文档介绍：An Overview of Financial
CHAPTER 1 Management
SOURCE: Courtesy BEN & JERRY’S HOMEMADE, INC.
STRIKING THE
RIGHT BALANCE
$
BEN & JERRY'S
or panies, the decision would have been make money. For example, in a recent article in Fortune
F an easy “yes.” However, Ben & Jerry’s Homemade magazine, Alex Taylor mented that, “Operating a
Inc. has always taken pride in doing things business is tough enough. Once you add social goals to
differently. Its profits had been declining, but in 1995 the demands of serving customers, making a profit, and
pany was offered an opportunity to sell its returning value to shareholders, you tie yourself up in
premium ice cream in the lucrative Japanese market. knots.”
However, Ben & Jerry’s turned down the business Ben & Jerry’s financial performance has had its ups
because the Japanese firm that would have distributed and downs. While pany’s stock grew by leaps
their product had failed to develop a reputation for and bounds through the early 1990s, problems began to
promoting social causes! Robert Holland Jr., Ben & arise in 1993. These problems included increased
Jerry’s CEO at the time, commented that, “The petition in the premium ice cream market, along
reason to take the opportunity was to make money.” with a leveling off of sales in that market, plus their
Clearly, Holland, who resigned from pany in late own inefficiencies and sloppy, haphazard product
1996, thought there was more to running a business development strategy.
than just making money. pany lost money for the first time in 1994,
pany’s cofounders, Ben Cohen and Jerry and as a result, Ben Cohen stepped down as CEO. Bob
Greenfield, opened the first Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop Holland, a former consultant for McKinsey & Co. with a
in 1978 in a vacant Vermont gas station with just reputation as a turnaround specialist, was tapped as
$12,000 of capital plus mitment to run the business Cohen’s replacement. pany’s stock price
in a manner con