Main points during Schafer's tenure(1985-1990) Concerning the main points of interest during Schafers tenure, it is appreciated that

there was a shift from in-house production to global outsourcing. The application of the policy of "shopping around the world" suggested the purchase of low-cost component from suppliers who maintained high quality standards. What this resulted in is the outsourcing of 80% of parts. In terms if branding strategy this took the form of purchasing of final product for resale under CAT nameplate and this action helped in minimizing the cost of production "cost-reduction". It is learnt here that even though there was a shift toward abroad production, they had maintained control over product design which can be categorized under Cat's capabilities as "Design capability and quality control". Concerning the product line extension, it was observed that as the demand for light equipments increase, Cat had to redesign their product line to offer new product "light equipment" and to acquire potential and desirable profit of this promising new market. What they did in response to this was to double the product line from 150 to 300. High on Cats agenda was new target markets via the "New potential customers plan. It is appreciated that the new market was saturated with market leader's products which meant "competitive threat", slim margins, and low profit. Concerning labor relations, in order to prepare to face the threat of strikes, Cat had to mend its tensional relationship with the union. This was accomplished by Schaefer via leading the negotiations with the union ahead. What he did here was to follow the consensual style in leadership which paved the way for the free flow of ideas and open communication. It is learnt that he achieved an agreement with the union that reduce the number of labor grades and job classification. For employee involvement, this played a "key role in turnaround strategy". There was the introduction of an involvement program which was labelled as called Employee Satisfaction. The impact of this program was on the manufacturing and HRM strategies. What this resulted in is productivity gains, quality improvement, and employee satisfaction and cost saving. The ESP program was applied to outside suppliers. Plant modernization played a "key role in turnaround strategy" The plant with a future (PWAF) program that went along with the employee involvement program, combined (JIT) inventory techniques, automation schemes, computerized network tools to challenge well-established rival, Komatsu. Concerning the outcomes, there consisted of the change in the layout of an entire plant and this program was implemented companywide. It is learnt that the plant layout breakdown into work cells had assisted Cat in solving the problems of delay parts delivery and early arrival as well. In addition to this, then utilization of automated monorail helped in reduces material handling.

In essence, under the PWAF the quality improved, workers became more empowered, and problems of quality and safety were resolved very fast. Among the characteristics of Schafer's tenure was that Cat had reemerged as global competitive, flexible structured and technological advanced company. More significantly, Cat's market share regained, revenues had increased, and their sales totaled twice the sales reported by Komatsu.

Main points during Fite's tenure(1990-1999) During the tenure of Fite`s and irrespective of all the achievements that during Schaefer tenure, Caterpillar had faced the continuous threat that took the form of an increased value of dollar, and hence its can be said here that the "high value of dollar effects the foreign sales in term of exchange rates. Change and transformational process were introduced by Fites and the reason for this was the financial trouble As far as the leadership style was concerned, Fites has a hard outlook and was a very determined yet feared and respected person In addition to this, he was also impressed by the Japanese style in organization structure and HRM issues. More importantly he had revamped the product development process and applied a new approach that was based exclusively on Japanese-style functional teams Concerning the organization structure, it was found that the structure of Caterpillar was archaic and it was only suitable for small companies. In essence, it was centralized with only 4 functions which comprised of engineering, manufacturing, marketing, and finance". It was quite apparent that as the company started to expand globally in dramatic fashion, this structure didn't fit Caterpillar anymore and hence there was a dire need for it to be changed. What Fites had found was the practice of profit centers or divisions to equip the company with the flexibility, speed, and agility which is necessary to operate globally. What he did here was to form 17 profit centers and 13 were responsible for products and 4 for services. It is appreciated that this division facilitated downsizing in terms of workforce reduction and cost saving. It is theorized that this move from functional to divisional structure was advantageous as it was a profit making move which had also transformed the methods of managerial compensation (based it on ROA). In essence, it was observed that all activities had been more customers driven than any time. In terms of marketing and dealership, it was learnt that under the divisional structure dealers seeking assistance could contact any profit center and what this did was to enhance time saving capabilities. More importantly, this facilitated the interaction

between Cat's managers and its dealers. It can be said here that this close relation led the network of dealership to be extended and annual sales to be increased. It is learnt that Caterpillar had always encouraged and protected its dealers against failure and this comprised of factors such as discounted prices, reduce costs, promotional campaign. It is understood here that caterpillars cooperated with its dealers in several ways such as the conducting of surveys among customers, Partners in Quality program. It has also invited dealers to discuss strategies, goals, plans, and polices.

With regards to information technology, it is understood that Cat had invested in expanding its worldwide computer network and it has the most comprehensive and fastest part delivery in the industry. More significantly, Cat lunched the electronic alert information system and this serve to provide technological leadership. In matters concerning diversification, Cat had expanded its product line and sales into farm and forest products. It has produced engines for sale rather than for internal use only. It was learnt that cat had purchased two foreign companies in very important acquisition. We now talk about labour relations. As far gas labour relations are concerned, much of Fites attention was focused on this and this had resulted in cutting the company's labor cost. Essentially he refused to pay union pattern of pages because his global competitors paid lower overseas. Hence, Cat faced a lot strikes in this period and survived. However, one strike had spelt the end of cat's ESP program. It is learnt that in 1998, Cat and the union reached an agreement that clearly favored Caterpillar. What Fites was looking for here was a contract with the union because cat needed a flexible wage arrangement, stable employment relations, and a more cooperative workforce. This was necessary for the purposes of making its ride as smooth as possible during the downturn.

Main points during Barton's tenure (1999-

It is appreciated that Barton had been faced with some difficulties and challenges in 1999 and these comprised of profit decreased and most significantly of all, the most profitable market "North America" was in a slump. Barton believed that Cat should take the advantage of its global position and to do this, it would have to increase sales overseas. This called for expansion into new markets. Essentially, developed countries had been the new target under Barton leadership and the sales of Caterpillar increased as the company move of expanding into developed countries markets was a strategic priority. Concerning the issue of diversification, it is learnt here that this strategy protected Caterpillar from the movements of boom and bust. In addition to this, Cat's engine business was further diversified and it achieved tremendous growth in sales of electric diesel generators. However, a problem faced by Cat came in the form of pollution.

The company recommended adherence to a plan which would double the farm equipments sale. In terms of the development of new distribution channel, it is submitted here that Cat expanded its rental equipment business. By doing this new category of customers had been reached. Barton had provided help to dealers to enter into the rental business and besides this, cat also designed Rental Store Program to assist dealers.

Cat also sought to build strong alliances with global competitors and utilized a joint venture to expand into market and diversify into new product. It is appreciated here that Cat had two promising joint venture with DaimlerChrysler to build medium engines and manufacture fuel systems. Looking towards the future, there are a number of bright prospects for Cat but two major concerns have been theorized as having the potential to affect the company's future and these comprise of labor relations & also the impact of E-commerce.