominantly within formal
meetings held once a week for operation updates and once monthly for strategic decision

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making. VW’s GM ideally wishes that there would be more everyday contact to further
increase managers understanding and dialogue. Unfortunately, due to each manger’s
constraint in dealing with employee operational communication they have not found enough
time. This has on occasion led to misunderstandings and miscommunication between
managers. Alongside the strengthening of employee-to-employee engagement in
Recommendation one and two, managers also need to strive to meet and engage other
managers on a daily basis. This will be more possible as employee dialogue develops and the
manager does not feel the need to engage and assist in this.
6.0. Conclusion
The VW group has successfully implemented an open dialogue within the organisation and is
seeing benefits to their organisation of this model have also brought challenges to the business
that threaten its commercial success in the future.
The recommendations suggest that despite strong communication between managers and their
direct staff, there is a dialogue gap between employees consequently causing mangers to
focus less on strategic communication between themselves and more on day-to-day employee
engagement. these recommendations include:
1. An increased dialogue between employees
2. Developing employees negotiation skills to overcome conflicts
3. Whereby freeing their managers time to further engage other managers and focus on
strategic direction
The company remains an example of the benefits of being a Model II organisation, but also
serves as a reminder that organisational development is an ongoing process that requires
periodic assessment to ensure the strategic fit of the company’s practices to their operations.

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7.0. Reference List
Birkinshaw, J. M. & Morrison, A. J. 1995, ‘Configurations of Strategy and Structure in
Subsidiaries of multinational corporations’, Journal of International Business Studies,
vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 729-753.
Daft, R. L. 2014, Management, 10th
edn, South-Western Cengage Learning, Australia.
Downs, C. W. & Adrian, A. D. 2012, Assessing organizational communication: Strategic
communication audits. Guilford Press, UK.
Ellinger, A.D., Ellinger, A.E., Yang, B. and Howton, S.W. 2002, ‘The relationship between
the learning organization concept and firms’ financial performance: an empirical
assessment’, Human Resource Development Quarterly, Vol. 13, pp. 5-21
Griffin, R. W. 2010, Management, 10th
edn, South-Western Cengage Learning, Australia.
Groysberg, B. & Slind, M. 2012, ‘ Leadership is a conversation’, Harvard Business Review,
vol. 90, no 6, pp. 76-84.
Isaacs, W. N. 1999, Dialogue and the Art of Thinking Together: A pioneering Approach to
Communication in Business and in Life, Currency, New York.
Mazutis, D. & Slawinski, N. 2008, 'Leading Organizational Learning Through Authentic
Dialogue', Management Learning, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 437-56.
McShane, S., Olekalns, M. & Travaglione T. 2013, Organisational Behaviour, 4th edn,
McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd, Australia.
Senge, P. M. 1995, The fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a
Learning Organization, Nicholas Brealey, London.

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Shockley-Zalabak, S. 2009, Fundamentals of Organisational Communication, 7th
edn.,
Pearson Education. Inc., Boston.
Tourish, D. & Hargie, O. 2009, ’Communication and organizational success’, in Auditing
Organisational Communication: A Handbook of Research, Theory and Practice,
Routledge, London, pp.3-26

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8.0. Appendices
8.1. Appendix A: Company VW Questionnaire
1. How long have you been with VW?
□ Less than two year
□ More than two year
2. Please indicate the frequency of use of
communication methods. (top= most
frequent, bottom= least frequent)
□ Face to face
□ Telephone (mobile or landline)
□ Email
□ Meetings
□ Social media platforms
□ Other
3. Please rate forms of communication
from most to least effective. (Top = most
effective, bottom = least effective
□ Face to face
□ Telephone (mobile or landline)
□ Email
□ Meetings
□ Social media platforms
□ Other
4. How effective is communication in
your organisation?
□ Very effective
□ Effective
□ Neutrally effective
□ Not effective
□ Not at all effective
5. In your opinion, what causes conflicts
in your organisation, including
individual conflicts and inter-
departmental conflicts?
□ Lack of information/ knowledge to
complete jobs
□ Different goals/purpose
□ Unfairness in promotion or benefits
□ Misunderstanding in objectives/projects
□ Ineffective actions/procedures
6. Is conflict handled and resolved in a
timely manner?
□ Yes
□ No
7. Do you know and understand your
organisation’s mission statement?
□ Yes
□ No
8. How is your organisation’s mission
statement communicated to you?
□ Written policies and procedures
□ Initial induction process
□ Regular communication from
management
□ Not sure
□ It is not communicated
9. Do projects have clear goals and
outlines?
□ Yes always
□ Sometimes
□ Neutral
□ Rarely
□ No never
10. Does the organisation communicate
news and changes in a timely manner?
□ Yes always
□ Sometimes
□ Neutral
□ Rarely
□ No never
11. How approachable is your direct
manager?
□ Very approachable
□ Approachable
□ Neither approachable nor
unapproachable
□ Unapproachable
□ Very unapproachable
12. How effective do you find leadership
in your organisation?
□ Very effective
□ Effective
□ Ineffective
□ Very ineffective

