...Question 1: Herman Miller’s Strategies: evidence on its competitive advantage and good financial performance 1. Corporate Strategy: Diversified Strategy From the headquarters of Herman Miller Inc., Curt Pullen talks amid the unmistakable pounding sounds and commotion associated with a construction work site about his company's plan to rebound from the recession. Pullen, the firm's executive vice president and president of North America, says the workers are installing new lower-height Herman Miller workstations designed to accommodate a growing trend in offices toward more open, collaborative environments. The new product, called Canvas, is part of the company's market-shift strategy after the demand for office furniture fell hard during the economic downturn. The plan also involves diversifying into the health care and academic furniture markets and more emphasis on emerging economies. The plan appears to be paying off. For the first time in nearly four years the company reported two consecutive quarters of double-digit percentage sales growth after releasing its second-quarter earnings statement on Dec 15th. Orders in the second quarter rose 34% to $462 million. CEO Brian Walker noted the company's expanded market reach as a contributing factor to growth. Significant increases occurred in international markets where sales rose 33%. In 2010 the company acquired UK-based ergonomic workstation manufacturer Colebrook Bosson Saunders and purchased assets...
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...Herman Miller, Inc. Traditional Case Study June 18th 2012 David Maillie Andrew Hatfield-O’Hern Andrew Withers Isil Ecevit Nawaf Nizamudeen Current Status History Herman Miller began in Zeeland Michigan as a manufacturer of high quality furniture and bedroom suites entitled the Star Furniture Co. In 1909 the company’s name was switched to the Michigan Star Furniture Company. At the same time, Dirk Jan De Pree was hired as a clerk. Just 10 years later, Mr. De Pree became president of the company. Mr. De Pree saw great potential with the company and soon after talked his father-in-law, Herman Miller, to purchase the company by buying up the majority (51%) of the company stock in 1923. The company name was then changed and named after Herman Miller and remains that way today. Early on, Herman Miller became a company that treated workers very differently. Most manufacturing companies, De Pree stressed that all workers are important individuals with special talents and potential (Adams, S. B., Manz, C. C., Manz, K., Shipper, F. (2010). He saw that workers were more than just hourly labor and knew that if he could encourage them to expand their horizons and broaden their knowledge and interests that the company would also benefit from this. In the early 1930s, the Herman Miller company was known for producing high-quality, traditional furniture. However, this was the time of the Great Depression. A very trying time with unemployment rates as high as 25%...
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...Strategy Management in Global Environment GM599 Case Study: Herman Miller Inc Professor Denis Juren JeanMary Hermann Colas October 10, 2011 Herman Miller Inc started back in 1905, as a furniture company. The Star Furniture Company was a manufacturer of traditional-style bedroom suites in Zeeland, Michigan. It changed its name to Michigan Star Furniture Company, in 1909. Dirk Jan De Pree was hired as a clerk during that transition. D.J. De Pree became the president of the company 10 years later. He then renamed the company Herman Miller in honor of his father –in-law in recognition of his support for purchasing majority of share to save the company from failing (Shipper, Manz, Adams, Manz, 2010). Herman Miller Inc. became a leader in "modern" furniture in the 1930s and 1940s; developed lasting ties through the 1950s with legendary industrial designers who led us in new directions; transformed the office furniture industry with the first panel system in the 1960s; invented and refined ergonomic work seating in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s; reinvented the geometry of systems furniture in 2000, and is today the second largest office furniture company with customers and locations around the world (Dowdell,2008). Herman Miller Inc. is a global company with operations, sales offices, dealers, and licensees in more than 40 countries in North America, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. They serve customers virtually anywhere in the world. Their headquarters...
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...Herman Miller Case Study 1. Describe Herman Miller’s strategy. Is there evidence it has produced a competitive advantage and good financial performance? Explain, supporting your answer with case based evidence including financial evidence. Herman Miller’s main focus is on growth strategy, through innovative products and production processes. Herman Miller offers inventive designs, technologies, and related services that improve the experience of working people, and people with medical problems offering products designed to heal, learn, and live. The design excellence brought the company award-winning products and services, resulting in more than 500 million in net sales in the fiscal year 2013. Analyzing the case study it looks like Herman Miller’s competitive advantage includes the company’s focus on growth, by introducing innovative products and their ability to offer problem-solving design for different workplaces, and different needs (Birchard B., 2010). The company is recognized for building in 1994 one of the most successful and best-recognized office chairs in the industry called Aeron. The company offers good financials and sells its products for a fairly cheap price in the comparison quality vs. price. (Raheja. N., 2013). The company efforts to reduce fixed manufacturing cost by outsourcing through strategic suppliers helps controlling the company’s overall cost structure and accomplish a competitive advantage. Herman Miller Inc. used for its international expansion...
