This document aims to analyse the Whirlpool Corporation culture in the context of the coming challenges. First, the analysis describes the current corporate communication and its strengths, then it focuses on the main issues and finally provides some recommendations to leverage opportunities.

1. WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION
Meeting the corporate culture challenge
Summary
This document aims to analyse the Whirlpool Corporation culture in the context of the coming
challenges. First, the analysis describes the current corporate communication and its strengths,
then it focuses on the main issues and finally provides some recommendations to leverage
opportunities.
Background
Whirlpool Corporation, set in 1911, has a long history behind its shoulders.
With its $ 18.8 billion of global revenue in 2013, it is currently the leader in the home appliance
market, selling worldwide eight brands, the most recognized ones across all major categories.
Corporate culture analysis
Whirlpool Corporation has a strong and entrenched corporate culture, build over 100 years of
history, assembling together the different parts in a cohesive picture.
Looking at the stated expressions of corporate culture, it is worth to note the mission and the
vision declarations:
“Everyone, Passionately Creating Loyal Customers for Life”
“Every Home… Everywhere… with Pride, Passion and Performance”
These sentences show the basic beliefs of the company, as:
 The focus on the customer, not only as the key target, but especially as the reason why of
the whole company.
 Loyalty as the primary goal, with a particular attention to long term relations with the
customers.
 Quality and innovation, as means to build loyalty.
 Teamwork view, highlighting the contributions from everyone.
 Global approach, addressing to everyone in the world.
The strategy “to build strong brands and a loyal consumer base…to make customers’ lives easier”
holds the stated beliefs in a consistent and precise action plan.

2. All these principles are applied in practice, in everyday procedures and company representations.
 Internal processes and employees management:
Business processes, training programs and an innovation management system are the means
to embed innovation as a core competency.
Training and mentoring programs, a specific council and summits are focused on diversity and
inclusion, to involve everybody and underline the different individual talents that create value.
Employees range truly reflects the global customer base, giving a better understanding of the
diverse global customer’s needs.
Innovation-related activities involve everyone in the company, not only to take contributions
from all the employees, but especially to build teams and appraise every individual. In this way
innovation and diversity are tightly linked, to address all employees’ unique strengths to
innovation development.
 Buildings:
Also buildings and structures represent the corporate culture, through up-to-date design, clear
and strong profiles, that convey the idea of innovation and quality.
 Advertising:
The commercials are contemporary, clear and direct, showing products’ quality and attention
to the consumer . The logo has the same characteristics and the curved lines embracing the
writing convey the idea of global.
 Products:
The main features of Whirlpool products are cutting-edge design and unquestionable quality.
For a global approach, they are adapted to the different local needs.
In conclusion, the main strong points of the corporate culture are the focus on customers and
loyalty, build through innovation and quality, and the celebration and inclusion of diversity, that
turn innovation into a strategic advantage.
Issues and challenges
As the world evolving, the company is going to face some challenges and some issues are likely to
be managed.
 The volatile finance, the need for cutting costs and the globalization of business processes
have changed the corporate model in every market.
Whirlpool Corporation has recently closed a fifty-year plant in Fort Smith and transferred the
production to Mexico. These operations can affect also the corporate culture: the inclusion
politic makes employees feel as a whole group, causing the involvement and concern sharing
among all the workers.
 Globalization is a massive on-going process, but it doesn’t mean that “the world is flat” and
preferences are universal. Local differences are still important into the business context and
adaptation is necessary, as a trend of personalization is emerging. Since Whirlpool sells
products worldwide and has a global approach, it must pay attention to these new trends.

3.  The spread and the diffusion speed of Web 2.0 is increasing and new technologies are
affecting every aspect of business. The world is more and more inter-connected and a need for
creating networks and sharing experiences is emerging. This trend can influence both
products and corporate culture.
Opportunities and recommendations
 Production and economic changes require targeted communication towards employees. A
specific issue management is likely to be created, facing situations as plants closing or
transfers, layoff, cutting costs operations. Employees must be informed and reassured about
changes in the company, through specific meetings, internal communication tools and training
programs.
 Whirlpool should pay a specific attention to products’ adaptation. Although it is already carried
out, it can be useful to improve tools to study local needs and test solutions, as deep local
insights, training projects about adaptation, local research centres. New products features
that enforce personalization are to be communicated to customers, underlying the tailored
aspect of the product and their control over it.
 New technologies can be developed into products, strengthening the innovation. It will be a
challenge to be innovative, controlling prices and being the first among the competitors, but it
guarantees a more widely competitive advantage.
Also referring to customers, new technologies have to be considered, keeping communicating
through the latest tools that succeed in reaching the target and conveying the idea of
innovation also in communication.
Federica Gazo
Sources:
Whirlpool Corporation website
http://www.whirlpoolcorp.com/
2013 Whirlpool Corporation Annual Report
http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ABEA-5DXEK8/3074788913x0x730959/153D9242-5CBF-
4CCA-B5BD-00867FAF764C/Whirlpool_2013AR_spreads_.pdf
CNN Money website
http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/28/news/companies/whirlpool_jobs/
“The World Is Flat: A Brief History of The Twenty-first “(1st ed.). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2005,
Thomas Loren Friedman.
“Choosing the right global strategy”, Pankaj Ghemawat, Harvard Business Review.