Steinway Strategic Orientation
Steinway Strategic Orientation
April 14, 2013
Steinway Strategic Orientation
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway, is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos. German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg founded it in 1853 in New York City. The company 's growth led to the opening of a factory and employee village in what is now Astoria, Queens in New York City, followed by a second factory in Hamburg, Germany, in 1880. Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg 's dedication was "To build the best piano possible". He established at his company three basic principles: "Build to a standard, not a price", "Make no compromise in quality", and "Strive always to improve the instrument". To date, Steinway & Sons has been granted over 115 patents .
Environmental and organizational changes in Steinway and Sons have been minimal. They are still an important part of the classical music culture. Steinway Artists are not paid to play a Steinway nor do they receive a free Steinway for personal use. Steinway Artists choose to perform on Steinway pianos. As of March 5, 2012, there are currently 135 All-Steinway Schools worldwide. On January 15, 2010, Steinway & Sons joins Twitter - @steinwayandsons . On November 4th, 2010, Steinway & Sons unveiled something it had never built before – a full-featured digital Metronome App for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (Ibid). Steinway and Sons started LeanSigma training in March 2004. Improvements included more usable floor space, reductions in the cost of doing business in areas like energy consumption and optimizing materials to remain competitive. However, no changes are made that may cheapen a piano. Steinway intends to continue and revisit events to make further improvements.
A SWOT analysis would include the following elements: Strengths: cost advantage, innovation, loyal customers, market share leadership, strong management team, strong brand equity, supply chain, pricing, and reputation management.
Weaknesses include:
April 14, 2013
Steinway Strategic Orientation
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway, is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos. German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg founded it in 1853 in New York City. The company 's growth led to the opening of a factory and employee village in what is now Astoria, Queens in New York City, followed by a second factory in Hamburg, Germany, in 1880. Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg 's dedication was "To build the best piano possible". He established at his company three basic principles: "Build to a standard, not a price", "Make no compromise in quality", and "Strive always to improve the instrument". To date, Steinway & Sons has been granted over 115 patents .
Environmental and organizational changes in Steinway and Sons have been minimal. They are still an important part of the classical music culture. Steinway Artists are not paid to play a Steinway nor do they receive a free Steinway for personal use. Steinway Artists choose to perform on Steinway pianos. As of March 5, 2012, there are currently 135 All-Steinway Schools worldwide. On January 15, 2010, Steinway & Sons joins Twitter - @steinwayandsons . On November 4th, 2010, Steinway & Sons unveiled something it had never built before – a full-featured digital Metronome App for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (Ibid). Steinway and Sons started LeanSigma training in March 2004. Improvements included more usable floor space, reductions in the cost of doing business in areas like energy consumption and optimizing materials to remain competitive. However, no changes are made that may cheapen a piano. Steinway intends to continue and revisit events to make further improvements.
A SWOT analysis would include the following elements: Strengths: cost advantage, innovation, loyal customers, market share leadership, strong management team, strong brand equity, supply chain, pricing, and reputation management.
Weaknesses include:
References: 160 Facts About Steinway and the Pianos They Build. (2013, March). Retrieved April 2013 , from Steinway Pianos: http://www.steinwaypianos.com/159-facts-about-steinway-and-the-pianos-they-build Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2009). Organization Development & Change (9 ed.). Mason, Ohio, USA: South-Western Cengage Learning. Hahm, S. (2009, September). Steinway and Sons Applying LeanSigma to the Art of Piano-Making. Retrieved April 2013, from TBMCS: http://www.tbmcg.com/cases/TBMCS_SteinwayandSons_ApplyingLeanSigmatoArt.pdf S, A. (2010, November). SWOT Analysis on Steinway & Sons. Retrieved April 2013, from Management Paradise: http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/principles-management-p-o-m/208589-swot-analysis-steinway-sons.html