Amp Case Study

Dan Gaffney

AMP Individual Case Study Analysis

Synopsis

Early History:

In 1941, Uncas Aeneas Whitaker took over Industrial Manufacturers, a small firm that produced solderless electrical terminations for the aircraft and shipbuilding industry. Whitaker, an electrical engineer, had developed an innovative and cost-saving solution for crimping the terminals on the wires that the company produced. The success of that system helped Industrial Manufacturers grow and in 1956, due to its large contributions to American industry in World War II, Whitaker renamed the company Aircraft-Marine Products, Inc., or AMP Incorporated. It was also Whitaker’s original focus and approach that set AMP on the road to becoming the largest electronic company in the world, marked by more than half a century of success until its merger with Tyco International in 1998.

Whitaker’s management strategy began with finding the smartest engineers and giving them complete responsibility of their projects. He would then offer his feedback and financial rewards for successful projects, giving his employees an objective and a sense of purpose. Furthermore, Whitaker was very personable, greeting employees by their first names and encouraging them to take control of their actions. The additional factor of AMP’s original management was Whitaker’s seven component plan. The strategy emphasized building a sales organization with a detailed sales policy and scientific surveys for sales forecasting, as well as blueprinting, testing, and benchmarking products to competitor equivalents. Moreover, the plan included keeping records of the business model for continued analysis and an organization chart for the company itself (Case Study 88). As a result, AMP’s business model helped it grow into an internationally successful electronic company by the 1970s. Thus, Whitaker proved the importance of strategic management tactics including employee empowerment, organized project management, and customer...