Ricardo Semler and Semco S.a

Ricardo Semler and Semco S.A Ricardo Semler took over the business after his father at a relatively young age, only 24 years old. He brought in an entirely new organizational structure that led to a completely different culture in the company. During his father’s reign, Semler & Company was a typical company where most of the powers were centralized. There was hierarchy and people at the top held most of the powers. Ricardo, after renaming the company to Semco, changed everything into a whole new perspective. Ricardo Semler replaced a rather rigid organizational structure by a more flexible one. He emphasized on promoting employee participation. The reason behind this idea was because Semler believed higher involvement from employees would improve motivation and creativity among the workforce. This was proven true as Semler’s “lattice organization” proved to be a success as productivity increased. The lattice organization encouraged groups of workers to be responsible of all aspects of production. They were given freedom to set their own objectives. Within the organization, there is very little hierarchical status. There were no special perks or rights for higher managements. Everyone in the organization is treated equally. This is further emphasized by the democratic structure in the organization. Every worker is encouraged to participate. They have the rights to question even with their own bosses. The democratic idea is the basis of how the organization is run, ranging from the ability to set wages by themselves to the ability to choose who to work with. This idea makes Semco a very unique organization. With a decentralizing structure, a democratic idea, and trust given to employees, Semco is one of the most attractive companies for workers. Workers are given freedom and are treated with more privileges compared to workers in other companies. The disclosure of all information shows transparency in the organization. There is no blocking of information