Paul Hemp

Varias semanas antes del torneo de fútbol de la DHL EuroCup de 2003, Peter Kruse, codirector ejecutivo de la empresa, lanzó una bondadosa advertencia al equipo portugués: Tras varias buenas actuaciones en el torneo empresarial en los últimos años, Portugal iba a caer un poco, dijo entre risas. Pero su humor travieso se puso serio cuando se quedó al margen una tarde, con los brazos cruzados y la mirada fija, viendo a Portugal derrotar rotundamente a un equipo de su propio país, Alemania.

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Reprint: R0311B 

Deutsche Post World Net, the German postal monopoly, faced significant challenges as it began the process of integrating three businesses: Deutsche Post Euro Express, its own ground-based parcel delivery service, and two companies it had acquired&#8212;DHL, the worldwide express delivery service, and Danzas, a worldwide air and ocean freight company. The cultural differences alone were imposing. For example, DHL was a privately held, entrepreneurial company in which most managers had international experience; Deutsche Post was until recently a state-owned monopoly in which few managers had worked outside their home country.
Enter EuroCup. For 20 years, DHL employees had held a soccer tournament to strengthen company culture across national boundaries. Canceled the previous year due to budget constraints, the EuroCup tournament was revived in 2003&#8212;in part to help with the postmerger integration. 
But did the event really help? HBR senior editor Paul Hemp attended EuroCup 2003, joining nearly 2,500 DHL employees&#8212;about 600 of them players, the rest cheerleaders and other supporters&#8212;in the small Belgian town of Lommel. He set out to answer a number of questions relevant to any company staging an ambitious off-site intended to encourage teamwork and boost morale. 
How does a company determine whether such a large-scale event, even one that generates goodwill, is worth the investment? Does the team building extend to those back home who don&#8217;t get to attend? Can intense competition between teams begin to overshadow the spirit of cooperation that such an event is meant to engender? In short, can a soccer tournament help a company achieve its corporate goal of creating a strong common culture?

The DHL EuroCup: Shots on Goal

Reimpresión: R0311B Deutsche Post World Net, el monopolio postal alemán, se enfrentó a importantes desafíos al iniciar el proceso de integración de tres empresas: Deutsche Post Euro Express, su propio servicio de entrega de paquetes terrestre, y dos empresas que había adquirido: DHL, el servicio mundial de entrega urgente, y Danzas, una empresa mundial de transporte aéreo y marítimo. Las diferencias culturales por sí solas eran imponentes. Por ejemplo, DHL era una empresa empresarial privada en la que la mayoría de los directivos tenían experiencia internacional; Deutsche Post era hasta hace poco un monopolio estatal en el que pocos directivos trabajaban fuera de su país de origen. Entre en la EuroCup. Durante 20 años, los empleados de DHL organizaron un torneo de fútbol para reforzar la cultura empresarial más allá de las fronteras nacionales. Cancelado el año anterior debido a restricciones presupuestarias, el torneo de la EuroCopa se reactivó en 2003, en parte para ayudar a la integración posterior a la fusión. Pero, ¿realmente ayudó el evento? Paul Hemp, editor sénior de HBR, asistió a la EuroCup de 2003 y se unió a casi 2500 empleados de DHL (unos 600 de ellos jugadores, el resto porristas y otros seguidores) en la pequeña ciudad belga de Lommel. Se propuso responder a una serie de preguntas relevantes para cualquier empresa que organizara una ambiciosa actividad fuera de las instalaciones destinada a fomentar el trabajo en equipo y levantar la moral. ¿Cómo determina una empresa si vale la pena invertir en un evento a gran escala, incluso uno que genere buena voluntad? ¿La formación de equipos se extiende a los que en su país de origen no pueden asistir? ¿Puede la intensa competencia entre equipos empezar a ensombrecer el espíritu de cooperación que un evento así pretende generar? En resumen, ¿puede un torneo de fútbol ayudar a una empresa a lograr su objetivo corporativo de crear una cultura común sólida?

La Eurocopa de DHL: tiros a porter&iacute;a

Reprint: R0311B Deutsche Post World Net, the German postal monopoly, faced significant challenges as it began the process of integrating three businesses: Deutsche Post Euro Express, its own ground-based parcel delivery service, and two companies it had acquired—DHL, the worldwide express delivery service, and Danzas, a worldwide air and ocean freight company. The cultural differences alone were imposing. For example, DHL was a privately held, entrepreneurial company in which most managers had international experience; Deutsche Post was until recently a state-owned monopoly in which few managers had worked outside their home country. Enter EuroCup. For 20 years, DHL employees had held a soccer tournament to strengthen company culture across national boundaries. Canceled the previous year due to budget constraints, the EuroCup tournament was revived in 2003—in part to help with the postmerger integration. But did the event really help? HBR senior editor Paul Hemp attended EuroCup 2003, joining nearly 2,500 DHL employees—about 600 of them players, the rest cheerleaders and other supporters—in the small Belgian town of Lommel. He set out to answer a number of questions relevant to any company staging an ambitious off-site intended to encourage teamwork and boost morale. How does a company determine whether such a large-scale event, even one that generates goodwill, is worth the investment? Does the team building extend to those back home who don’t get to attend? Can intense competition between teams begin to overshadow the spirit of cooperation that such an event is meant to engender? In short, can a soccer tournament help a company achieve its corporate goal of creating a strong common culture?

La Eurocopa de DHL: tiros a portería

Resumen.

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