Miller Brewing Co
Miller Brewing Co.
In 2003, the Miller Brewing Company was in trouble. At the root of the company’s issues was a stagnant organizational culture. Organizational Culture is defined as “the set of shared, taken-for-granted implicit assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about, and reacts to its various environments (Kreitner 62)”. Miller was not a priority to its former owner Philip Morris, and a number of marketing failures made matters worse. In 1994, the company accounted for 23% of the industry share and by the time Mr. Adami arrived, the share was down to 17% (Carter). The company was in decline and the focus was to manage the decline. Norman Adami was hired and immediately changed the culture of the company, bringing about a new sense of urgency as well as a more aggressive campaign mentality. Along with his style of leadership, Mr. Adami was persistent in recruiting experienced executives to surround him with an elite team. In result, the company has a higher level of morale and sales growth since 2004. Norman Adami recognized that the complacent nature of Miller was in a state of terminal decline and identified the need for a cultural overhaul. He led the cultural change with an incentive-based approach, removing the apathetic leaders and replacing them with self-motivated and competent leaders. Mr. Adami’s aggressive and innovative character encouraged his employees to achieve higher results, which improved the marketing culture (Kreitner 70). Opportunities to train at the Beer University or participate in team fact-finding missions to study other organizations were readily available. He fueled innovation and work center competition by introducing a rewards system that recognized employees for “stepping up their game.” A true leader by example, Mr. Adami reinforced improvement measures by actively checking on the competition and quickly responding to marketing changes. Mr. Adami’s then worked to
In 2003, the Miller Brewing Company was in trouble. At the root of the company’s issues was a stagnant organizational culture. Organizational Culture is defined as “the set of shared, taken-for-granted implicit assumptions that a group holds and that determines how it perceives, thinks about, and reacts to its various environments (Kreitner 62)”. Miller was not a priority to its former owner Philip Morris, and a number of marketing failures made matters worse. In 1994, the company accounted for 23% of the industry share and by the time Mr. Adami arrived, the share was down to 17% (Carter). The company was in decline and the focus was to manage the decline. Norman Adami was hired and immediately changed the culture of the company, bringing about a new sense of urgency as well as a more aggressive campaign mentality. Along with his style of leadership, Mr. Adami was persistent in recruiting experienced executives to surround him with an elite team. In result, the company has a higher level of morale and sales growth since 2004. Norman Adami recognized that the complacent nature of Miller was in a state of terminal decline and identified the need for a cultural overhaul. He led the cultural change with an incentive-based approach, removing the apathetic leaders and replacing them with self-motivated and competent leaders. Mr. Adami’s aggressive and innovative character encouraged his employees to achieve higher results, which improved the marketing culture (Kreitner 70). Opportunities to train at the Beer University or participate in team fact-finding missions to study other organizations were readily available. He fueled innovation and work center competition by introducing a rewards system that recognized employees for “stepping up their game.” A true leader by example, Mr. Adami reinforced improvement measures by actively checking on the competition and quickly responding to marketing changes. Mr. Adami’s then worked to
Cited: Carter, Adrienne. "Miller Brewing: It 's Norman Time." BusinessWeek. N.p., 29 May 2006. Web. 15 Aug. 2012. Kreitner, R., & Kiniki, A. (2013). Organizational Behavior. (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Chapters 6, 8, & 9. "Online Extra: Inside the "Able Challenger" Strategy." BusinessWeek. N.p., 28 May 2006. Web. 16 Aug. 2012.