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Suggestion for major article update

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Hello to anyone watching this page! I'm working on behalf of Steelcase to prepare suggestions for improving this article. As it is now, the article uses some unencyclopedic language and does not follow several of Wikipedia's guidelines. For example, it needs more inline citations, shouldn't use trademark symbols, should be written in prose rather than a list, and needs sentence case headings. In addition, the majority of sources cited are the company's own website. My goals for strengthening the article include reworking bulleted sections into prose, introducing reputable, secondary sourcing, and reorganizing information under standard headings. Because I have a conflict of interest, I will not be making any direct edits. Instead, I will give suggestions here on the Talk page and look for other editors to give feedback and make the changes if there is consensus.

I have several suggestions for new sections such as Company overview and Noteworthy products, but I'd like to suggest adding a new History section to start. Information about the company's history is currently incomplete and spread between sections. Some of it is written in the present tense and much of it lacks sourcing. I drafted a new section that incorporates the most noteworthy information (that I was able to find reliable sourcing to support) from what is already in the Company History and Milestones and Innovations sections, and I added additional facts found in my research on the company. My intention is for this draft to take the place of both Company History and Milestones and Innovations. Here's the draft:

Language for History
History

Steelcase was founded as the Metal Office Furniture Company in 1912 by Peter M. Wege in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Wege was a veteran of the sheet metal and fireproofing industry and had filed approximately 25 patents prior to starting the company. The Metal Office Furniture Company's first products included fireproof metal safes and four-drawer filing cabinets, which Wege invented and manufactured for the Macey Company.[1]

In 1914, the company received its first product patent for "The Victor," a fireproof steel wastebasket. The Victor gained popularity due to its light weight—achieved through a patented process of bending flat steel at right angles to create boxes—and its ability to prevent fires at a time when smoking was common indoors, particularly in the workplace.[2][3] In 1915, the company began manufacturing and distributing steel desks after designing and producing 200 for Boston's first skyscraper, the Custom House Tower.[2] In 1937, the company collaborated with Frank Lloyd Wright on office furniture for the Johnson Wax Headquarters. The partnership lasted two years and resulted in some of the first modern workstations.[2][4]

The name Steelcase was a result of an advertising campaign to promote metal office furniture over wood and was trademarked in 1921.[5] The company officially changed its name to Steelcase, Inc. in 1954.[3][4]

The company became known as the leader of the furniture industry in the late 1960s due to the volume of its sales.[3][6] Steelcase expanded into new markets during the 1970s, including Asia, Europe, and North Africa.[6] In 1973, the company debuted the Series 9000 furniture line, an office system that became a best seller and the company's flagship brand.[7][8] That same year, the company delivered the largest single furniture shipment to the then-new Sears Tower. The delivery included 43,565 pieces of furniture and furnished 44 floors.[6][4]

During the 1980s and 1990s, Steelcase shifted its approach to designing and creating products in response to changes in the workplace and economy. The company also focused on creativity and internal innovation by working closely with architects and interior designers to develop products as well the company's own workspace in Grand Rapids.[7][5] The company's current headquarters were built in 1983 on 901 44th St. SE in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[4] In 1989, Steelcase opened the pyramid-shaped Steelcase Inc. Corporate Development Center. The center contained ten research laboratories and workspaces meant to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration on product development.[7][5] In 1996, Steelcase became the majority stakeholder in design firm IDEO and the firm's CEO, David M. Kelley, became Steelcase's vice president of technical discovery and innovation.[9][10] Steelcase sold its shares back to IDEO's managers starting in 2007.[11] Also in 1996, Steelcase was found at fault in a patent infringement suit brought against them by Haworth, Inc., another furniture company. Steelcase was ordered to pay $211.5 million in damages and interest, thus ending a 17-year dispute with Haworth.[12] Steelcase became a publicly traded company in 1998 under the symbol SCS.[5]

During the 2000s, Steelcase reorganized its workforce and began integrating modern technologies in its products.[13] In 2000, the company opened Steelcase University, a center for ongoing employee development and learning.[14] Steelcase's wood furniture plant in Caledonia, MI earned LEED certification in 2001, becoming the first plant to receive the certification.[15] In 2002, Steelcase partnered with IBM to create BlueSpace, a "smart office" prototype designed using new office technologies.[16] In 2010, Steelcase and IDEO launched new models for higher education classrooms called LearnLabs.[17]

In March 2014, James Keane succeeded James Hackett as Steelcase's CEO.[13]

