...“Kent chemical: Organizing for Internal Growth” The case “Kent chemical: Organizing for Internal Growth” by Barlett and Wining shows the development of Kent Chemical, a US-based company, from a local rubber producer into a multinational chemical firm which main product divisions are plastic additives, fire protection products and medical plastics. In order to become one of the leading chemical companies in the world, Luis Morales, the president of Kent Chemical, is struggling, after two unsuccessful tries to integrate the regional and the global business, with his decision what the best way to coordinate the company in terms of the organizational change, structure and strategy is. In theory, organizational change occurs if a company changes from a current non-wanted state into a future desired one. According to Wischnevsky, J. and Damanpour, D. (2006) the company has pass through three different stages during this process; first they have to accept that their present situation is not sufficient anymore, secondly the need to develop a future view for the company and thirdly implementing the necessary measures to succeed. To be able to implement those measure correctly an organizational structure is needed. As Jones, G. R. (2012) states, organizational structure is defined as rules and policies to provide a structure on company level where roles and responsibilities are delegated, controlled and coordinated. The three dimensions of organizational structure according to Hill...
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...Background Kent Chemical Products and its international arm, Kent Chemical International, is a global leader in chemical additives and polymers used in consumer products, fire protection, and medical plastics. The company traces its roots to 1917 when it was established by the Fisher family. Originally founded as a rubber producer, decades of success allowed Kent Chemical to expand its business to plastic additives in the 1940’s and in 1953 began using technology-based research to drive product development. By 2007, revenues exceed $2.2 billion and the company had a presence in 13 countries with minority and majority stakes in over two dozen businesses. Kent Chemical sells its products in nearly 100 countries as well. Problems with International Expansion of KCI One issue Morales faced was that KCI only had minority stakes in the Joint Ventures. This gave KCI little control over finance and operations. Without a majority stake, it was difficult to have a decisive impact on the projects. Additionally, some JV’s called for combining companies that historically were competitors, such as FireGard and SicherFeuer. Because these companies competed with one another for decades, Morales’ regional directors had trouble coordinating activities and integrating operations. Even after taking a majority stake in projects, Morales was still faced with additional challenges. One example was the consolidation of financial reports and operational reports. Morales staff would second guess...
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...Competitive Advantage 2nd Half – Spring 2013/2014 Write Up 2 “Kent Chemical: Organizing for International Growth” Sara Alves Ribeiro Goulão Nº1937 On the “Kent Chemical: Organizing for International Growth” case you assume the role of the consultant reporting on what is going on in the company as a previous step to assess the assignment that they have given you. Please, answer the following questions: a) What were the problems facing Luis Morales as he began implementing Ben Fisher’s international expansion strategy? Kent Chemical Product’s result show that 35% of its sales are from overseas operations and these international activities seem to be a potential source to increment sales. Due to these facts, Ben Fisher, the firm’s CEO, decided to design and implement a strategic approach to successfully expand the organization’s operation internationally. To implement this “vision of a global integrated company”, Fisher hired Luis Morales. Morales knew he had to organize the company for international growth. However, he assumed that the new strategy would fit perfectly with the organization structure, which did not since several problems started arising after the implementation. In the first place, as a strategic issue, there was some competition between subsidiaries, which arose from both long competitive history and long history of interdependence. So, Kent Chemical International’s subsidiaries ended up tackling the same market and managers turned...
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...Case Brief: Kent Chemical 1. What were the problems facing Luis Morales as he began implementing Ben Fisher's international expansion strategy? * One of the main problems Morales had to face was the individualistic position of each subsidiary. Until then, each subsidiary operated as a decentralized federation, but with few or non-connection with an interconnected global strategy. * The entrepreneurial independence of offshores companies complicated the coordination and integration of activities. Allocating capital became more complex as well. * Historically, manager tried to protect their self-interest instead of cooperate with other subsidiaries. * Conflicts between regional structure of international division and product-based structure of subsidiaries. * Subsidiaries did not collaborate with GBD’s 2. How would you evaluate the organizational changes he made in response to those problems? Why were they unsuccessful? * He took many reactive responses, with no clarity about how to organize the company effectively. He went back and forth from trying to implement centralized hubs and then moving to a decentralized federation model where integrating functions was the focus. * He lost credibility with all the changes that seem not work. Moreover, he did not identify the local competences of the organization and its strategic importance in order to take a more logical decision. 3. What do you think of the Sterling Partners recommendations...
