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  • April 1999 (Revised December 2003)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Al Dunlap at Sunbeam

By: Brian J. Hall, Rakesh Khurana and Carleen Madigan
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:21
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Abstract

Al Dunlap was one of the best-known corporate turnaround artists of the 1990s. In 1996, he was hired at Sunbeam to effect a restructuring, but was fired almost two years later when the company's financial performance and stock price began to decline. Many of the controversies that had surrounded him at his previous job, Scott Paper, followed him to Sunbeam: his rejection of the multiple stakeholder view of corporate governance, his aggressive managerial style, his shaky relations with the media, and his high level of pay. The case describes Dunlap's compensation package at Sunbeam and addresses the issue of how U.S. companies compensate "superstar" CEO's.

Keywords

Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Restructuring; Stock Shares; Performance Evaluation; Leadership Style; Resignation and Termination; Motivation and Incentives; Executive Compensation; Outcome or Result; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Citation

Hall, Brian J., Rakesh Khurana, and Carleen Madigan. "Al Dunlap at Sunbeam." Harvard Business School Case 899-218, April 1999. (Revised December 2003.)
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About The Authors

Brian J. Hall

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
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Rakesh Khurana

Organizational Behavior
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Related Work

    • March 2002
    • Faculty Research

    Al Dunlap at Sunbeam TN

    By: Brian J. Hall
Related Work
  • Al Dunlap at Sunbeam TN By: Brian J. Hall
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