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13. Does management recognize and
promote the success of employees?
□ Always
□ Very often
□ Sometimes
□ Seldom
□ Never
14. Do you trust your manager to make
the right decisions on behalf of you and
the organisation?
□ Always
□ Very often
□ Sometimes
□ Seldom
□ Never
15. How would you evaluate your
manager’s communication?
□ Very effective
□ Effective
□ Ineffective
□ Very ineffective
16. How is feedback commonly given?
Please indicate the frequency of use of
methods.
□ Openly (everyone evaluates each other)
□ One on one
□ Email
□ Formal feedback processes
17. I receive most of the information I
need through informal channels?
□ Always
□ Very often
□ Sometimes
□ Seldom
□ Never
18. Do you trust your workmates to
complete their jobs to a high standard?
□ Always
□ Very often
□ Sometimes
□ Seldom
□ Never
19. What is the level of competition
between the different departments?
□ Highly competitive
□ Competitive
□ Neutral
□ Non-competitive
□ Very non-competitive
20. What is the level of cooperation
between the different departments?
□ Very cooperative
□ Cooperative
□ Neutral
□ Uncooperative
□ Very uncooperative
21. Other departments are willing to
share important information with my
department?
□ Always
□ Very often
□ Sometimes
□ Seldom
□ Never
22. Does your department show
willingness to share knowledge and
information with other departments?
□ Always
□ Very often
□ Sometimes
□ Seldom
□ Never
23. The information I receive from other
departments is consistently reliable.
□ Always
□ Very often
□ Sometimes
□ Seldom
□ Never
24. Is there a high emphasis on team
performance (Individual KPIs)?
□ Very high
□ High
□ Neutral
□ Low
□ Very low

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25. In the organization, the
communication flow is "open" all the
way to top Executives?
□ Always
□ Very often
□ Sometimes
□ Seldom
□ Never
26. How connected do you feel to the
organisation vision, misson and
objectives?
□ Very connected
□ Connected
□ Neutral
□ Slightly disconnected
□ Completely disconnected
27. How would you characterize you
organization?
□ Very united
□ United
□ Neutral
□ Slightly disjointed
□ Very disjointed
28. Does your manager listen to
employee’s suggestions when making
decisions?
□ Always
□ Very often
□ Sometimes
□ Seldom
□ Never
29. Do you feel you are overall a valued
asset within the organisation?
□ Yes, in both my team/department and
organization
□ Yes, but only in my team/department
□ No
30. Is there a culture of openness and
sharing within VW?
□ Yes this is constantly encouraged
□ Yes we regularly engage
□ Neutral
□ This happens rarely
□ This is the culture of the organization
31. What are the most important factors
that affect employees performance?
□ Effective leadership
□ Extensive communication
□ Organizational culture
□ Strong team work
□ Benefits/promotions/rewards
□ Working environment
□ Training/development
□ Goal setting and feedback
32. The organisation mostly rely on
work conducted by
□ Teams
□ Individuals

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8.2. Appendix B: Questionnaire Analysis
Question 1 Question 2

