Al Dunlap at Sunbeam Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Al Dunlap at Sunbeam - Case Study Example ct, and getting a great management team together, his restructuring turned the company around by raising share prices from $12 per share to its all-time high of $53 per share (Albert J. Dunlap 1). His shareholder-value approach to public business corporations brought huge initial gains for the corporation. The final step of the rescue plan was identified by Dunlap in his own words as an aggressive growth plan (2). This was his first attempt at growing an organization he had restructured – he had sold all other companies before. So how did the growth go? Sunbeam went from $53 per share to below $12 per share within three months – even faster than the turnaround. 1. Growth needs newly researched products, strong advertising, increased distribution channels, and a good marketing strategy. All this needs capital investment and time. Sunbeam had capital investment. What they did not have was time, as Dunlap gave only 6 months for new products to be researched and to be brought into the market. This was essentially flawed, as described by a former executive Ron Gaber from their rivals Black & Decker, who stated that most companies usually give at least a year and a half for new research products. Also, Al did not have anything in the manufacturing line to claim this. 2. Then Dunlap gave his trademark touch to growth. He took over three mediocre companies – First Alert, Coleman and Signature – and then set out to grow Sunbeam through the newly procured companies. He planned to restructure the new acquisitions (Thomas, and David 8), but that again required more time than he had. In my opinion he should have grown upon what he had rather than taking over new companies because it was similar to having all the work force and unstable factories he had just disposed of. 3. Then he stocked huge quantities of gas grills and other seasonal items, which did not sell as expected, causing great amounts of capital to be held up, required for research. This error can be