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Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is an American global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Lockheed Martin employs 133,000 people worldwide. Robert J. Stevens is the current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
Lockheed Martin is the world's largest defense contractor, and in 2009, 74% of Lockheed Martin's revenues came from military sales.[1] It received 7.1% of the funds paid out by the Pentagon.[2]
Lockheed Martin operates in four business segments. These comprise, with respective percentages of 2009 total net sales of $45.2 billion, Aeronautics (27%), Electronic Systems (27%), Information Systems & Global Solutions (27%), and Space Systems (19%). In 2009 US Government contracts accounted for $38.4 billion (85%), foreign government contracts $5.8 billion (13%), and commercial and other contracts $0.9 billion (2%).[3] In both 2009 and 2008 the company topped the list of US Federal Contractors.
The company has received the Collier Trophy twice – in 2001 for being part of developing the X-35/F-35B LiftFan Propulsion System,[4][5][6] and again in 2006 for leading the team that developed the F-22 Raptor fighter jet.

The director of human resources at Lockheed Martin in Phoenix keeps his list of employee initiatives close at hand. Over the past several years, employees at this defense-contracting firm have approached Max Beal with suggestions on how to improve employee retention through workplace flexibility, perks or employee-development programs. Then, it is up to Beal to consider these ideas and implement the ones he feels are most valuable.
Beal isn't the only local human-resource professional focused on recruiting employees to their firms and retaining them.
A recent Watson Wyatt survey of more than 600 U.S. organizations shows 86 percent of employers are experiencing challenges in attracting new employees, and more than half have problems keeping good employees.
Perhaps that's why HR executives such as Beal are taking more innovative approaches to employee retention. Beal's list of employee initiatives includes a 9/80 schedule where Lockheed Martin employees work nine-hour days Monday through Thursday, eight hours on Friday, nine hours the following Monday through Thursday and enjoy Friday off.
"So every other week our employees get a three-day weekend," Beal says.
He also implemented a sick-child care program; an employee activity club that offers discounts to movies, theater, plays, sporting events, etc.; an employee store; on-site fitness facility or payroll deduction for membership at a local community college gym; interest-free computer loans; as well as numerous training and career development opportunities. Beal also is considering upcoming initiatives such as elder care and even a concierge service for his valuable employees.
"We want to be considered an employer of choice," explains Beal, who has been in the HR field for nearly 30 years. "We want to make our employees' lives easier and we use various strategies to do that. We definitely have competitive salaries and benefits, but in addition to that, we do a lot of things we feel are innovative that other companies may not be doing."
Indeed, today's employees are asking themselves if they are valued, if they have career opportunities and if there are learning opportunities within the organization.

As one of the only major defense contractors, one would think that Lockheed Martin has a different organizational culture and environment than most companies, but in reality they run like any company would but in a unique industry. They specialize in four different business segments including Aeronautics, Space Systems, Electronic Systems, and Integrated Systems and Global Solutions. Their vision statement says, “Powered by Innovation, Guided by Integrity, We Help Our Customers Achieve Their Most Challenging Goals”. (Lockheed Martin, 1) This company works toward maintaining their lead in global security through innovative research and development.
Lockheed Martin’s internal environment is based around three guidelines: “Do What’s Right, Respect Others, and Perform with Excellence”. These values are known among every employee and Lockheed expects them to be carried out every day. Employees are encouraged to use their creativity and skills to challenge

