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Cooper Industries Case Analysis Essay

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Cooper Industries’ Corporate Strategy
Case Analysis

Company Vision
The vision of Cooper Industries, as stated in the case, was to do an ‘outstanding job at the unglamorous part by making necessary products of exceptional quality.’ The goal was to operate in industries that had become somewhat of a necessity for consumers. Examples of such industries include: power transmission, hand tools, drilling and others. Cooper industries had started in 1833, as an iron foundry, and had existed most of its 150 years as a small sized maker of engines and compressors. However, all this changed in the 1960s, when the management decided to expand the company to lessen its dependence on the capital expenditures of the cyclical natural gas business. …show more content…

Cooper also divested many less profitable businesses over an eighteen year period from 1970 to 1988. The benefit added by the Cooper conglomerate to its business units justifies the costs associated with a corporate / centralized control. Furthermore, Cooper’s corporate management effectively managed and invested in the best opportunities for growth with little political bias.
Production
In order to achieve its goals clear guidelines were set that specified the degree and timing of acquisitions – focusing only on companies that exhibited stable earnings or earnings countercyclical to the gas transmission industry. Cooper focused on acquisition targets that possessed strong assets with high quality manufacturing and market-leading positions. Cooper continued to refine this acquisition model seeking companies with stable earnings using well-known technologies that served a broad customer base. Furthermore, Cooper focused on firms with high quality products and recognized brand names.
In addition to acquisitions, Cooper brought significant systematic value to its businesses. Examples of these contributions include, but are not limited to:
Finance
* the flow of financial resources to the individual businesses; * unity of purpose and focus under a common corporate strategy (further supporting the firm’s strategy as it relates to acquisitions and divestitures); * FMV

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