M: Business 3rd Edition by O. C. Ferrell, Geoffrey Hirt, Linda Ferrell

Exercise 92

In 2009 Ursula Burns became the first black female CEO of a Fortune 500 corporation when she took over the top position at Xerox. Burns credits her rise from intern to CEO to hard work. While she admits that Xerox’s support of diversity probably helped her at the beginning of her career, Burns’s straightforward style and strong work ethic helped her rise to the top.

Raised in poverty by a single mother who worked hard so that her children could attend private school, Burns learned the value of hard work at an early age. She first went to work at Xerox as an intern in 1980 and never left the company. Burns was quickly promoted, finally becoming president in 2007. Thanks to her no-nonsense management style, Burns helped Xerox find success by improving efficiency and customer service.

According to her peers, Burns has all the skills necessary to successfully lead Xerox as the company’s top manager: technical expertise and conceptual, analytical, and human relations skills. Burns will need these skills in coming years. During the last economic recession, Xerox faced losses as customers purchased less and product prices fell. People and businesses are also beginning to use less paper as they move from copies to e-mail to share information. However, Burns has a strong history of innovation and is making plans to expand Xerox’s capabilities.

One of her strategies is to adjust the company’s corporate culture. She hopes to use the downturn as a time to encourage her employees worldwide to become more independent and self-managing. Her goal is to establish trust between herself and her workers, empowering them to make the right decisions on their own. Burns’s shared commitment to both employees and innovation may be just what Xerox needs to point the company in a new direction.

How do you think Ursula Burns’s early life prepared her for her current position at Xerox?

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The ability to continue with the course of actions, even in the most difficult time is the story of UB. She was raised by a single mother in an extremely poor family. From the early age, she took control of her life and invested disproportionate amount of energy towards her education, that prepared her for her current position at company X. Her journey from a tough childhood to the top of a multibillion – dollar organization is inspiration for many.