Subject category:
Strategy and General Management
Published by:
Harvard Business Publishing
Version: 6 March 2006
Length: 17 pages
Data source: Field research
Abstract
In 1998, the CEO (chief executive officer) of Whirlpool Corporation decides to change the company's strategy significantly to escape an increasingly unattractive 'stalemate' in the appliance industry. The change he proposes involves a fundamental shift in the company's focus - from manufacturing to branding - and requires the development of altogether new organizational capabilities. Examines the full range of adjustments that the CEO must lead his management team to make throughout all the functions of Whirlpool. Distinguishes itself from other cases on strategic change by examining the challenge of change in a company that is not in crisis (yet).
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Abstract
In 1998, the CEO (chief executive officer) of Whirlpool Corporation decides to change the company's strategy significantly to escape an increasingly unattractive 'stalemate' in the appliance industry. The change he proposes involves a fundamental shift in the company's focus - from manufacturing to branding - and requires the development of altogether new organizational capabilities. Examines the full range of adjustments that the CEO must lead his management team to make throughout all the functions of Whirlpool. Distinguishes itself from other cases on strategic change by examining the challenge of change in a company that is not in crisis (yet).