Magazine

Bosch employs approximately 280,000 associates representing 200 different cultures at 300 locations in around 150 countries. As many as 30,000 researchers and developers are spread throughout 50 countries. Around 90 percent of the research teams are international in character. That means good cooperation is essential, particularly as most of it is organized virtually. Even at individual locations such as the Engineering Center in Abstatt near Heilbronn, it’s not unusual for the workforce to include people from 30 different nationalities.

Bosch created the “House of Orientation” to provide common ground for all associates, ensure each and every one of them feels at home within the company, and enable them to unlock his or her full potential. It also represents the Bosch vision and values. In this respect, these shared fundamental values are as important to the company as the diversity to which Bosch has committed itself in its value code and by signing the German Federal Government’s Charter of Diversity. For Bosch, the regional and cultural origins of its associates, coupled with their individual qualities, are the essential building blocks of worldwide success.

Yasin Yüksel (25) comes from a Turkish background and works as a measurement engineer at the Bosch Engineering Center in Abstatt. This ambitious young man is also using a distance learning course to study mechanical engineering in his spare time. His course is supported by a grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. After training as an industrial mechanic at Bosch, Yüksel completed a night school course to become a state-certified engineer. With this qualification, he was able to realize his dream of gaining a job at the Engineering Center in Abstatt.

Founded as recently as 2004, Abstatt is a young location in more ways than one – like Yasin Yüksel, half of the associates in Abstatt are under 40. That includes the location’s 30 apprentices. However, the research and engineering center for automotive technology is also a very international location, employing associates from around 30 different nationalities. Abstatt is home to Bosch Engineering GmbH, and the Chassis Systems Brakes and Chassis Systems Control divisions. Together, they provide jobs for 2,700 men and women.

Three years ago, the Bosch women’s network received a new name – women@bosch. At its 2006 annual conference in Abstatt, the 50 participants from 26 locations also made major changes to the way the network is organized. Since then, the five-strong steering committee and the management board with representatives from the location networks head up the revised organizational structure. Martina Merz is on the steering committee and is also a member of the executive management of the Chassis Systems Brakes division. In 2008, she was named one of the top 25 women in the European automotive industry by the magazine “Automotive News Europe”.

The women’s network now also shares information on an international basis, communicating with the women’s network in India, for example. The topic “Going abroad for Bosch” has become an integral part of the annual conferences. With around 2,500 expats, Bosch is one of the companies that send the greatest number of staff from Germany to other countries around the world. Women account for around ten percent of these international assignments. The Equal Opportunities project supports the women@bosch network in addition to its work on creating the right balance between career and family. The Business Women’s Program will introduce a new worldwide service for women in the specialist and leadership career paths. It will launch in 2009 with a range of different pilot events and is set to become an integral part of the training for female executives.

As the requirements for the new diesel drive of the Tata Nano were so high, it demanded a very special solution. Developers from Germany, India, Italy, and Austria had to work in close cooperation to ensure low weight, observe tight cost restrictions, and create a robust design. For the Indian market, the Bosch engineers therefore opted to make further developments to a plug-in pump first used in the diesel lead plant in Feuerbach (Germany), rather than use a conventional high-pressure pump. Rakkiappan Baskaran is in charge of the plug-in pump project in India. He has the advantage of being one of a group of Indian engineers who were trained for diesel applications in Feuerbach.

In order to build up global business, Bosch has established a systematic approach to encouraging intercultural exchanges of expertise at all levels and across all divisions. As part of this, associates can spend time abroad, and intercultural training and development programs are organized for specialists, executives, trainees, and apprentices. Ever since Bosch established technical centers in regions such as Asia and America, multicultural teams working on new innovations have very much become the order of the day. That’s why associates from Diversity Management support the innovation workshops by devising methods specially geared toward the cultures involved, for example. Bosch knows that, when it comes to innovation, the process of bridging geographical and cultural boundaries is much more than just a challenge to be tackled – it also provides opportunities to unlock enormous potential.