...2013 Introduction Robert Nardelli was heavily criticized for his leadership style and methods he used during his tenure as CEO of Home Depot. The purpose of this paper is to describe Robert Nardelli’s style of leadership and take a position on whether or not his actions rose to the levels of unethical. This paper will attempt to incorporate the trait theory, behavioral theory, and situational and contingency theories then determine whether Roberts’ Nardelli’s actions were ethical or unethical. History Robert Nardelli was born in Old Forge Pennsylvania on May 17, 1948. Nardelli served in the Reserve Officers Training Corp. While serving in the reserves in 1971he earned a B.S. in business. Upon graduation Nardelli joined General Electric (GE). His father had also been employed there as an engineer and middle manager. In 1975 Nardelli went on to earn an M.B.A. from the University of Louisville, in Kentucky while working at GE. BY the year of 1988 Nardelli had climbed the corporate ladder and had become a company vice president. During his time at GE , they passed him over for a general management position so he left to take a position as a division leader with Case Equipment Co. Later, Nardelli returned to GE as the head of its appliance-manufacturing subsidiary in Canada from 1991-1992 and then held the top jobs at GE Transportation Systems from 1992–1995) and GE Power Systems 1995–2000). Under his leadership GE Power Systems’ sales grew...
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...corporation formed between the merger of Pepsi-Cola and Frito Lay. PepsiCo has gone on to expand to include Tropicana, Quaker Oats, Gatorade and many more. Each generating sales of one billion dollars each and distributed in more than 200 countries (PepsiCo). As of 2011, PepsiCo employs approximately 297,000 people worldwide (PepsiCo). This paper will assess the above mentioned companies areas of leadership, management, organizational learning (training), and culture and compare and contrast to the structure The United States Army and Macy’s Department Store. Home Depot Leadership: In 2000 Marcus and Blank were replaced with Robert Nardelli, who pushed hard to make the company more efficient, bringing with him many new metrics to centralize operations, and to meet quarterly goals he even cut jobs of associates. Nardelli, a former General Electric top executive, arrived at Home Depot with a leadership style that was already outdated, an autocratic top –down style of command and control. Under Nardelli, Home Depot went from a retail business to a new contracting business. Nardelli devastated the retail side of Home Depot by getting rid of knowledgeable and great salespeople who were helpful to the customers (Nussbaum). During the housing boom of 2005, Lowes reported a sales increase of 6.2% while Home Depot had increases of 3.6%. (Rosenblum). In other words, the larger company, Home Depot was being out performed by Lowes by two times. Under...
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...Excellent customer service, Taking care of our people, Giving back, Doing the "right" thing, Creating shareholder value, Respect for all people, Entrepreneurial spirit, Building strong relationships.” (Home Depot, 2014). According to Exhibit 2.1 in chapter two, Top management of a company provide strategic direction after assessing the external and internal environments. Taking a look at the external environment, some of Opportunities available to Home Depot (Circa 2005) were Restructuring, to make operations more sound and profitable, provision of internet shopping facilities to customers, and expanding the market geographically and locally, as well as targeting new market segments. It should be quite important to note that during the Nardelli era, the slogan Home Depot used was “Improve everything we touch”. Threats included declining home sales and market share, a looming credit crunch, a dip in the level of customer service and product knowledge hitherto offered due to poorly trained staff, and a saturation of the markets in North America. Increasing levels of Environmental Uncertainty as more layers of management are added to achieve a more vertical structure (Though still relatively simple) and decreasing levels of Resource Availability as competition heats up with Lowe, and even Wal-Mart. A look at the internal environment indicates that Home Depot’s Strengths include a strong brand name, diverse range of products, excellent reputation for customer service and product...
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...strategic and operational projects. He fired senior managers, upended a bloated bureaucracy, and brought a team of young aggressive managers on board. Then, he reviewed all projects and killed those that could not pass the market test. And he hired new designers, and demanded a portfolio of exciting projects that would bring customers back to dealer showrooms. In less than three years he succeeded in one of the most impressive turnarounds in automotive history. Now, as part of his plan to grow Fiat into a global competitor he has taken on Chrysler. But, can he perform his magic again? Can he save yet another company whose circumstances in many ways, but not all, are strikingly similar to those faced by Fiat just five years ago? Can his leadership style as well as the Fiat 500 be successfully exported to the other side of the Atlantic? If we look at Marchionne's record by itself, not only is it impressive, but it suggests that he might be the right person at the right time. But,...
