Whirlpool Corporation Is a \'Leading

Whirlpool Corporation is a 'leading manufacturer' as well as 'marketer' of important 'home appliances' in the world. Whirlpool Corporation formed by Lou Upton in the year 1911 had originally manufactured 'wringer washing machines' which were 'motor-driven'. Whirlpool Corporation today has sales of about $19 billion annually, employees of about 73,000, and has about 70 'technology research' and 'manufacturing centers' across the globe. Whirlpool Corporation produces and involves in marketing important brands such as Whirlpool, Kitchen Aid, Maytag, Bauknecht, Amana, Jenn-Air, Consul and Brastemp to its clients in almost each and every country across the globe. (Goldsmith; Carter, 2009)

Q 1) Discuss what factors emerged at Whirlpool that impacted its talent needs.

Benton Harbor, Michigan-based Whirlpool was very well established in the local and national market by 1980's. With the emerging competition the management of the company realized the need to assess its potential. After proper research, the management realized that in order to sustain its dominating position in the competitive market of home appliances and to strive for expansion in Europe, Latin America and Asian huge market India, the company would need to provide an unwavering and resolute attention for the customers. The necessity was to be the most cost effective and best quality providing producer at the marketplace (Greengard, 1995).

The only possible way to achieve these high ending goals was to introduce a huge pool of talent in its working force. The company needed better level of dedication and commitment from its employees at the working plants and factories. That is why the company opted to implement a performance-based rewarding program for employees at its manufacturing plants. As the company enjoyed the favoring growth because of its attention towards employing the best available talent so that it may provide proper attention for its customers, the management understood the importance of employing and properly rewarding the better and higher talent of the employees. The company also institutionalized an excellent HR program that promoted the employees to provide their best and to feel as if they are the owner of the company. Indeed, the employees at Whirlpool Corporation are of high caliber (Greengard, 1995).

Q 2) Discuss how expanding globally changed the talent requirements at Whirlpool.

"During its initial 50 years, Whirlpool Corporation developed and extended production functions to include a full range of kitchen and home appliances. By the 1970s, company leadership began globalizing with expanded operations in Brazil, Mexico, and India. Whirlpool Corporation accelerated its global leader in the home appliance industry." (Goldsmith; Carter, 2009)

And soon in the late 1980's and early 1990's the company was competing with other huge players of the market of home appliance to achieve leadership in the newly emerging global market. It was necessary to win the diversified consumer base at the home base and in other countries, in Europe, Asia and Latin America (Cutler, 2003).

"With the acquisition of Maytag Corporation in 2006, the company drove efficiencies that resulted in an even stronger organization that was able to offer more to consumers in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. Whirlpool Corporation became a more efficient supplier to trade customers while offering a broader portfolio of innovative, high-quality branded products and services to consumers." (Goldsmith; Carter, 2009)

The company needed to innovate ways to manage a global team that could provide proper solution for the demands and requirements of the global consumers so that the corporation may achieve a good consumer base in the new territories of the market of home appliances. The company also needed highly talented workers at its manufacturing unit along with much higher talent base at the innovative research and engineering development units. This was required to achieve a position where the Whirlpool can be the global player (Cutler, 2003).

Q 3) Discuss how Whirlpool used its Leadership Model to manage its talent.

Whirlpool emerged as the major player of the home appliance industry across the borders of United States. Right since 1985, Whirlpool strived to achieve goals to be the leader and architect of the global market. As the globalization started spreading its wings, Whirlpool also became able to establish itself in the emerging market across the world, in UK, in Latin America and in Asia. The highly competitive global market required proper coordination between the executives, management and the working force so that the corporation may provide enough attention for the requirements of the global consumers. With the diversification of the market, the consumer base of Whirlpool also diversified. Soon Whirlpool was making deals and acquiring divisions of appliance manufacturers in the European and Asian market (Arthur, 1991).

In order to maintain the pace of development and to sustain the consumer base, it was necessary for the company to provide enough attention for the highly diversified requirements of the consumers throughout the globe. The major issue was to provide platform that will allow the global and domestic managers of Whirlpool to coalesce and integrate to work as one international team ready and available to solve all the issues and requirements of the global consumers. For achieving this ability, Whirlpool needed a much better leadership that could gather a talent base of employees both on the domestic level and on the international level and could arrange them work together to achieve higher results (Arthur, 1991).

Q 4) Discuss how Whirlpool used metrics to improve the quality of talent hired.

It was necessary for the Whirlpool Company to not only to gather the best available talent to work with the corporation with such a dedication as if the corporation is actually owned by the employee themselves. The management knew that the more dedication they will achieve from the highly able and talented workforce they had gathered up, the more benefits will be enjoyed by the company as whole. To achieve this, the company employed certain HR practices that promoted the employees to feel like working for their own profits. They were rewarded to perform better. Whirlpool management used the metrics in perfect way to not only improve the quality of talent of its employees but also to sustain its talent pool. By 1996, Whirlpool Corporation bought two controlling units of the home appliance industry in India and it bought four such major player position of home appliance market in China (Cutler, 1998).