MBC Ventures, Inc. is a 161 year-old company that is going through both product and
organizational transitions. It has left one of its traditional product lines, paint brushes, behind and
has developed a new one, solar panels. The organization has gone from being part of a large
diversified conglomerate to a small employee-owned company with two distinct product lines. The
second product line, solar panels, has been added only recently. The organization has gone from
being a product unit within a hierarchically-oriented, large diversified conglomerate to an
independent, team-oriented, egalitarian organization. The conglomerate was a publically traded
organization; whereas, MBC Ventures is employee owned. The transition to employee ownership
would not have been possible without the cooperation and financial assistance of the United
Steelworkers union. These transitions that have occurred since 1990 have not been without
problems including two major recessions. Currently, the company is doing quite well. This case
discusses how the firm has implemented employee ownership and participatory management, and
its decision to diversify into a new growth product line. Some financial results are provided.