Case Study

University of California, Irvine – Rockwell Case Study

Christine G. Rodriguez is in her element whether in a corporate, nonprofit, or small- and medium-sized business environment. Her skills and experience in these diverse business environments are a unique mix of talent that greatly benefits her clients.

“What happened to Rockwell” is a question that was frequently asked of Donald R. Beall, Chairman Emeritus of Rockwell International Corporation. To answer this question, Don Beall and the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) developed an in-depth case study. This study was published in a book titled, “The Formation, Evolution, and Transformation of Rockwell.” After working for 30 years in Rockwell’s Communications department and becoming the first Latina Corporate Vice President for Rockwell, Christine Rodriguez was asked personally by Don Beall to edit this book.

Objective

The objective of this case study was to provide factual business and management information on the evolution and transformation of Rockwell as listed in the Goals listed below.

Goals

• Finalize Rockwell case study as an accurate, interesting story of The Formation, Evolution, and Transformation of Rockwell that would preserve the history of Rockwell.
• Serve as a “best practice” case for executives, academics, researchers, and students around the world about focused management teams, values, and business processes.
• Provide Rockwell successor companies (6 public spin-off companies) with the history of their evolution:
• 1. Rockwell Automation
• 2. Rockwell Collins
• 3. ArvinMeritor
• 4. Conexant
• 5. Mindspeed
• 6. Skyworks
• Weave into the case study the theme of “Strategic Innovation,” which has been adopted by UCI – The Paul Merage School of Business and The Don Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
• Design and publish a high-quality book.
• Communicate the final product and message(s) to target audiences.
• Edit and enrich existing document through interviews with Don Beall and key members of his Rockwell management/transition team.
• Work with constituents to develop interview format/questionnaire.
• Conduct interviews by phone or in person to:
• Determine accuracy of existing narrative and financial information
• Obtain anecdotes depicting how the transformation impacted the workforce – highlighting the Human Resources – or people – portion of the story (strategies, tactics, and outcomes)
• Get the real story of “what kept me up at night” from key players at key decision-making points
• Determine what was the decision-making process for these decision makers and decision points
• Analyze and distill information into a format that will add the most value to the overall case study
• Edit existing narrative to ensure a consistent voice and style throughout the piece
• Identify, gather, and integrate visuals (financial charts, photos, drawings, etc.) that helps tell the story and answer the question, “What Happened to Rockwell.”
• Summarize interview input and write a compelling story that will enrich the existing case study and final book

Conclusion

Don and Joan Beall made a major contribution in 2007 to fund the Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California at Irvine. The school also provided valuable assistance to this project and uses the book as a resource for the graduate school.

The book, “Formation, Evolution and Transformation of Rockwell” is available at: https://bookscouter.com/publisher/dartbrook-partners-llc