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Kent Chemical: Organizing for International Growth

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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,…show more content…
There were to many competing priorities, so the big issues were never addressed; many domestic division managers were blocking progress and trying to control the global business directly. 3. What do you think of Sterling Partners’ recommendations? What did Kent get for the US$1.8 million fee? The consultants concluded that one of the company´s main problems was that it had been imposing uniform organizational solutions on a strategically diverse portfolio. Because each business had a different mix of global imperatives and local demands, they suggested taking a ore tailored approach. Much of the problem seems to lie within the Leadership roles: they were assigned but undefined and also leaders were chosen mainly from staff in the US who did not understand cultures or know clients. The model required practically perfect managers”. They needed organizational solution that empowers international presence and to upgrade IT solutions for better communications. As a model, the consultants recommended that the company evolve to a more differentiated organization using a tool called “decision matrix”. The process would involve assembling the key business and then creating a process to analyze how they should be decided. The process would involve assembling the key business, geographic, and functional managers from each business and engaging them in discussion about the decisions. 4. What should Luis Morales recommend? What should Chairman Ben Fisher decide?
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