Cooper Industries Analysis

Cooper Industries' Corporate Strategy

Robert Cizik; Chairman, President, and CEO of Cooper Industries, and rightly so. He definitely was one risky businessman back in the 80's with the manufacturing industry. By continuously diversifying his businesses and utilizing company assets, capital, and people, Cooper Industries was able to command the American manufacturing industry for decades.

The primary strategic issue here in this case is clearly diversification and the implications of it. This case provides an example of why management of such risk is so essential to a corporation that is willing to take it on. Cizik did all the right things from day one, and the vision of the company remained intact. That vision, according to Cizik was, value added manufacturing. By taking simple products, such as the Tool group that Cizik created, along with the century-old knowledge of manufacturing competencies that the company had from engines, Cizik and Cooper were able to prevail through diversification throughout many different industries in the last part of the 20th century.

His idea was simple, that's why it worked; it was to achieve growth through acquisitions of successful companies in related industries with a relatively simple but flexibly organizational structure. From simple construction tools that will always be necessary, to oil and energy, to Aeronautics, to commercial and industrial electrical products, Cooper industries continued to diversify in related industries successfully. Strategic acquisitions in all different areas throughout the US, building and rebuilding manufacturing facilities, investing and selling, Cizik did it all to the extreme, and he did it successfully.

It's also important to understand the corporate roles that Cizik developed, as well as the structure of Cooper Industries as a whole. Cizik understood the importance of communication and