Lincoln Electric is the best selling HBS case of all time. It shows a dramatically successful company that uses very unusual HRM policies.

Why has Lincoln Electric been so successful? Analyze the key elements of Lincoln’s organizational policies using the course concepts.

Most companies find that intensive use of piece rates leads to many problems, such as poor quality, and thus do not emphasize them. How important is the piece rate incentive system to Lincoln’s success? What policies work together to make this system feasible?

How does Lincoln Electric integrate implicit contracting with its incentive system? Is it successful? Think in detail about what would happen under different circumstances that might arise and that are not explicitly contracted over.

How replicable is the Lincoln system in other companies? At new greenfield sites?

How adaptable is the Lincoln system is to changes in the competitive environment? What kinds of changes can the Lincoln system deal well with? What kinds of changes can it not deal well with?

If you select this case, it is valuable to look at a revisiting of the case in 1998.  Please see me for these materials.