Essay Sample on Steelcase: From Wooden to Metal Furniture 1912-Present

Introduction

Steelcase company was started by Wege, Idema, and other investors. It was started in 1912. The company began with the manufacture of metal furniture, for the founders wanted to have an advantage of sales over the wooden furniture, which is flammable, unlike metal. The business thrived as a result of the government architects demanding for a switch from wooden furniture to metallic (Argenti, 2013).

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The company succeeded through the creation of a wastebasket made from metal. Additionally, it created the first cabinet, which led to the development of other cabinets. The company enjoyed good profits at the start. The company went ahead and employed a media consultant, who in the year 1921 came up with the company's current name. The second world war helped the company make a lot of sales resulting in big profits. This is because the demand for steel was high after and during the war. By the early 1970s, the company became the largest producer of steel office furniture. The company maintained the status up to 2001 (Argenti, 2013). The current paper will discuss Steelcase company.

Type of Investors for Steelcase

Steelcase company should target banks for investment. Banks invest in companies through commercial loans. A commercial loan is a debt that the bank gives to a company or a business so that it can fund activities that the industry cannot support on its own.

Commercial loans are given to companies to help them in their funding needs for operations or for buying equipment that is needed by the business. In some cases, commercial loans are also taken to cater to a company's basic needs, such as paying salaries.

In case a company is approved for a loan by a bank, the company is expected to pay back the money with some interest as agreed. Banks also require the company to submit its financial statements monthly to the bank throughout the loan. Additionally, if the company uses the loan money to buy expensive items, the bank requires that the company takes an insurance cover for the

Steelcase company would tell the bank to assist it with a commercial loan. The company will additionally explain to the bank that it is suffering from losses and a drop in the incomes. The bank will assist the company with a loan so that the company can be able to boost its operations.

Mistakes That Steelcase Made

Investor relation involves communication, finance, and marketing. Investor relations is the most critical aspect of a business. Communication between a company and its associates is essential for the wellbeing of the company. Usually, the relations officer is in charge of this task. The relations officer reports to the treasurer or the finance manager.

Investor relations are important as they affect the company either directly or indirectly. Investor relations should be handled by a relations officer who has full knowledge of the company. In Steelcase company, Gary Malburg was assigned the work of the relations officer, and the deputy head of finance. The tasks were so much for Gary, and he could not manage to multitask. Different individuals should hold the positions, and this was a problem that Steelcase made.

Another mistake that Steelcase made is that it did not provide investors with enough information. The company provided insufficient information to investors, information that did not shed light on the company's finances. Although the company had a good reputation, it was not ready to provide the information that investors required (Argenti, 2013).

For this reason, the cooperate reputation of Steelcase company with other stakeholders decreased. The investors lost trust in Steelcase and retaliated from investing in the company since it did not shed light on its finances. Additionally, other investors who were willing to invest in the company lost trust.

Problems Facing Steelcase

One of the difficulties that Steelcase faces is the drop in the trade of shares. The share has dropped by 70% from previously. The company also has a problem in that the performance of the company has fallen. Additionally, there is poor communication between the company and investors. Poor communication has resulted in a problem in the company. Another challenge facing the company is the lack of marketing itself to the analysts and the media (Argenti, 2013).

The IR function can handle the problems in several ways. First, it should explain the strategies, the mission, and vision of the company to analysts and the media personnel. This will help in the marketing of the company. The IR also has to improve the communication of the company. Through improving communication, the investors will be able to identify the financial status of the company, and this will help them to invest in the company.

Conclusion

The Steelcase company was started as a small company which eventually grew big. However, due to some decisions made, the company deteriorated, and its sales and profit margins dropped. However, the company can still improve and return to where it was if the above recommendations are followed.

References

Argenti, P. (2013). Corporate communication. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.