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8.3. Appendix C: Management Interview
Are your employees good communicators? They are to a point:
·Good communicators to Rhys
·Between themselves most of the time
·BUT like all work places there are times of friction
that take time out of his work day to figure out and
mediate
Describe your role as manager. RHYS
·Official Role is Business Development
Meant to be focused on the strategy and future
business developments- marketing communications,
brand manager, pricing, dealership pricing
BUT REALITY
Too operational and transactional
80% of time spent on day-to-day operations, 20% on
strategy (he did this by setting a time tracker)
·Sees himself as the captain of the team not the boss-
encourages feedback
VW Official
·High emphasis placed on management training
·It’s people are one of it’s 4 tiers that they build their
organisation so take their management very seriously
(PROFIT/VOLUME/PEOPLE/CUSTOMERS)
·Full leadership assessment and development done at
all levels
2nd line managers- 3 day assessment course
Senior Managers- Week long testing and training
Country- Go to Germany for a few weeks to get
training there
·Are looking for Consistency NOT Conformity
How do you motivate your employees? ·Official VW benefits
12% Super + extra insurance
Cheap car lease deals (e.g. employees can get an A3
for $400 per month- Change cars every 4000km)
Highest paid car workers in the world BUT are also
most productive- what 1 VW employee does is the
equivalent of 3 Australian
High social component within the Organisation
·Quarterly Recognition awards
Do you encourage your employees to be
out-going and come up with initiatives to
possible changes? If yes, how? Which
direction are the initiatives coming from?
·Management by objectives
Not top down objectives
Objectives are set through the team- Asks the
question what do the employees think need to
happen
·Has a contingency management style
Give the strong employees jobs and let them go
Help the struggling employees
Without hierarchy and with soft power
being used by management, how do you
enforce/encourage personal responsibility/
personal leadership within teams?
·Work on a two pronged approach when leading
employees:
Personal Accountability- Don’t fear failure, work to
learn
Personal Brand- How do you want people to think
about you in business
But got to know when to be tough when an
employee is ‘inconsistent’ in their behaviour in
regards to the above
·It’s all about bringing the right people into the team
This is a quote from when he internally hired a
member from finance into fleet development who had
no direct experience, but was a good employee to work
with: ‘I can teach you how to manage fleet, But I can’t
teach someone else not to be a dickhead’
·If something does go wrong, he is ‘hard on the process
not the people.

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What do you think are the biggest
challenges moving forward?
·How fast can we grow with this type of management
structure?
·How much change can we take?
·Wants to be more proactive and not reactive (goes
towards the point above)
·Lots of think OK BUT they are not doing the big
things really well.
Further notes VW’s Role:
·Help fund new dealerships
·Developed floor plans
·Loans for Dealerships
·Dealer then will sell their finance services for them to
the customer
·Structure of VW Finance Services
2 Dual Managing Directors (Finance and Sales and
Marketing)
8 Executive Team GMs (Rhys is one such)
100 Employees
·Executive managers formal meetings- short weekly, 1
long monthly
He wishes there was more everyday contact BUT
they are so busy dealing with day-to-day issues that
they have no time.
This does lead on occasion to misunderstandings and
miscommunication between managers
·Has 20 employees under him of which 13 report
directly to him- Thinks there should be a second line
manager here so he can focus more on his executive
role and strategy
·It’s a very uncompetitive environment- which is hard
for people who are naturally competitive
·He likes the fact that they have the support of a big
conglomerate, but are very small team locally focused
on people
·People who leave are typically not used to the flat
management style
Not a lot of room for progression (could explain why
people say they are not awarded for their work)
He has worked for GE, NAB and says that this is the
flattest he’s ever been apart of.
·Most people there have been there less than 2 years
because of the rapid growth experienced.
Challenges as I see it and Rhys agreed ·A lot of focus on management skills in leadership and
communication- maybe more needs to be focused on
employee communication skills and how they interact
to avoid unnecessary friction and build better employee
dialogue:
Manager to employee is good
Employee to manager is good
Employee to employee is inconsistent causing friction
Manager to manager not enough
Company needs to go a little more towards hierarchy
To structure the rapid growth in the company
Allow executive team to work together better
To allow executive team to focus more on strategy (so
as to avoid problems I quoted in introduction)
Its very hard for him at the moment to step back and be
strategic because he is always dealing with his team

26
8.4. Appendix D: VW Vision, Mission and Values

27
8.5. Appendix D: VW Newspaper Article

VW Australia- Communications Audit

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