References

  1. ^ Susan Lovell (2003). Peter Martin Wege: A Biography. Pontiac, Michigan: Generations Publishing. pp. 21–29. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  2. ^ a b c "Steelcase Turns 100". Architecture. March 29, 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Karen Dybis (August 2012). "100 Years & Building:Steelcase CEO Guides Vision for Future". Corp! Magazine. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d Jim Harger (March 13, 2012). "Unlikely early product among 10 notable moments in Steelcase history (Steelcase at 100)". MLive. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d "Steelcase, Inc. - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Steelcase, Inc". referenceforbusiness.com. Reference for Business. 1998. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "100 Years of Innovation Timeline" (PDF). Metropolis. April 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  7. ^ a b c Margery B. Stein (April 1, 1990). "Teaching Steelcase to Dance". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  8. ^ Andi Esposito (July 25, 1999). "Hudson firm taking bite out of competition". Worcester Telegram & Gazette. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  9. ^ "Steelcase, IDEO Ally; Kelley Named Steelcase VP" (Press release). Steelcase. January 15, 1996. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  10. ^ Bruce Nussbaum (May 17, 2004). "The Power of Design". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  11. ^ Julia Bauer (September 20, 2007). "Steelcase's IDEO will be sold over next five years". Grand Rapids Press. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  12. ^ "$211.5 Million Award in Patent Lawsuit". The New York Times. December 31, 1996. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  13. ^ a b Shandra Martinez (January 19, 2014). "Steelcase CEO Jim Hackett leaves 'remarkable' tenure at retirement". MLive. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  14. ^ Jennifer J. Salopek (October 2011). "Learning Has a Seat at the Table". T+D. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  15. ^ Jennifer Caterino (December 20, 2010). "Green Industrial". Architect. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  16. ^ Claudia H. Deutsch (January 14, 2002). "New Economy; I.B.M. and Steelcase lay out their vision of the office of the future". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  17. ^ Kaomi Goetz (December 16, 2010). "How Steelcase Redesigned the 21st Century College Classroom". Fast Company. Retrieved 7 November 2014.

If editors could please take a look and let me know what they think, I'd appreciate it. I'm open to any feedback regarding language, sourcing, or information included. In the case that everything looks OK, I'd ask that another editor move this to the live article. Thanks! Heatherer (talk) 18:51, 10 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

This is tough. I notice already that you've santisized the history to delete, for instance, the lawsuit. This is exactly what companies don't get to write their Wikipedia entries. 842U (talk) 00:07, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Hi 842U. Thanks for taking a look! I actually didn't remove the lawsuit or even change the wording from what's currently in the article. It appears in my draft at the end of the paragraph that begins "During the 1980s and 1990s..." I'd be fine with having that information appear in its own paragraph, if you'd like.
I understand your skepticism, but I was very careful to retain all important events that are mentioned in the article. As I said in my above message, my primary concerns when drafting were sourcing, encyclopedic language, and reorganization. If you feel there's anything else I missed, I'm happy to take a look and see if I can incorporate it. Thanks, Heatherer (talk) 15:59, 24 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]
The article benefits from the proposed rewrite of the Company History and Milestones and Innovations sections into one section History. You have documented the proposed rewrite on this talk page, and you seem to be aware of conflict of interest, original research etc. issues. I have edited the article with your rewrite. Editors are encouraged to make changes to the article. Gmcbjames (talk) 04:05, 17 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, Gmcbjames, for reviewing and moving the draft over! I also invite any other editors to make additions or comments on the section if they have any. In the meantime, I was wondering if you had time to review some more suggestions I have for the article? If so, I can prepare a few notes about what those changes are.

My intention was to present suggestions to interested editors section by section, but since I've had such difficulty finding editors to review the History section, I was thinking it might be easiest to post the rest in one or two additional messages, allowing clear separation in case they require separate discussion. I've placed everything in my user space here for now, but I am happy to work through it either way. What do you think? Thanks! Heatherer (talk) 16:37, 18 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Heatherer, I propose integrating your proposed new sections into the article. I have compared the current article with your rewrite, and believe the article will be improved. I also propose replacing the current introduction with your rewrite, updating the image for the infobox, and moving the current image from the infobox into the body of the article. After making these edits, I encourage editors to make improvements to the article and discuss on this talk page any issues needing to be addressed. I have a couple of suggestions for clarification and improvement I would like to make and will do so after editing the article with your proposals. On a side note, I would like to commend you for being open and honest regarding possible NOR, COI, and NPV issues and the willingness to seek consensus. Gmcbjames (talk) 18:12, 18 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
This is now  Done. Cheers, Gmcbjames (talk) 18:18, 20 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]
I somehow missed this message, Gmcbjames. Thank you so much for all your help—I appreciate that you gave it such a thorough review! I've also responded to your note below. Hopefully, this article can be improved even further. Thanks again! Heatherer (talk) 20:44, 2 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 12 January 2021 and 30 April 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): JovanaOlivas, SophiaGeyer, S1happy. Peer reviewers: Jessicalidberg, FlyingLobster, Klcruz1, Carolinelamarjewell, Mmillerk, CoxxCamm.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 10:10, 17 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Images

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This article could be improved by adding one or a couple of images of products mentioned in the section Noteworthy products. Gmcbjames (talk) 05:48, 21 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Good idea! I took a look to see if I could find any photos released under a Creative Commons 3.0 license, but no luck. I've reached out to Steelcase to see if they have any photos they'd be wiling to release. I'll let you know if I hear back. Thanks! Heatherer (talk) 20:41, 2 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Hi Gmcbjames! Good news: Steelcase has approved release of several product images that I've now uploaded on Wikimedia Commons. Each of the products are mentioned in the Noteworthy products section, and, additionally, "The Victor" and Series 9000 are also mentioned in the History section. Here are the links:
Do you think you would be able to add some of these to the article? Thanks! Heatherer (talk) 16:36, 5 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]
This is indeed good news Heatherer. I added the images to the article and with these additions, the article has been enhanced. If you would like to adjust the placement of the images or make minor edits to the image descriptions you may do so - or you can ask here. Thank you. Cheers Gmcbjames (talk) 17:41, 5 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Looks great, Gmcbjames! I don't think anything needs to be adjusted or edited. Thank you very much for your help. Heatherer (talk) 13:18, 6 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Commenting out references to ReferenceForBusiness

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I had to comment out some blocked sources in order to save this page from a hijack. Will need to rectify this in the future. ~XyNqtc 09:52, 17 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

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