BMW 2007 Annual Report Download - page 30

28 Group Management Report
10 Group Management Report
10 A Review of the Financial Year
13 General Economic Environment
17 Review of Operations
41 BMW Stock and Bonds
44 Disclosures relating to Takeover
Regulations and Explanatory Report
47 Financial Analysis
47 – Internal Management System
49 – Earnings Performance
51 – Financial Position
52 – Net Assets Position
55 – Subsequent Events Report
55 – Value Added Statement
57 – Key Performance Figures
58 – Comments on BMW AG
62 Risk Management
68 Outlook
attracting well-qualified newcomers to join the com-
pany. This special appeal as an employer is not re-
stricted to the external perception of the company;
it is also reflected in the outcome of the most recent
employee survey carried out in 2007. Almost 90 %
of employees stated that they were either satisfied or
very satisfied with their working situation at the BMW
Group. This means that employee satisfaction and
identification with the company have remained at a
consistently high level since 2002. This employee
survey is carried out regularly on a worldwide basis
every two years. It is a useful instrument for manage-
ment, providing the basis for a continuous improve-
ment process within the company.
Joint agreement for BMW AG’s blue-collar and
white-collar staff implemented
The new Remuneration Framework Agreement
(Entgelt-Rahmen-Abkommen – ERA) came into
force at BMW AG on 1 June 2007. Parallel to the in-
troduction of ERA, a wide-ranging concept for im-
proving company competitiveness was drawn up in
cooperation with employee representatives. This new
concept includes plans to provide financing for pre-
retirement part-time working agreements even after
the current legal requirement for such arrangements
has expired. This ensures that employees will also
be able to retire before reaching the statutory retire-
ment age. BMW AG is the first company to put a
model in place to follow the statutory regulations.
Today for Tomorrow project – seeing
demographic change as an opportunity
The ageing of populations of many industrialised
nations can no longer be avoided. This is having an
impact on the economy as a whole as well as on
each individual company.
In a few years’ time, the BMW Group workforce
will also be considerably older on average than it is at
present. The ever-rising requirement for greater per-
formance will have to be fulfilled by an on-average
older workforce in future. Older employees also have
quite specific advantages. They have a wealth of
experience and are able to pass on their knowledge
of the organisation and cultural values. The more de-
cisive a company is in encouraging its employees to
achieve and be engaged, the more successful it will
be. The BMW Group is already taking appropriate
action in anticipation of these future developments.
The necessary overall framework and specific in-
struments are being developed in conjunction with
the Today for Tomorrow project, which takes a
comprehensive approach.
The BMW Group has defined five principal areas
of action:
Health management and prophylaxis
Within the action area health management, a pro-
phylactic programme has been developed to en-
courage employees to adopt a responsible attitude
towards their own health. A new concept has been
devised for corporate health forums which are not
confined to specific corporate locations. These fo-
rums will have an important part to play in the future.
Any knowledge gained there will be used to identify
areas where action needs to be taken. They will also
be the basis for measures (such as weight loss pro-
grammes) that may need to be aimed at specific
target groups. It should then be possible to monitor
the long-term efficacy of any measures taken. So far,
some 28,000 employees have participated in the
company’s health forums.
Information about healthy living is being offered
both in seminars and in the health forum. The Fit for
Job seminar is aimed at all employees, while the
Fit for Leadership seminar is specifically tailored to
the needs of managers. Both seminars show partici-
pants how they can pay more attention to healthy
nutrition, physical fitness and mental equilibrium in
their daily lives.
Another outcome is the newly designed reha-
bilitation network which has already supported over
800 employees with a shortened, effective rehabili-
tation programme.
Working environment
The action area working environment is mainly
concerned with creating age-compatible working
conditions in technical and organisational terms –
with particular regard to workplaces, working hours
and job structures. All of these factors can contrib-
ute enormously to maintaining and extending the
working capacity of employees in the long term.
A further objective is to improve the employment
opportunities for personnel with health-related limi-
tations.
A concept for systematic rotation is currently
being drawn up for use in the production area with