Family Issues of Employees: The Case of Excel Industries, Inc.

Abstract

This is an authentic case study dealing with corporate communication, media relations, community relations, and the operation of an employee child care center on the premises of a company in the Midwestern United States known as Excel Industries, Inc. The company is a supplier of window systems to the automotive industry that acquired a subsidiary firm known as Nyloncraft, Inc. The decision of Excel Industries executives to close a child care center operated by Nyloncraft, Inc. caused great harm to the reputation of the company, largely because of media coverage and community reaction. Corporate executives acknowledge that careful planning and a different approach to communicating the message might have saved them from considerable grief and criticism.