Case Study Analysis - Carlsberg Group

This case study analysis discusses the strategic HR priorities, rationale behind the Winning Behaviors Strategy, HR policies, challenges faced in Malaysia, and assessing the success in Australia of the Carlsberg Group.

Running head: CASE STUDY ANALYSIS – CARLSBERG GROUP
Case Study Analysis – Carlsberg Group
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Author Note

1CASE STUDY ANALYSIS – CARLSBERG GROUP
Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
1. Strategic HR Priorities Pursued at Carlsberg Group.............................................................................2
2. Rationale behind the Winning Behaviors Strategy of the Carlsberg Group.........................................4
3. HR Policies of the Carlsberg Group......................................................................................................5
4. Challenges Faced by the Carlsberg Group in Malaysia............................................................................6
5. Assessing the Success of the Carlsberg Group in Australia......................................................................7
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................8
References.................................................................................................................................................10
1.

2CASE STUDY ANALYSIS – CARLSBERG GROUP
Introduction
The Carlsberg Group is based on Copenhagen in Denmark and which is world famous for
the manufacture of high quality beer. What has contributed to the success of the Carlsberg Group
internationally has been what is termed as the Winning Behaviors Strategy of the Company. The
strategy outlines the company ethos and the priorities and objectives of the company in a nutshell
and is considered to be the primary reason behind the success of the company’s operations
worldwide (Hatch & Schultz, 2017). This report discusses the strategic HR priorities at the
Carlsberg Group, mentions the rationale behind the Winning Behaviors Strategy, assesses the
HR policies of the Carlsberg Group, states the challenges experienced by the company when it
expanded operations to Malaysia and analyzes if the Winning Behaviors Strategy could be
implemented in a country like Australia. The report concludes that the Winning Behaviors
Strategy of the Carlsberg Group is key for its success in different parts of the world, and could be
key for its success in Australia too, if implemented here.
1. Strategic HR Priorities Pursued at Carlsberg Group
Some of the strategic HR priorities that are pursued at the Carlsberg Group and which are
clearly evident upon reading the case study is the fact that the company believes in the creation
of a common work culture that will bring all employees together, which will in other words unite
them towards a common cause, in making sure that employees are motivated to win and to take
the lead in the market instead of letting rivals and competitor in the game get ahead of them and
to encourage employees to partake in corporate social responsibility initiatives. The Carlsberg
Group believes in fostering employee development every step of the way. Employees are viewed

3CASE STUDY ANALYSIS – CARLSBERG GROUP
as assets by the Carlsberg Group (Hatch et al., 2015). They are not people to be ordered about
and are instead people who are to be treated at par with the top management of the company. For
this purpose, the Carlsberg Group follows a fantastic policy of performance management
whereby ten well known leadership competencies are identified and which are then implemented
in the process of performance management, with employees being granted rewards and
recognitions in the form of various types of financial and other incentives, that keep them
motivated to doing well for the company. The Carlsberg Group has managed to create a
dedicated and committed team of employees by virtue of the fantastic performance management
measures that it has undertaken in order to keep its employees motivated. Employees are made to
feel one with the organization, they are made to feel like they are valued by the organization
every step of the way and this value is something that comes across in the rewards and
recognitions that are meted out to employees for all the good work that they are seen to do for
the Carlsberg Group (Hatch & Schultz, 2017). One particular undertaking of the Carlsberg
Group to ensure good performance management in the organization is the initiation of training
and development measures that are designed to ensure that existing and new employees are
poised with the skills and the abilities that they need in order to work well for the company. The
training and development measures are those that take the form of intensive workshops and
seminars. Employees at the organization are subjected to regular workshops that train them or
brief them in the skills and the expertise that they need to be possessed with in order to attain the
business goals and objectives of the Carlsberg Group as one united and collective entity.
Carlsberg Group adopts an international approach when it comes to human resource
management, given that, though it is a company based in Copenhagen in Denmark, it runs branch
operations in many different parts of the world (Chesborough et al., 2018). In spite of the global

