Herman Miller Case Study

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Case Six: Southwest Airlines
Introduction
Herman Miller has a deep-rooted history as a quality manufacturer of office furniture. The company has been recognized on Fortune’s “Most Admired Companies,” and “100 Best Companies to Word For” lists, as well as Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies” list (Shipper, Manz, Adams, & Manz, 2011). Due to the company’s innate ability to reinvent itself, Herman Miller has been able to stay relevant through the years despite the great depression and several recessions over the years (Shipper et al., 2011). With the right planning Herman Miller will continue its tradition of innovation well into the future.
Company Information
In 1909, Dirk De Pree was hired as a clerk at The Michigan Star Furniture Company (Shipper et al., 2011). Working his way through the ranks, De Pree became President in 1919 (Shipper et al., 2011). After convincing his father-in-law to purchase the majority stock in the company, De Pree changed the name to Herman Miller Furniture Company in honor of his father-in-law (Shipper et al., 2011).
Recognizing each employee was more than the job they were hired to do, De Pree led Herman Miller with a standard that “all workers [were treated] as individuals with special talents and potential” (Shipper et al., 2011, p. 491). The Herman Miller “culture represents the collective attitudes, aspirations, ideals, and experiences of the people who work [there]”("Things That Matter To Us," 2013). As the economy fluctuated, Herman Miller streamlined their product offering to focus on office furniture (Shipper et al., 2011). Their attention to detail and focus on simplicity, innovation and design, Herman Miller furniture became a standard of excellence. Many of the designs ...

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Khalid, A. (2012). Cheap Chic: Couture Comes to Discount Retailers: NPR.
Kuang, C. (2010). Herman Miller Aims at Office Depot, With $399 Task Chair by Yves Behar Retrieved 12/1/2013, from http://www.fastcodesign.com/1662448/herman-miller-aims-at-office-depot-with-399-task-chair-by-yves-behar
Reinventing Herman Miller. (2000) Retrieved 12/1/2013, from http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_14/b3675047.htm
Shipper, F., Manz, K., Adams, S. B., & Manz, C. C. (2011). Herman Miller Inc.: The Reinvention and Renewal of an Iconic Manufacturer of Office Furniture (Vol. In Elizabethtown College, Corporate Strategy, pp. 491-504): Mcgraw-Hill.
Things That Matter To Us. (2013) Retrieved 12/1/2013, 2013, from http://www.hermanmiller.com/about-us/things-that-matter-to-us.html
Tsao, D. (2009). Herman Miller: Preparing for the Long Haul. Seeking Alpha.

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