What comes through clearly is the way in which ABB makes strong demands on its people: it is not a company that offers its employees an ‘easy ride’. According to Bareham and Heimer, employees – and particularly management – are expected to work extremely hard, perform well and be technically very good. The existence of internal competition and profit-and-loss centres means that business unit performance is regularly reported, and this has the effect of encouraging people to feel ownership and of meaningful autonomy deep down within the business.