4CASE STUDY ANALYSIS – CARLSBERG GROUP
strategy that it deploys with respect to human resource management, the Carlsberg Group
ensures that specific local needs as well as requirements of employees are duly met, and that
there is no culture clash at such that employees experience when they work for the Carlsberg
Group (Leleux & Van der Kaaij, 2019).
2. Rationale behind the Winning Behaviors Strategy of the Carlsberg
Group
The winning behaviors strategy of the Carlsberg Group is a strategy that is essentially
based upon five important concepts. The first of these is that together the company is stronger,
rather than it is when it is divided and functioning as a single entity. The company believes that
if the employees and the top level management of the company learn to work in close
cooperation with one another instead of being apprehensive of each other, then a lot can be
achieved by the company and that too within a limited period of time. The management at the
Carlsberg Group therefore makes it a point to interact and engage with employees on a one to
one basis instead of acting high handed when they are around them. Every effort is made on the
part of the Carlsberg Group to get employees to feel one with the organization rather than feel
that they are subordinates and that their managers are people who are superior to them. The
winning behaviors strategy of the Carlsberg Group is also a strategy that implies that winning is
important, and that winning and taking the lead in the business, that is, in the market is
something that the company should always strive for (Schultz & Hernes, 2019). The goals and
objectives of the company are always focused on business victory, so that employees of the
company always feel motivated to give their optimum and do their best for the company instead
of losing out to rivals and competitors. The third important concept of the Winning Behaviors

5CASE STUDY ANALYSIS – CARLSBERG GROUP
Strategy of the Carlsberg Group is that it is the customers of the company who decide the
progress and development of the company and that all behavior which is undertaken by the
company should be directed towards meeting the needs and requirements of the customers.
Through this notion, what the management of the Carlsberg Group appears to indicate is that
customers decide the fate of the company in the market, hence every effort must be made to keep
customers happy, and no opportunity should be given for customers to get ticked off or upset
with the behavior of the company’s employees or business performance. The Carlsberg Group is
a company that truly believes in making a difference, and this is also something that comes out
very clearly in the Winning Behaviors Strategy of the Company. The management of the
company gives its stakeholders the idea that together, they are all poised to make a difference in
the world, making it a better place in which to live. The final important concept behind the
Winning Behaviors Strategy of the Carlsberg Group is that this is a company that makes it a
point to engage with society. The company believes in corporate social responsibility measures
that are designed to uplift ills of society and improve society (Soderberg, 2015).
3. HR Policies of the Carlsberg Group
The Winning Strategy that is deployed by the Carlsberg Group is one that is designed
specifically for the purpose of keeping employees motivated at all times and making them feel
included within the organization, making sure that they have the zeal and the desire that is
needed in order to win at all times and get the company to a leading position in the market. In
terms of equity and diversity, the Winning Strategy of the Carlsberg Group is one that really
encourages employees to feel equal and as one with the organization. Diversity is something that

6CASE STUDY ANALYSIS – CARLSBERG GROUP
is well respected in an organization such as the Carlsberg Group (Soderberg, 2015). The
employees of the Carlsberg Group are not only given the option to grow and expand and develop
themselves professionally to the fullest possible extent but are also accepted for the diverse
cultures that they belong to. The Carlsberg Group follows a human resource policy which
emphasizes that together, with all of its employees and management, the company can achieve
great things, and this involves accepting individual differences and accepting the cultural and
ethnic backgrounds of employees. When it comes to work planning and development, the
Carlsberg Group undertakes seminars and workshops frequently throughout the course of the
year in order to ensure that its employees are adequately trained and to ensure that they have the
skills which are required in order to be able to take on the competitors in the market. Finally,
when it comes to measures like social responsibility and social welfare, there is a lot that is
done on the part of Carlsberg Group for the community and its development. It is the belief of
the Carlsberg Group that together, as one the company can achieve great things and an essential
element of the Winning Behaviors Strategy of the Carlsberg Group is that it is a company that
believes in engaging with society. Carlsberg Group does not consider itself to be a company that
is far removed from the society in which it runs its business operations. This is a group that
wants to be recognized as much for its success in business as it does in the domain of corporate
social responsibility measures (Bailey et al., 2018). The Carlsberg Group wants to take a leading
role in both market as well as in society, and wants to be recognized for its endeavors in both of
these domains, not just one alone (Soderberg, 2015).
4. Challenges Faced by the Carlsberg Group in Malaysia

