Smuckers Case, International Management
Does the human relations movement offer any insights for the co-CEOs as they move ahead with their expansion plan?
The human relations movement show that the co-CEOs are doing really well in upwards communication. Because of good hr movement, Smucker’s has been able to grow as big as they are today. The case tells you that the company’s growth belief is not just about growing the company but it is also about individual growth and the respect for individual ideas.
Smucker’s involves people in the decision-making process at every level of the organization. In this way, they will have a sense of satisfaction for contributing to the growth of the company as a whole and to their individual growth. Because of this management approach, the employees are eager to work, are motivated and have a high productivity. These factors have all to do with hr movement and without this, they wouldn’t be able to become a multinational.
From the perspective of the system approach to management, what potential problems might Smucker’s encounter as a result of having only family members serve as CEOs?
The problem that may occur is that when close relatives work together, emotions often interfere with business decisions. Another problem that may occur is that the family members have different viewpoints.
The feeling which I get, from reading the case, is that Tim Smucker believes that there is a limitation if you’re only in one category while his brother, Robert Smucker, is always seeking for new acquisitions to expand.
That is why I think that Robert and Tim have different viewpoints. Robert is thinking more about dollar signs and Tim is thinking of the roots of the company. When Smucker’s purchased the Mrs. Smith’s frozen pie business it was probably that Robert stood behind it totally and that Tim had his doubts. But because it are brothers, it can be difficult to make objective decisions. And that is why Tim probably agreed with the purchase.
In short,
The human relations movement show that the co-CEOs are doing really well in upwards communication. Because of good hr movement, Smucker’s has been able to grow as big as they are today. The case tells you that the company’s growth belief is not just about growing the company but it is also about individual growth and the respect for individual ideas.
Smucker’s involves people in the decision-making process at every level of the organization. In this way, they will have a sense of satisfaction for contributing to the growth of the company as a whole and to their individual growth. Because of this management approach, the employees are eager to work, are motivated and have a high productivity. These factors have all to do with hr movement and without this, they wouldn’t be able to become a multinational.
From the perspective of the system approach to management, what potential problems might Smucker’s encounter as a result of having only family members serve as CEOs?
The problem that may occur is that when close relatives work together, emotions often interfere with business decisions. Another problem that may occur is that the family members have different viewpoints.
The feeling which I get, from reading the case, is that Tim Smucker believes that there is a limitation if you’re only in one category while his brother, Robert Smucker, is always seeking for new acquisitions to expand.
That is why I think that Robert and Tim have different viewpoints. Robert is thinking more about dollar signs and Tim is thinking of the roots of the company. When Smucker’s purchased the Mrs. Smith’s frozen pie business it was probably that Robert stood behind it totally and that Tim had his doubts. But because it are brothers, it can be difficult to make objective decisions. And that is why Tim probably agreed with the purchase.
In short,