Case Study 10.1: Electrolux Cleans Up
Case Study 10.1: Electrolux Cleans Up
Amanda M. Green
BUS5450 – Organizational Behavior
Dr. McKibbin
August 10, 2012
Electrolux Cleans Up
The housewives of today rely on innovation to produce household products with the capabilities of simplifying their jobs at home. Companies, such as Electrolux, have teams of employees assigned to the task of creating new kitchen appliances and cleaning products geared around the needs of the world that can take their company to next level in modern technology. With the fierce competition threatening the success of Electrolux, the company revamps their strategy by appointing Hans Straberg as the new Chief Executive. The strain on the company’s finances left Mr. Straberg with no choice but to change the way Electrolux does business. The purpose of this paper is to determine how and why Electrolux Chief Executive Straberg eliminated the barriers and increased communication between departments, to identify the advantages of Electrolux having individuals from different departments and functional areas work together on product design, and to explain how Electrolux can use teamwork to succeed in a competitive market (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Mattenson, 2011).
After analyzing the day-to-day operations of the company, Mr. Straberg determined his first order of business was to eliminate the barriers and increase communication between departments. The barriers that exist in the current operations prevent the employees from working together to enhance the level of innovation within the organization and to identifying any foreseen technical glitches prior to the design reaching the factory floor. The simple concept of “teamwork”, if implemented correctly, will save Electrolux quite a bit of time and money. Mr. Straberg’s experience tells him that finding the problem is the easy part, but coming up with a strategy to eliminate the issues is the difficult part.
Straberg’s first move was by far his most important move. He
Amanda M. Green
BUS5450 – Organizational Behavior
Dr. McKibbin
August 10, 2012
Electrolux Cleans Up
The housewives of today rely on innovation to produce household products with the capabilities of simplifying their jobs at home. Companies, such as Electrolux, have teams of employees assigned to the task of creating new kitchen appliances and cleaning products geared around the needs of the world that can take their company to next level in modern technology. With the fierce competition threatening the success of Electrolux, the company revamps their strategy by appointing Hans Straberg as the new Chief Executive. The strain on the company’s finances left Mr. Straberg with no choice but to change the way Electrolux does business. The purpose of this paper is to determine how and why Electrolux Chief Executive Straberg eliminated the barriers and increased communication between departments, to identify the advantages of Electrolux having individuals from different departments and functional areas work together on product design, and to explain how Electrolux can use teamwork to succeed in a competitive market (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Mattenson, 2011).
After analyzing the day-to-day operations of the company, Mr. Straberg determined his first order of business was to eliminate the barriers and increase communication between departments. The barriers that exist in the current operations prevent the employees from working together to enhance the level of innovation within the organization and to identifying any foreseen technical glitches prior to the design reaching the factory floor. The simple concept of “teamwork”, if implemented correctly, will save Electrolux quite a bit of time and money. Mr. Straberg’s experience tells him that finding the problem is the easy part, but coming up with a strategy to eliminate the issues is the difficult part.
Straberg’s first move was by far his most important move. He
References: Ivancevich, J. M., Konopaske, R., & Matteson, M. T. (2011). Organizational Behavior and Management (9th ed.). New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Company.