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Case Analysis, Case 1

Carol took over her husband's small office supply business after his death and through her strong leadership was able to rapidly grow the company over 10 years. Despite being diagnosed with cancer a year after her husband's death, Carol continued to manage the business throughout treatment, creating a family-like atmosphere that attracted and retained employees. Her vision, planning, investment in advertising and sales, and devotion to employees helped the business grow from $200,000 in annual sales and 5 employees to over $3.1 million in sales and 25 employees, making it the leading office supply store in the city.

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Aakarsha Maharjan
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100 views2 pages

Case Analysis, Case 1

Carol took over her husband's small office supply business after his death and through her strong leadership was able to rapidly grow the company over 10 years. Despite being diagnosed with cancer a year after her husband's death, Carol continued to manage the business throughout treatment, creating a family-like atmosphere that attracted and retained employees. Her vision, planning, investment in advertising and sales, and devotion to employees helped the business grow from $200,000 in annual sales and 5 employees to over $3.1 million in sales and 25 employees, making it the leading office supply store in the city.

Uploaded by

Aakarsha Maharjan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A Remarkable Turnaround

carol Baines was married for 20 years to the owner of the Baines company until he died
in a car accident. after his death, carol decided not to sell the business but to try to run it
herself. Before the accident, her only involvement in the business was in informal
discussions with her husband over dinner, although she has a college degree in business,
with a major in management.

Baines company was one of three office supply stores in a city with a population of
200,000 people. The other two stores were owned by national chains. Baines was not a
large company, and employed only five people. Baines had stable sales of about
$200,000 a year, serving mostly the smaller companies in the city. The firm had not
grown in a number of years and was beginning to feel the pressure of the advertising and
lower prices of the national chains.

For the first 6 months, carol spent her time familiarizing herself with the employees and
the operations of the company. next, she did a city- wide analysis of companies that had
reason to purchase office supplies. Based on her understanding of the company’s
capabilities and her assessment of the potential market for their products and services,
carol developed a specific set of short-term and long-term goals for the company. Behind
all of her planning, carol had a vision that Baines could be a viable, healthy, and
competitive company. she wanted to carry on the business that her husband had started,
but more than that she wanted it to grow.

over the first 5 years, carol invested significant amounts of money in advertising, sales,
and services. These efforts were well spent because the company began to show rapid
growth immediately. Because of the growth, the company hired another 20 people.

The expansion at Baines was particularly remarkable because of another major hardship
carol had to confront. carol was diagnosed with breast cancer a year after her husband
died. The treatment for her cancer included 2 months of radiation therapy and 6 months
of strong chemo- therapy. although the side effects included hair loss and fatigue, carol
continued to manage the company throughout the ordeal. despite her difficulties, carol
was successful. Under the strength of her leadership, the growth at Baines continued for
10 consecutive years.
interviews with new and old employees at Baines revealed much about carol’s leadership.
employees said that carol was a very solid per- son. she cared deeply about others and
was fair and considerate. They said she created a family-like atmosphere at Baines. Few
employees had quit Baines since carol took over. carol was devoted to all the employees,
and she supported their interests. For example, the company sponsored a softball team in
the summer and a basketball team in the winter. others described carol as a strong person.
even though she had cancer, she continued to be positive and interested in them. she did
not get depressed about the cancer and its side effects, even though coping with cancer
was difficult. employees said she was a model of strength, good- ness, and quality.

at age 55, carol turned the business over to her two sons. she continues to act as the
president but does not supervise the day-to-day operations. The company is doing more
than $3.1 million in sales, and it outpaces the other two chain stores in the city.

Questions
how would you describe carol’s leadership traits?

how big a part did carol’s traits play in the expansion of the company?

Would carol be a leader in other business contexts?

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