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...Herman Miller’s Overall Strategy: Herman Miller Inc. focuses on growth, by introducing innovative products. The company believes that in order to achieve operational excellence, the company needs to focus on employees’ motivation and problem solving process. Herman Miller concentrates on producing high quality products. The company is trying to reduce fixed manufacturing cost by outsourcing with their strategic suppliers, which helps controlling the company’s overall cost structure and accomplish a competitive advantage. The survival of Herman Miller when facing recession came from a flexible business strategy and plan. The company did well in developing new products and designs to broaden its activities. Herman Miller also tried to strengthen existing relationships with strategic suppliers. This strategy was important because it enabled Herman Miller Inc. to achieve world-class status in its industry. Herman Miller reduced manufacturing cost, inventory costs, and time saving due to high standard production. Those changes positively impacted Herman Miller sales. In order to meet the ever increasing demands of the business, it is important that the employees are equipped with such capabilities that enable them to do so. For this purpose, the formulation and building of employee’s capabilities will consist of the following strategy: The first step in this regard is to increase the knowledge that employees possess as there is increased value being placed on knowledge. The focus...
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...CASE 22 HERMAN MILLER INC.: THE REINVENTION AND RENEWAL OF AN ICONIC MANUFACTURER OF OFFICE FURNITURE For MGMT 599 August 15, 2013 Herman Miller, Inc. is primarily concentrated in the business and institutional market. Herman Miller is one of the leading players in the US office furniture industry with a 12% market share. Over the last several years, the entire industry has experienced significant declines in sales due to poor macroeconomic conditions. However, Herman Miller has managed to outperform most of its competitors in terms of profitability, illustrated through strong operating margins and return on sales. Herman Miller has a strong reputation for high quality, innovative products, strong customer service, high customization, and reliability. This strong brand equity enables the company to leverage its brand strength across different market segments, leading to extended customer reach I have analyzed the company and the industry, and have chosen the best strategy to expand customer reach, and increase sales revenue. My analysis chosen will consist of a three-year implementation plan that will bolster sales revenue and expand the company’s customer base. Herman Miller Inc. internal environment brings to light the following strengths and weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. Strengths The $1.3 billion manufacturer of office furniture is known for its distinctive innovation skills and management methods. The following list of strengths elaborates on...
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...Herman Miller, Inc. is a company that specializes in the production and manufacture of modern office furniture. The company began its reputation through product innovation and production processes which started in the 1920’s. In the path of their success, Herman Miller, Inc. has been able to pursue a path distinctively marked by reinvention and by renewal. I would say that in the beginning the company pursued a focused low-cost strategy. The initial items the company specialized in, is what the company perfected and grew to produce efficiently. However that was soon to change. This path was able to serve the company well for many a decade. With the passing of time the company instituted a Scanlon Plan which is a productivity incentive program that helps companies to find ways at being more productive in their product offering. This model helped the company a lot. With the usage of this the company then moved to having a differentiation strategy. They started to produce more products that were based on scientific observation and ergonomic principles…some of the same observations and principles that the company still utilizes today. In the reading of the case it was difficult for me to pinpoint exact issues in Herman Miller, Inc’s. functional departments (i.e., HRM, Accounting, Finance, Operations, etc). However in the area of human resource management this was actually a strength of the company. Being routinely listed on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work for, applicants desires...