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...Cover Story Renovating Home Depot; Skip the touchy-feely stuff. The big-box store is thriving under CEO Bob Nardelli's military-style rule By Brian Grow, with Diane Brady in New York and Michael Arndt in Chicago 6 March 2006 BusinessWeek 50 Volume 3974. Don D. Ray is one tough hombre. The 39-year-old Kentucky native spent three years with the 82nd Airborne Div., one of the U.S. Army's elite units, serving at the head of a maintenance crew during the first Gulf War and an additional seven years on active duty. Then, after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Ray suited up for service again, this time as the commander of a special forces A-team that followed the U.S.-led invasion into Afghanistan. His 12-man squad of snipers, demolition experts, and communications specialists hunted renegade al-Qaeda and Taliban. Combing mountain villages, he grew a thick beard, wore traditional Afghan garb, and rode on horseback to blend in with local Muslims. Ray and his men never killed anyone, he says, but they arrested dozens of suspected militants. Nowadays, Ray commands a different kind of operation. He has replaced crack-of-dawn physical training and green Army fatigues with sunrise store openings and an orange Home Depot apron. A store manager in Clarksville, Tenn., Ray runs a 110,000-square-foot box with 35,000 products and a 100-member staff, 30 of them former military. Many days start at 4 a.m. That's when he wakes, eats breakfast, catches some CNBC news, then heads to the store, where...
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...COBURN Deep, lasting culture change requires an integrated approach that remodels a company’s social systems. The leadership team of Home Depot employed a remarkable set of tools to do that. by Ram Charan W hen Robert Nardelli arrived at Home Depot in December 2000, the deck seemed stacked against the new CEO. He had no retailing experience and, in fact, had spent an entire career in industrial, not consumer, businesses. His previous job was running General Electric’s power systems division, whose multimilliondollar generating plants for industry and governments were a far cry from $10 light switches for do-it-yourselfers. re tu ul C Change HOME DEPOT’S BLUEPRINT FOR april 2006 61 H o m e D e p o t’s B l u e p r i n t f o r C u l t u re C h a n g e Nardelli also was taking over what seemed to be a wildly successful company, with a 20-year record of growth that had outpaced even Wal-Mart’s – but with latent financial and operational problems that threatened its continued growth, and even its future, if they weren’t quickly addressed. To top it off, Nardelli’s exacting and tough-minded approach, which he learned at General Electric, set him on a collision course with the freewheeling yet famously close-knit culture fostered by his predecessors, Home Depot’s legendary cofounders, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank. It was this culture that Nardelli had to reshape if he hoped to bring some big-company muscle to the cooled from the breakneck pace of the late 1990s...
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...CHAPTER CLOSING CASE FROM CHAPTER ONE: PLAYING HARDBALL AT HOME DEPOT BRIEF SUMMARY: This case was mainly about Home Depot’s turning point on its sales increases after the new CEO Robert Nardelli had taken charge of the corporation. The way which Nardelli applied to change the old fashion of running the business was highlighted in the text. Described as command-and-control, the method he used which can be traced back to 1950s was simple and straight and it can be characterized as emphasis on a military-like discipline and obedience. Being centralized again, Home Depot became a more standardized-machine like place where effectiveness and efficiency were laid utmost stress on. Then, Nardelli’s principles are illustrated as follows: First, centralize control over functions. Second, follow slow growth. Third, control by measuring every input and output instead of relying on instinct. Fourth, ruthlessly eliminate underperforming managers. Besides cost cutting, he also made radical progress on wholesale supply to contractors, service offerings and potential new hirings. However, “soft” topics such as corporate culture and employee empowerment are largely neglected, which diminished the better development of this management skill. CASE QUESTIONS: 1. The four principles Nardelli has adopted to improve the performance of the business can be served as examples of his planning phase. When he conducted his plan into practise by assigning tasks for his employees, as in transmitting...
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...Home Depot Business Environment The Home Depot is the world’s largest do-it-yourself home improvement retailer that was founded over thirty years ago in Atlanta Georgia by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank (The Home Depot, 2011). Through the lifespan, The Home Depot expanded from a two store operation into the fourth largest grossing retail store as reported by the Fortune 500 listings (CNN Money, 2012). Strategies like price matching, environmentally friendly supplies, introducing Home Depot brands and services, and offering clinics to patrons assisted in Home Depot dominating the do-it-yourself home improvement market. Throughout the lifecycle of Home Depot there have been numerous changes; markets, consumers, direction, and leadership to name a few. Home Depot made adjustments along the way and endured the constant waves of change and in the process developed the orange blooded culture enjoyed by employee and customer. Things change and the Home Depot understand this simple value, but constant is the orange apron and everything it stands for. To date the Home Depot remains a sound corporation even through the recession and unfavorable markets and is in a prime position to generate stronger ROA, ROIC, and ROE measures relative to their closest competitor Lowe’s (Sozzi, 11/2). The pages that follow will analyze The Home Depot and examine what differences it has from the closest competitors. Taking a brief look into the culture behind the store, how Home Depot markets...
