Subject category:
Strategy and General Management
Published by:
IBS Center for Management Research
Length: 16 pages
Data source: Published sources
Topics:
Xerox Corporation; G Richard Thoman; Paul Allaire; Anne Mulcahy; Rank Xerox; Fuli Xerox; Xerox Channels Group; Change management; Leadership; Turnaround; Xerox engineering systems; Palo Alto Research Centre (PARC); Outsourcing; Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); Photocopier manufacturer
Abstract
In 1999, the revenues of Xerox Corporation (Xerox), the world's largest photocopier manufacturer, began to fall, and in 2000 it reported a loss of $273 million. Xerox also lost $20 billion in stock market value (from April 1999 to May 2000). Xerox cited many reasons for its bad performance including the huge reorganisation effort initiated by the then CEO, Richard Thoman. In May 2000 he was replaced by his predecessor Paul Allaire, and Anne Mulcahy (Mulcahy) was made Chief Operations Officer (COO). Xerox revealed a turnaround programme in December 2000, which included cutting $1 billion in costs, and raising up to $4 billion through the sale of assets, exiting non-core businesses and lay-offs. Subsequently, in August 2001, Mulcahy was made CEO. Xerox continued to report losses in 2001, but it returned to profit in 2002 and continued to report profits in 2003. The case examines the events that led to the decline of Xerox, and in particular how major reorganisation strategies can affect a company. The case also explores the turnaround strategy implemented by Xerox, and how under the leadership of Mulcahy, it not only brought the company back to profits but also created growth opportunities.
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Abstract
In 1999, the revenues of Xerox Corporation (Xerox), the world's largest photocopier manufacturer, began to fall, and in 2000 it reported a loss of $273 million. Xerox also lost $20 billion in stock market value (from April 1999 to May 2000). Xerox cited many reasons for its bad performance including the huge reorganisation effort initiated by the then CEO, Richard Thoman. In May 2000 he was replaced by his predecessor Paul Allaire, and Anne Mulcahy (Mulcahy) was made Chief Operations Officer (COO). Xerox revealed a turnaround programme in December 2000, which included cutting $1 billion in costs, and raising up to $4 billion through the sale of assets, exiting non-core businesses and lay-offs. Subsequently, in August 2001, Mulcahy was made CEO. Xerox continued to report losses in 2001, but it returned to profit in 2002 and continued to report profits in 2003. The case examines the events that led to the decline of Xerox, and in particular how major reorganisation strategies can affect a company. The case also explores the turnaround strategy implemented by Xerox, and how under the leadership of Mulcahy, it not only brought the company back to profits but also created growth opportunities.