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...Nabila Suayd Gold 131039 November 17th, 2015. CASE WRITE UP “KENT CHEMICAL: ORGANIZING FOR INTERNATIONAL GROWTH” INTRODUCTION Kent was established in 1917 as a rubber producer, established its corporate headquarters just outside of Akron, Ohio in a small town called Kent. Kent became a leading global specialty-chemical company when it chose to diversify into additives and other specialty chemicals, developing these products within their own research laboratory in 1953. Kent Chemical Products has grown throughout the years from its core domestic business to an international operation struggling to fully integrate globally. PROBLEM STATEMENT In 1998, CEO Ben Fisher decided global expansion would be Kent’s top priority stating, “Our goal is to remake Kent from a U.S. company dabbling in international markets to one that develops, manufactures, and sells worldwide”. This goal proved to be more difficult than first anticipated, when after two reorganizations Kent’s Chemical International president Luis Morales had not yet been able to align the international side of the business with the core domestic side. ANALYSIS 1. What were the problems facing Luis Morales as he began implementing Ben Fisher’s international expansion strategy? Morales began implementing the global integration strategy by taking majority interests in Kent´s offshore JV´s, acquiring other overseas companies, and generally expanding global presence. As overseas operations grew, Morales...
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...Wallis’s father was also named John Wallis. His father worked as a minister and then became a minister. When John was born, his mother was Joanna Chapman. Joanna Chapman was his father’s second wife. John had four other siblings, and was the third born. However, when John was only six years old his father died. His first form of education was in Ashford, however, a plague there caused his family to move. When his family moved, he went to a grammar school in Tenterden, Kent. At the grammar school, he learned a lot of Latin. When he was only thirteen years old, he said that he thought he was ready to go to college. In 1631, he went to another school called the...
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...1. Analyse the organizational changes Ben Fisher made in response to the company’s problems. Why were they unsuccessful? In 2006 three global business directors (GBD) were introduced that were responsible for each one product line and should help to improve the connection with the overall organization of Kent. One fundamental problem was that the GBD were formed but with no clear aims and goals they had to achieve. Neither the GBD nor the domestic managers knew what their specific task was. In addition each GBD had an own perception of their position and so they didn’t pull together. Furthermore the subsidiaries had the feeling that the GBD would interfere in their own area although their knowledge was missing in this area. A lot of meetings were hold for nonsense as they had too many discussion points that need to be cleared due to the new structure, but finally they didn’t had an outcome. So this lead to a unproductive atmosphere and even the two parties working against each other than working with each other. Although the new GBD were rich on working experience they didn’t had the ability to fulfil the final aim of their actual position: improve the linkage between the domestic division and the whole company. In addition to that, the other side, the domestic managers didn’t feel well in giving responsibility to one person whose responsibility isn’t even clear. So this lead to a barrier between those and ended with the loss of credibility due to their inability in linking...
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...Discuss the problems faced as Luis Morales began implementing Ben Fisher’s international expansion strategy. Kent’s overseas operations had traditionally been viewed as a source of incremental sales through exports, licensing agreements, and JVs. Ben Fisher aimed to change that in 1998, focusing on a more strategic approach to global expansion. This renewed focus on international growth was done with the hopes of redefining Kent as a US company developing, manufacturing, and selling products worldwide. Ben Fisher identified Luis Morales as the individual who could lead the revitalized international division in an effort to implement Fisher’s vision of a global integrated company. This transition presented new problems, the first of which was the regional directors’ post-acquisition task of coordinating activities and integrating options. Offshore entities had a history of being competitive, and refused to cooperate or coordinate activities resulting in subsidiaries of Kent exporting into each other markets. When consolidating these redundancies, it became evident to Morales that the local knowledge of individual markets provided a significant road block. Causing strains, new systems developed to streamline operations and consolidate financial reports resulted in staff members to second-guess local country managers. Once again reinforcing the lack of local market knowledge, local managers felt that financial targets were out of touch, and this sentiment was proven...
