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Will Burt: Education Every Step of the Way

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A Case Report On
WILL BURT: EDUCATION EVERY STEP OF THE WAY

Executive summary
The cause for the company’s liquidation was nothing but the education and lack of skills possessed by the employees. As soon as Featherstone, CEO of the company recognized it he took some steps to improve it which not only helped the company from getting out of that liquidation state but also in emerging to a better state.
Words count- 57 words
Case analysis
The company Will Burt, a family owned manufacturing firm based in Orrville, Ohio were in such a state that it had to cancel its insurance coverage following a liability suit. Owners had no other option but to sell out the company to a new buyer for which CEO Harry Featherstone was charged with. Featherstone who had just taken charge as CEO found himself at the helm of a doomed company. Employee morale was completely low and people had lost their hopes from the company. But Featherstone’s belief about the company never shattered. He decide to make the company highly leverage followed by the institution of Employee stock ownership plan. As a result of which the company was saved from liquidation and also from being a deep pocket target for some liability lawyer.
He wanted employees to know that they actually owned a part of the company through employee stock ownership plan. He tried a lot to explain but a lot of people had trouble in grasping the concept, so he decided to open up the numbers of the company. He showed them what it costs to the company and what the company made which helped them in realizing the power that they had in determining the success of the company.
Company had more debts than it showed in the books. After a long analysis Featherstone came up with a solution which was quality. He thought that improving quality will not only save company’s money but also attract new customers. So he decided to educate the work force in order to improve its quality and with assistance from the University of Akron he developed a program to train employees in the basic skills necessary to perform their work. Work based classes in math, blue print reading, geometry and statistics were made mandatory for the employees. Out of 100, 10 to 20 didn’t like to learn but 80 were willing to learn and realized the importance of education in their lives.
The Result of the changes Featherstone brought were clearly seen in company numbers. Will Burt’s annual rework expense fell almost 75 percent to $180000 and the time devoted in remaking the parts from 2000 hours to only 400 hours per month apart from that absenteeism fell to 2 percent and compensation costs dropped from $160000 to meager $662. Looking at the enthusiasm of employees towards learning Featherstone and the University of Akron introduced more advanced learning and implemented the initiation of mini MBA program to help the employees in understanding the basics of owning and running a business. Education ultimately created involvement among their employee which led in putting up new emphasis on quality and innovation. Featherstone’s belief and the implementation of that belief in to realistic changes brought the company to newer heights.
Words count-463 words

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