My trainee programm was extraordinary

Exciting

However it was still important and essential to gain an overview about the ZF Group - so I passed four other locations/divisions with shorter timed projects. At Schwäbisch Gmünd (also LS division) I joined the "Gügling Team" to participate in team work aspects. In Saarbrücken (P division) I did a project on details of the machine hour rate, in particular the basis for allocating depreciation to the general overhead portion of the machine hour rate. My time in Passau (A division) was spent to learn about the general structure and project approach of the Research and Development Department. The final time of my Trainee Programm I spent in Friedrichshafen (N division) in the Purchasing Department working on an optimization projects for norm fasteners.

After the trainee program

I have completed the Trainee Program in 1991. Today I'm working as the Controller of the ZF Marine Group and in this function I am responsible not only for the classical controlling activities but also for the EDP activities. As the administration responsible of ZF Padova I respond for the accounting, cost accounting, data processing as well as human resources areas. As Group Controller I am part of several supervisory boards of Marine Group companies.

Besides laying the basis for many good friendships and personal connections, the International Management Trainee Program provided to me also the opportunity to get to know some of the diversity which ZF Group represents nationally as well as internationally from a people as well as product perspective and organizational point of view. By getting acquainted with such diversity, however, it was also interesting to find out that while locally people believe their problems are quite unique this is typically not true.

At a more abstract level it seems that everybody has similar sets of challenges within their organization and operation and quite often it is only the believe of being unique that makes people re-invent the wheel, i.e. makes them seek independent solutions instead of verifying which solutions for similar problems already exist inside the ZF Group.

The big lesson learned from this perspective is that ZF Group has a huge amount of knowledge - some one the other day said "if ZF only knew what ZF knows" - and that many excellent responses to all kind of challenges and problems can be readily obtained. Almost always, the inquisitive individual will not only be well received but will also obtain a good comprehensive answer and support.