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...For the reasons which have determined the existence of Sussex as a county of England, and which have given it the exact boundaries that it now possesses, we must go back to the remote geological history of the secondary ages. Its limits and its very existence as a separate shire were predetermined for it by the shape and consistence of the mud or sand which gathered at the bottom of the great Wealden lake, or filled up the hollows of the old inland cretaceous sea. Paradoxical as it sounds to say so, the Celtic kingdom of the Regni, the South Saxon principality of AElle the Bretwalda, the modern English county of Sussex, have all had their destinies moulded by the geological conformation of the rock upon which they repose. Where human annals see only the handicraft and interaction of human beings--Euskarian and Aryan, Celt and Roman, Englishman and Norman--a closer scrutiny of history may perhaps see the working of still deeper elements--chalk and clay, volcanic upheaval and glacial denudation, barren upland and forest-clad plain. The value and importance of these underlying facts in the comprehension of history has, I believe, been very generally overlooked; and I propose accordingly here to take the single county of Sussex in detail, in order to show that when the geological and geographical factors of the problem are given, all the rest follows as a matter of course. By such detailed treatment alone can one hope to establish the truth of the general principle that human history...
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...People Leadership Board of Directors Operating Group Leadership Functional Leadership Innovation Company History Company Reports Email Alerts Awards and Recognition Our Company's leaders share ideas during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (Video).Leading the Industry & Refreshing the World Responsibly Since our first soda fountain sales in 1886, we have been a driver of marketplace innovation and an investor in local economies. Today we lead the beverage industry with more than 500 beverage brands -- including four of the world's top-five sparkling brands. But while our business opportunities are enormous, our commitment to our consumers and the communities in which we operate is even greater. Muhtar Kent, our Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, leads us into the new century with a firm commitment to the values and spirit of the world's greatest brand. In our journey to become a sustainable, profitable growth company, our management structure has evolved to sharpen external focus on the marketplace with greater speed, productivity and effectiveness. Get to Know Our Leaders Muhtar KentHerbert A. AllenRonald W. AllenCathleen P. BlackHoward G. BuffettBarry DillerAlexis M. HermanDonald R. KeoughMaria Elena LagomasinoDonald F. McHenrySam NunnJames D. Robinson IIIPeter V. UeberrothJacob WallenbergJames B. Williams Muhtar KentAhmet C. Bozer Eurasia & Africa GroupDominique Reiniche Europe GroupJosé Octavio Reyes Latin America...
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...history-making conference of software-engineering thinkers in Snowbird, Utah. The product of that meeting was a remarkable document called the Agile Manifesto, a call to overturn many of the assumptions of traditional software development. I, in my capacity as one of the principal theoreticians of open-source development, was invited to be at Snowbird, but couldn't make it. Ever since, though, I've been sensing a growing convergence between agile programming and the open-source movement. I've seen agile concepts and terminology being adopted rapidly and enthusiastically by my colleagues in open-source-land — especially ideas like refactoring, unit testing, and design from stories and personas. From the other side, key agile-movement figures like Kent Beck and Martin Fowler have expressed strong interest in open source both in published works and to me personally. Fowler has gone so far as to include open source on his list of agile-movement schools. I agree that we belong on that list. But I also agree with Fowler's description of of open source as a style, rather than a process. I think his reservations as to whether open source can be described as just another agile school are well-founded. There is something more complicated and interesting going on here. and I realized when I read Fowler's description of open source that at some point I was going to have to do some hard thinking and writing in an effort to sort it all out. While doing research for my book The Art of Unix Programming...
