Publications
Publications
- November 2012
- HBS Case Collection
Building a Community at Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation
By: Christopher Marquis, Zucheng Zhou, Mo Chen and Heng Fan
Abstract
Over the past decade, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) had developed a unique set of benefits and cultural amenities for its employees, including a beautiful residential campus, known as the Living Quarters (LQ), and an award winning international school from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade that by 2012 enrolled over 2,000 students. These amenities allowed the company to attract and retain high-quality employees at modest pay; however, the company had recently experienced some financial difficulties, a shrinking number of new available living spaces, and questions about how relevant it was for a semiconductor firm to be operating a school. Thus, these benefits now presented significant dilemmas for the SMIC management team, including how the company can justify the costs of these benefits to investors in the face of the company's other financial challenges.
Keywords
Culture And Community; Cost vs Benefits; Civil Society or Community; Organizational Culture; Profit; Culture; Compensation and Benefits; Semiconductor Industry
Citation
Marquis, Christopher, Zucheng Zhou, Mo Chen, and Heng Fan. "Building a Community at Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation." Harvard Business School Case 413-083, November 2012.