7CASE STUDY ANALYSIS – CARLSBERG GROUP
The primary problem that was faced by the Carlsberg Group in Malaysia is that it had
difficulty translating the Winning Behaviors Strategy into local dialects and local languages. It
took some time for the Carlsberg Group to make known to its new employee base in Malaysia
what the Winning Behaviors Strategy was all about, what it entailed and what it is that the
company expected from its employees in this part of the world (Hatch & Schultz, 2017). The
international approach that is followed by the Carlsberg Group towards human resource
management is what helped the company to gradually overcome the different challenges that it
was facing in Malaysia (Alharthey, 2018). The company made sure of the fact that the specific
local needs and requirements were met, and that employee needs were not neglected in any way.
So in spite of the fact that language proved to be an issue for the Carlsberg Group when it
decided to expand its operations to Malaysia, the diversity embracing culture that is so prevalent
in the Carlsberg Group as well as its global strategy to human resource management while
keeping local preferences and needs in mind, is what helped the group to win over its employees
in Malaysia (Hatch & Schultz, 2017).
5. Assessing the Success of the Carlsberg Group in Australia
The Carlsberg Group if it ran its operations in the country of Australia would be certain
to do well largely because of the fact that the global approach of the company and the Winning
Behaviors strategy in particular would both be quite well received in this part of the world.
Australians are quite competitive by nature and Australian people are likely to do very well in
the domain of business provided they have the right type of leadership to guide them in this
respect. The Carlsberg Group does not believe in a strategy that is not positive in nature and
scope and which does not encourage winning. It is mentioned clearly in the Winning Behaviors

8CASE STUDY ANALYSIS – CARLSBERG GROUP
Strategy of the Company that this is an organization which takes the lead in the market, and
which believes in functioning with all of its employees together as a collective unit, something
that is likely to be quite well received by the average Australian (Kasemsap, 2019). Australian
people are motivated and competitive and Australians in the world of business particularly are
accustomed to working with people from multiple and diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds,
which is why the Winning Behavior Strategy of the Carlsberg Group is likely to go down very
well in Australia (Horak et al., 2019). It is also important to remember that almost every second
company in the country of Australia believes in undertaking corporate social responsibility
measures to get the respect that it deserves in the society. CSR is viewed in a positive light in the
Australian business scenario and is implemented very seriously by corporate entities in Australia.
Hence the notion that is contained in the Winning Behaviors Strategy of the Carlsberg Group
that this is an organization which engages with society, will work wonders in a country like
Australia (Cooke & Kim, 2018). Finally, it is crucial to remember that the corporate scene in
Australia is one where training and development of employees is taken very seriously. Since the
Carlsberg Group believes in the adequate training and development of its employees, in the form
of seminars and workshops, its attitude to business and business growth in particular will work
well for the average Australian, who is used to training and development measures being
undertaken in a corporate office to facilitate the skills development of employees, putting them
in a position to fulfill the goals and objectives of the organization in the most efficient and
effective ways possible (Collings et al., 2018).
Conclusion

9CASE STUDY ANALYSIS – CARLSBERG GROUP
Thus, the Winning Behaviors Strategy of the Carlsberg Group can be regarded as the
main reason for its huge success in different parts of the world. The Winning Behaviors Strategy
of the Carlsberg Group can be implemented with ease in Australia given how competitive, multi-
ethnic and socially responsible, the Australian business environment is.

10CASE STUDY ANALYSIS – CARLSBERG GROUP
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