Integrating and coordinating the work of team is a delicate form of art. This skill can be learned and developed by leaders that have certain values already incorporated. To orient them, Odebrecht developed the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO) over a 65-year period, based on ethical, moral and conceptual foundations.
Focused on Education and Work, TEO is a philosophy of life divided into Principles, Concepts and Criteria developed by Norberto Odebrecht. TEO emphasizes the willingness to serve, the capacity and desire to evolve and the will to surpass expected results. It also involves a planned delegation process, one based on trust and partnership between the Leaders and the Led.
TEO guarantees the unified thinking and action of people working in different businesses, countries and cultural contexts. In this way, it is possible to meet Clients’ needs, add value to shareholder equity, reinvest the achieved results and grow on different fronts.
- Fundamental Principles
- Essential Concepts
- General Criteria
- Corporate Responsibility
Fundamental Principles
The TEO Fundamental Principles establish the cultural and ethical values that should orient business at Odebrecht. These are:
- Trust in People, in their capacity and in their desire to evolve;
- Satisfaction of the Client, which should be served with an emphasis on quality, productivity and socio-environmental responsibility;
- Return to Shareholders and a focus on increasing the value of their equity;
- Partnership between Members, who participate in the brainstorming and implementation of the work, and in the results that they generate;
- Self-Development of People, primarily through Education through Work, ensuring the Organization’s Survival, Growth and Perpetuity;
- Reinvestment of Results for the creation of new work opportunities and for community development.
All Organization Members have the duty to act as trustees of these principles, which make up the essence of the Shareholders’ Intangible Equity. These cultural and ethical references, however, should not hinder the initiative and creativity of the professional. To the contrary, they are designed to maximize the individual’s capacity for his or her work at the Organization.
Essential Concepts
The TEO Essential Concepts were designed to guarantee effectiveness and clarity during the interaction between Leaders and the Led. Together with the Fundamental Principles, they establish a common language among Members, forming the Odebrecht Communication System.
- Decentralization favors the Member’s permanent and direct contact with the Client, and as a consequence, the clear perception of its needs. Decentralization is also important for identifying and attracting new Entrepreneurs to the Organization;
- The practice of confidence is synonymous with planned delegation. Leaders must be secure when it comes to the correct character of Members and still believe in the potential of the professional, in his or her competence and will to further advance, in addition to his or her alignment with the Organization’s Philosophical Ideas;
- The Corporate Task involves the identification, winning over and satisfaction of the Client. A continuous and efficient process guarantees success in the challenges;
- Results must always flow from Clients to Shareholders, since valuing their Moral and Material Equity is the main guarantee for the Organization’s Survival, Growth and Perpetuity.
General Criteria
There are eight General Criteria that must influence how all Odebrecht Members think and act.
- The Human Being is the measure of all the Organization’s values;
- The Entrepreneur must master his or her business to satisfy both the Client and the Shareholder simultaneously;
- Education through Work cannot be disassociated from the Corporate Task;
- Those who provide support to those Responsible for the Businesses must always be oriented to look for new opportunities and improved results;
- The professional has the right to share in the results to which he or she directly contributed and which can be measured, invoiced and paid by the Client;
- The Entrepreneur must always be open to recognizing his or her errors and ready to quickly correct the same;
- The image that is important and makes a difference is that constructed with the community, based on the satisfaction of each Client and the commitment to the well being of all;
- The Organization’s Leaders have the duty of promoting their own health and that of each one of those they lead, as well as the safety of the operations, quality of life and environmental conservation of the communities in which the company operates.
Corporate Responsibility
The Odebrecht Member contributes to Corporate Responsibility by ensuring high quality work and productivity. Accordingly, it is necessary to remember the importance of the following points:
- Satisfying Clients’ needs with products and services that improve the quality of life of the communities;
- Contributing to socio-economic, technological and corporate development in the sectors and countries in which the company operates;
- Creating work and development opportunities for people, including the reinvestment of the obtained results;
- Generating wealth for the government and society by collecting taxes and charges and through the remuneration paid to Suppliers, Members and Shareholders;
- Guaranteeing permanent respect for the environment during corporate actions.
The company complements its contribution to the community through educational and income generation projects undertaken by the Odebrecht Foundation and actions practiced within the sphere of the operational companies. The Organization also sponsors cultural initiatives.