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...appropriate credits given) must be that of the student submitting the paper. Information used from other course work must be appropriately referenced and cited. Students would be well advised to begin making notes immediately upon starting this course on how they will respond to the Final Project. Final Project Case #1: Complete a comprehensive APA formatted paper that includes a thorough analysis of the following questions. The first part of the Final Project is to be performed on the Herman Miller Inc. in 2012: An Ongoing Case of Reinvention Case in the text on page C-332. 1. What does the five-forces analysis reveal about the strength of competition in the U.S. office furniture industry? Major US companies include Herman Miller, HNI Corporation, Knoll, Krueger International, and Steelcase. 2. What factors are critical to success in the U.S. office furniture industry? 3. Develop a competitive strength assessment of four major competitors (including Herman Miller) in the U.S. office furniture industry using the methodology...
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...Introduction Herman Miller, Inc. is primarily concentrated in the business and institutional market. Herman Miller is one of the leading players in the US office furniture industry with a 12% market share. Over the last several years, the entire industry has experienced significant declines in sales due to poor macroeconomic conditions. However, Herman Miller has managed to outperform most of its competitors in terms of profitability, illustrated through strong operating margins and return on sales. Herman Miller has a strong reputation for high quality, innovative products, strong customer service, high customization, and reliability. This strong brand equity enables the company to leverage its brand strength across different market segments, leading to extended customer reach. We have analyzed the company and the industry, and we have chosen the best strategy to expand customer reach, expand Herman Miller’s healthcare market, and increase sales revenue. We have chosen a three-year implementation plan that will bolster sales revenue in the healthcare industry and expand the company’s customer base. Industry Analysis As part of our analysis of Herman Miller, we have analyzed the five forces that affect the office furniture and healthcare industries. The five forces include competitive rivalry, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, bargaining power of suppliers and bargaining power of buyers. Competitive Rivalry Herman Miller operates in a highly competitive...
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...Herman Miller Darden Case Study 8Nov05.doc Herman Miller’s Design for Environment Program November 2005 Mark Rossi, Scott Charon, Gabe Wing, and James Ewell 1 Herman Miller launched its Design for Environment (DfE) program in the 1990s. At the core of the Herman Miller DfE program is the McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) Cradle to Cradle Design Protocol, which evaluates new product designs in three key areas: • • • Material Chemistry -- What chemicals are in the materials we specify, and are they the safest available? Disassembly -- Can we take products apart at the end of their useful life to recycle their materials? Recyclability -- Do the materials contain recycled content, and more importantly, can the materials be recycled at the end of the product's useful life? Herman Miller’s commitment to DfE includes requiring all new products be evaluated within the MBDC Protocol. Material Chemistry Assessment When Herman Miller launched its DfE program, the challenges for the DfE team were substantial: Learn how to use and integrate the MBDC protocol into the launch of new products, modify MBDC’s protocol to meet the needs and unique circumstances of Herman Miller, gather the data necessary to meet material evaluation criteria as required by MBDC’s material health protocol, gain acceptance from product development teams for design process changes, and complete all this work on a schedule that would not delay the launch of products. A core component...
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...Integrated Company Analysis Herman Miller: MLHR Nicholas Grant! Travis Campbell Brad Zoltak Marisol Serdiouk December 14th, 2009 Executive Summary Herman Miller, Inc. is a mid to high-end furniture manufacturer primarily concentrated in the business and institutional market. The industry is experiencing significant declines in sales due to poor macroeconomic conditions. The Company is well positioned as one of the top-tier firms in the industry, but its business model is highly sensitive to the overall economic cycle. First and foremost, Herman Miller needs to continue to successfully execute its core office furniture business. To reduce its vulnerability to downturns in the overall economy, Herman Miller should work to raise its brand awareness and fully leverage its products in adjacent markets. Recommendations • To ensure that Herman Miller capitalizes on its near 30-year expansion into the healthcare sector, the Company should increase the resources it dedicates towards healthcare and implement the following initiatives: o o Develop a patient bed to enable Herman Miller to offer a complete patient room solution. Consolidate its healthcare distribution network by appointing the best dealers in a given territory and enabling them to offer the Company’s full healthcare product line. Ensure that these dealers are fully trained on the Brandrud and Nemschoff offerings. o Once the office furniture industry rebounds, Herman Miller should begin to consolidate its Brandrud and...