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...Introduction Whether you own your home or rent, chances are that at some point you will find yourself looking for something that will lead you to one of these two retail giants. The home improvement industry has evolved from small regional and locally owned hardware stores to these superstores. The top two in the industry are Home Depot and Lowe’s. Each has their eye on moving into international markets, each has superstores in all 50 states and each has evolved along different paths to reach their current positions. According to Fortune 500 Home Depot, Inc. is ranked at #25 and the second largest retailer in the US after Wal-Mart. Home Depot Inc. has its corporate headquarters in Atlanta Georgia. What began in 1979 as two 60,000-foot stores that resembled warehouses has grown to about 2,200 stores across North America, Puerto Rico, and China. Home Depot Inc. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as NYSE:HD. At the end of 2008 Home Depot Inc. employed 331,000 people. Home Depot sales recorded and posted in 2009 are $71,288.0 mil. Home Depot Inc. is the number one home improvement retailer with Lowe’s coming in second place with sales posted in 2009 at $48, 230.0 mil.. Founded in 1946 Lowe’s went from a small hardware store to the ninth largest retailer in the US. Lowe’s went public in 1961 and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange as NYSE:LOW in 1979. According to Fortune 500 Lowe’s Companies, Inc. is ranked at #47. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. are headquartered...
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...Home Depot Rev. 12-2012 During 1990’s, the Home Depot was well renowned for its orange-blooded entrepreneurial culture and outstanding customer service. From the beginning, the retailer took a long-term approach by training its associates to form enduring customer relationships rather than push for incremental sales gains. As a result, the company grew very quickly becoming the fastest retailer in history to reach sales milestones of $30 billion, $40 billion, $50 billion, $60 billion and $70 billion in revenuesi. Despite this remarkable success, Marcus and Blank, the founders of the Home Depot, stepped down as leaders stating that continued growth required new leadership with fresh and innovative business approaches. Thus, in 2001, Robert Nardelli was named Chief Executive Office of the Home Depot. Nardelli introduced many new initiatives to the company such as, centralized buying, company-wide analytics and improved information systems, which were essential for the company to remain competitive. Many of his other changes, however, led to significant dissatisfaction, low morale, high turnover, reduced productivity, and general discontent among the associates that seriously derailed the company from the customer-centric approach that made the Home Depot such a success story during the Marcus and Blank era. The result was the most dramatic decrease in customer satisfaction in retailing history. In 2001, the Home Depot and Lowe’s both had customer satisfaction scores of 74...
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...History Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank founded the Home Depot in 1978. Along with investment banker Ken Langone and merchandising guru Pat Farrah, the founder’s vision of one-stop shopping for the do-it-yourselfer came to existence when they opened the first two Home Depot stores on June 22, 1979, in Atlanta, Georgia. The first stores, at around 60,000 square feet each, were cavernous warehouses that dwarfed the competition and stocked 25,000 SKUs, much more than the average hardware store at that time. Empty boxes piled high on the shelves gave the illusion of even more product. in only one year they opened a 4th store in Atlanta and the company had annual sales of $22.3 million dollars. In only 10 years on its 10th anniversary Home Depot opened its 100th store in Atlanta. I. Current Situation The Home Depot is the fastest growing retailer in U.S. history. Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer and the second largest retailer behind Wal-Mart in the United States based on net sales for the 2005 fiscal year. In 1981, the company went public on NASDAQ and moved to the New York Stock Exchange in 1984. The 1980s and 1990s spawned tremendous growth for the company, with 1989 marking the celebration of its 100th store opening. The company arrived in Canada with the acquisition of Aikenhead’s home improvement centers in 1994. In 2003 Home Depot opened its 100th Canadian store. Home Depot began flying its flag proudly in Mexico in 2001 through the acquisition of Total...
