Author： Aydin Bahattin
Publisher： Society for Organizational Learning
ISSN： 1536-0148
Source： Reflections: The SoL Journal, Vol.7, Iss.2, 2006-05, pp. : 32-41
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Abstract
Ulker began in 1944 as a small cookie-making company in the heart of Istanbul. Today, Ulker is one of the largest Turkish holding companies, with US$6.6 billion in sales and more than 21,000 employees. The core business remains cookies and chocolates, and the company has diversified to offer more than 1,800 products. It has also become vertically integrated, producing its own manufacturing machinery, packaging, and raw materials. Long an exporter in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and surrounding areas, more recently, Ulker has grown through acquisitions and joint ventures to comprise 58 companies doing business in food, beverages, finance, computers, and electronics.Ulker recently completed a three-year experiment with an organizational learning practice that started in small facilitated teams. By the end of the third year, 750 people had participated in teams, 100 internal coaches had been certified, and significant business objectives had been met and exceeded. After observing the success of the grassroots teams, senior management embarked on a program that applied organizational learning methods to the re-visioning and realignment of the newly diversified company.
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