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...Reinvention and Renewal Herman Miller Background SWOT Porters Five Forces Strengths Opportunities Weaknesses Threats Risk of Entry Rivalry Among Established Firms Bargaining Power of Buyers Bargaining Power of Suppliers Substitute Products Complementors Strategies Herman Miller's challenge is to continue to reinvent and renew itself in times of economic uncertainty Main Issue We have developed three alternatives to solve this company's problem Alternatives Focus their efforts on marketing Alternative One Recommendations Continue to use the same business model or develop a new strategy? Continue to use the same business model Alternative Two Use the current business model but continually update based on the economic activity Alternative Three Why focus marketing efforts? Advances in technology have decreased need for office furniture Increase in the need for ergonomically correct furniture due to increased time in front of a computer Why use the same business model? Current business model has proven effective in past recessions Why update the current business model? Current model has many effective policies currently in place We cannot effectively predict how the economy will change Most effective strategy to combat an uncertain economy is to stay with what has worked well and update it as change occurs Current business model is still fitting with company values and goals Office furniture industry is constantly in a state of flux 2002 March (cc) image by jantik on Flickr Equa Chair...
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...Manufacturing Industry Analysis Manufacturing Industry Analysis Introduction Manufacturing industry refers to businesses that employ machines, tool, labors, chemical and biological processing to convert raw materials to finished goods on a relatively large scale. This industry makes up a sizable portion of the industrial production sector in developed nations. It also boosts the economic growth and creates jobs. In 2013, manufacturers contributed $2.8 trillion to the economy, up from $2.03 trillion in 2012. This was 12.5% of GDP. For every $1.00 spent in manufacturing, another $1.2 is added to the economy, the highest multiplier effect of any economic sector. Manufacturing promotes innovation, productivity and trade. Globally, manufacturing continues to grow. It now accounts for approximately 16% of global GDP and 14% of employment. The latest trend of manufacturing and industrial companies is that more and more of them are investing in emerging market to gain a foothold in future large market. Manufacturers expect about 40% of their global revenues to come from emerging market by 2017. General Environment Analysis General Environment Segment | Changes that may affect the industry | Level of Impact | Threat, Opportunity or Both? | What are companies in the industry doing about this trend? | Demographic | Education, sex, race | Moderate | Opportunity | More and more knowledgeable and skilled workers and expertise | Sociocultural | More women in workforceMore...
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...Deviance in general is seen as violating social norms. Numerous researchers and individuals such as Robert Merton (1938) and William Sheldon (1949) have tried to present ways to explain deviant behaviours in the past. The two main theories that have been developed to explain deviance are biological theories and the social constructionist theories. This essay will examine social theories such as Becker’s labelling theory, and biological theories such as Sheldon’s body type theory, and contrast between the theories mentioned. Finally this essay will examine the differences between the theories and whether the biological explanation or the social constructionist explanation can be better used to explain deviance. Looking at social control can help clarify definitions of what crime and deviance are. Social control refers to both the formal and informal means by which society responds to social deviance. While there are many possible explanations for what could be the underlying causes behind deviant individuals, the social constructivist theory is that deviance is a “failure to conform to culturally expected norms of behaviour” (Llewellyn, Agu & Mercer 2008: 90). What is viewed as deviant in one particular culture or society may be considered normal practice in another. Social norms are not universal; they are contextual to the culture in which they are formed. Without deviance, society would remain the same, restricted to tradition and stagnant social norms, because no individual...
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...resources. With the ever changing market, many customers nowadays had preferred furniture to be a much more environment- friendly that they are even willing to pay for it in a higher price. Through this cultural shift, a lot of the manufacturing companies such as Shaw Industries Inc., Herman Miller Inc, Steelcase and many more see this as a basic business practice in the future. Most of these companies had considered recycling of materials because firstly, it touches and responds to environmental trends, concerns and regulations. It was mentioned in the case that Scott Charon, head of new products at the Zeeland, Mich Company, said that “If a company won’t give us their secret formulas, then we won’t do any new business with them”. This shows that costumers lately are becoming environmentally concerned that they turned to be more meticulous of what they buy and what they are up to, that they are even asking for transparency of the production process like where, when, how and what it was made of. The next reason that many companies are using the recycle method is because this is a strategy that is cost saving, an example mentioned in the case was the Dalton, Ga. Unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., in which their recycled material is now cheaper than an equivalent amount of new raw materials. The only disadvantage of using recycling method is whether environmentally safe products can be commercially feasible. Though there’s an existing market who seeks for an environment friendly...
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