The success of the modern corporation is linked to the employees that perform the daily
tasks within the corporation. These tasks are what generate the profits and set the corporate
culture for future years. It is employee participation that makes this system work.
Every major corporation in today's highly technical market is suffering from
insufficiently low employee retention rates, workforce skill development needs, and
interpersonal communications liabilities. Significantly large expenditures go into training new
employees only to have relatively few remain years later, while their value increases
exponentially with time. This low retention rate causes an excessive overhead cost in hiring and
training additional new hires to fill the gaps. The more a corporation can keep its employees
actively involved and focused on the corporate direction, the greater the success that the
organization can achieve.
The other aspect of this issue is that when experienced employees leave, not only do we
lose their skills and knowledge, but also their knowledge and skills are provided to the
competition. The successful high tech companies will be the ones that not only maintain their
employees within the organization, but grow their employees through improved retention rates
and skills enhancement programs.
As we (Dave Blanchard and Bob Brennan) are both Lockheed Martin employees
(Locations of Valley Forge PA, and Syracuse, NY), we have a vested interest in the health of our
corporate environment. We are in a position to see the present employment situation through our
daily work experience with the addition of the knowledge acquired at The George Washington
University, we are also in a position to offer a recommendation for organizational improvement
and effectiveness.
Included in this article are our observations, analysis and conclusions regarding potential
interactive organizational structures designed to enhance employee participation at Lockheed
Martin facilities. An employee’s career is significantly influenced by three major factors:
Human Resources, Functional Management, and the employee’s peers. We have concluded that
the preferred approach is to emphasize the involvement of employees at all levels in daily
communication practices with the support and assistance of Human Resources and Functional
Management. This method is by far preferred over other methods where either Functional
Management or Human Resources takes a more directive approach.

Organizational socialization is the systematic process by which an organization brings
new employees into its culture. The general meaning of the term socialization is the process by
which older members of a society transmit to younger members the social skills and knowledge
needed to function effectively in that society. Organizational socialization has a similar
meaning: the transmission of culture from senior to new employees, providing the social
knowledge and skills needed to perform organizational roles and tasks successfully.
The organizational socialization process depicted in fig. 1 is followed by many successful
corporations and has proven to develop strong organizational culture. While it depicts a generic
format that, and must be tailored for the specific cultural environment, the proven success of this
method cannot be overlooked.
Our primary goal in any employee performance enhancement plan is to improve:
�� Employee retention rates of good employees
�� Employee productivity coordinated between corporate goals and employee career
development
�� Interactive workforce communication between senior and junior levels.
Getting people to perform the desired tasks requires more than simply pointing them in a
certain direction. The corporate organizational structure is key to workforce continuity.
Individual contributors will participate in their particular specialty fields in whatever manner
necessary. It is management's function to identify appropriate levels of participation, not only
for the individual efforts, but also for achieving the overall coordinated corporate goals.
Defining the roles between functional management and the workforce in completing
contractual obligations is analogous to the dinner table. While the prime intent of dinner is to
provide nourishment to individuals, its function can be enhanced by those responsible for setting
the table. An attractive dinner table tends to yield a rewarding meal. In the same way, creating
an attractive and resourceful workplace environment will ultimately serve to stimulate
employees towards many years of rewarding service. When employees and management are in
sync, profits soar, overhead is reduced and workforce stability is achieved.

Improving employee retention rates will reduce overhead exponentially. Long service
employees will require less re-training. They will also serve to promote the corporate culture if
surrounded by additional employees of similar background. By retaining greater numbers of
employees, a mentorship atmosphere will develop among the workforce and problems will be
addressed at the root level where solutions are most effective and least costly. As a by-product,
workforce - management consistency will be maximized and a continual feedback loop will
develop, once more allowing for management to address forward looking problems in an
effective manner while workforce maintains the every day interactions.Employee retention is a
three-fold issue. First, you must acquire new, credible employees. They must be incorporated
into the culture in which you intend them to perform their duties. With all new hires, there arises
a management challenge to train and instill existing corporate cultural values into new human
resources.
However, management must not stop there. Once employees are acquired, management
must continually revitalize that same workforce, otherwise it will change to something else, and
all of the initial hard work will be lost. Existing employees must be made to feel as though they
are part of the evolving system. Their skills (both technical as well as personal) must continually
be sharpened and enhanced. When new employees look to see what is ahead, they need to see
that they will not be forgotten after their indoctrination into the corporate culture.
Thirdly, the working environment must be a desirable place to work. The employee
needs to enjoy his work or have no alternative employment in order to stay at a position.
Therefore the employer should provide a favorable work environment. This includes an
appropriate corporate culture, reasonable facilities, adequate compensation, and most importantly
productive and interesting work.
 
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