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...Homedepot History The Home Depot was founded by two men who had a dream to open the first home improvement store. It was in 1978 when Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank along with an investment banker Ken Langone made this dream come true in Atlanta, Georgia (Home Depot). Home Depot has been the world’s number one home improvement retailer for quite some time now. The Home Depot has a team of more than 300,000 associates who share a commitment to providing unbeatable customer service each and every day. Human Resource Home Depot outsources a range of recruitment processes; such as leadership programs and most of store-management hiring. Recruitment process outsourcing simply makes things easier for Home Depot without it being a hugely difficult project." The Home Depot has currently outsourced human resource jobs since 1997. Through the HROs technology, the company’s 300,000 employees are able to retrieve pay information anytime via a secure website (Patriot HR). Home Depot has at least one Human Resource manager at each of its big box stores and one at its international locations. Equal Employment Opportunity policy The Home Depot is devoted to ensuring that all Home Depot employees work in a respectable and safe environment of common respect that is free of any hostility or discrimination. “Home Depot will not discriminate against any associate, applicant, customer or vendor with regard to race, color, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,...
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...Home Depot Patsakorn Niruntasukrat Mahidol University International College Preparation Center for Language and Mathematics February 27, 2014 Home Depot Foundation's Sustainability Obama stated that “It is not a choice between our environment and our economy; it is a choice between prosperity and decline” (“Sustainable Development Strategies”, 2009). Sustainability means the balance of three things which are steady business, society and friendly environment. In other words, businesses must show crucial responsibility in terms of environmental impacts and social responsibilities. Consequently, businesses must utilize natural resources carefully, and the economic growth and employment rate of businesses must be increased (“Understanding Sustainability”, n.d.). Therefore, sustainability is an aim of businesses. The Triple Bottom Line or TBL is a significant tool advocating sustainability goals. The concept of TBL emphasizes three things, which are healthy communities (people), clean environment (planet) and stable profitability (profit) (“Slaper & Hall”, n.d.). In contrast with the past, many businesses, nonprofit organizations and government entities tend to follow this guideline. Home Depot is one of the best examples of companies which are following the TBL standard. Home Depot is the world biggest home improvement retailer (“Did You Know”, n.d.). The company was established by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank in 1978. The first two stores opened on June 22...
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...000 that was required from a group of investors; also they were given 2 years to get their business up and running. They did lease three unoccupied buildings from J.C. Penney in Atlanta, Georgia, determining that city was the best place to start up their first store. They successfully gathered another $3.5 million in the form of loans, which was used to procure inventory. Furthermore they hired 20 employees to help run the management end of the business. On June 22, 1979, the very first three Home Depot stores, staffed by 200 workers, opened up in Atlanta. The organization began with Marcus as the chairman of the board of directors and CEO, and Blank as the president. Home Depot’s Profile: * Employees: 256,300 * CEO: Robert L Nardelli * Subsidiaries: EXPO Design Center; Maintenance Warehouse; Georgia Lighting; Apex Supply Company; Your "other" Warehouse; Home Depot Commercial Direct Division; Total HOME * Notable Stores: Home Depot; EXPO Design Center; Villager's Hardware; Del Norte * Major Competitors: Lowe's; Menard; TruServ. Lowe’s at a Glance: Lowe’s and Home Depot are the two largest retailers in the home improvement industry. Lowe’s being the 2nd largest in the industry, however, It was originally incorporated as “North Wilkesboro Hardware” in North Wilkesboro, NC. It was later renamed as Lowe’s in the year 1946 when C. H. Buchan bought-out his partner and brother-in-law James Lowe’s share of the company. Lowe’s started to go public...
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...commitment to customers, colleagues, the company, and the community, and an aversion to anything that felt bureaucratic or hierarchical. All of this led to the company’s success. Discuss the impact of the cultural change and the reaction of the employee. When the founders of Home Depot left and the new CEO Mr. Nardelli came along, employees found it hard adjusting. They felt an outsider would “GE-ize their company and culture.” The changes Nardelli brought about was dealing with immediate problems that weren’t readily apparent, shortage of experienced store & district managers as well as the challenge from Lowes, poor inventory turns, low margins, and weak cash flows. Nardelli laid out new strategies from the store, the centralized leverage buying power, reevaluation was done on store operations, detailed data transparent environment, store layout and employee training. Although Nardelli’s changes left some managers and employees resistant, and many of the top executive team left, some did see merit in his approach. Over time, attitudes slowly began to change. Nardelli’s changes and new strategies transformed Home Depot from zero to $50 billion in sales, but Nardelli realized that this was not going to get to the next $50 billion. Discuss how the new culture was implemented at Home Depot. The new culture was implemented by a culture change toolbox. The toolbox consist of; data templates, strategic operating and resources planning, disciplined talent reviews, store manager...
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