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...Solution to Chapter 2 Internet Project Data on the Internet Note: In exercises 1 and 2 the data for the year 2000 is used. Exercise 1 Using the daily mean temperatures, compute the range and standard deviation in temperature for San Francisco in January 2000. Answer The mean daily temperatures for each of the days in January 2000 as compiled by the Weather Underground are 50.8 48.5 47.8 55.9 52.1 47.8 47.7 50.5 51.3 52.4 54.1 49.6 50.5 52.6 53.9 56.4 50.5 52.8 55.5 55.3 52.4 53.6 54.6 56.2 54.4 51.5 50.5 50.3 51.1 54.9 52.6 . For this data n = 31 ∑ x = 1618.1 ∑ x 2 = 84653.61 so the mean and standard deviation are x= 1618.1 = 52.20 31 and s= 31(84653.61) − (1618.1) 2 = 2.54 . 31(30) Exercise 2 The National Football League uses a long list of criteria to determine if a city is a candidate to host the Super Bowl. One such requirement is that the city either must have a domed (i.e. heated) football stadium or that the average temperature in January for the city must be 50o F or higher. San Francisco does not have a domed stadium. Based on the January 2000 data, would San Francisco satisfy this Super Bowl eligibility criterion? Answer Yes, since the average from Exercise 1 is 52.20. Exercise 3 Which graph below best represents the performance of Microsoft stock during the first four months of 2000? Answer Graph B shows the history of Microsoft stock prices over the indicated period. Note the data is graphed in the form it is provided on the Yahoo! finance site so that January...
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...for review. Please have them back by Wednesday instead of Tuesday. I apologize for being vague in my expectations. What is Coca Cola’s culture like? I would say on this question it depends on who you ask. If you ask the Coca Cola company you will get one answer and if you ask the workers you will get another. There are some areas that both probably agree, but there are also different opinions on some areas. Coca Cola states that the culture is defined by our seven core values: leadership, passion, integrity, collaboration, diversity, quality, and accountability (Our Company, 2014). The major theme to the culture seems to be diversity. If you look deeper into the management it seems that the culture is all about money though. Muhtar Kent is the CEO of Coca-Cola and he says that the workers need to have an entrepreneurial mentality and need to feel like they are chasing pennies down a hallway (Bhasin, 2012). If you go even further and look at some of the reviews that workers gave on indeed.com you can get a feel of their opinions. Most seem to agree that compensation and bonuses were pretty good. This is actually a good thing because this basically meets their first need in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Now when you get to some other issues there seem to be some issues. These are all anonymous, but I will put the locations of the worker. In Speedway, IN...
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...Case Study Coca-Cola Company: Then and Now Vladyslav Mozharov vladyslavmozharov@cityu.edu MBA 545: People and Systems in Organizations John Elmer Case Study – Coca-Cola Company: Then and Now May 1, 2014 The traditional change model consists of three steps: unfreezing, i.e. recognizing the need for change because of some event or threat, the actual change actions and refreezing, i.e. incorporating new ways of operating and thinking into everyday operations of the organization. Apply this model to the situation at the coca-cola company at the point when the lawsuit was served in 1999. As it is stated in the case of Coca-Cola, it was a marketing machine ran by bureaucrats and tried to create an image of their brand more than to give to customers what they want. At that stage, Ivestor, who was a CEO of the company, was focusing more on the numbers and revenues than on what is really going inside of the company. He was described as insecure and arrogant and refused to listen to his own people, working for him. Instead of solving the real problems in the company, he was focusing on keeping profits on the same level. Case gives an example of passivity of his actions by increasing the price of Coke syrup sales to bottlers to keep it. Of course, it was a mandatory action due to the largest product recall in their history, but it only accumulated a racial tension in the company, as he was indifferent to people and focused on financial results. His lack of actions for solving...
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