3m Case: Business Strategies over Its History Essay

1. Describe the organizational structures and devices 3M uses to encourage entrepreneurial activity. Why do they work? 3M heavily based its business on innovation and while doing this it always supported its employees in terms of being innovative. 3M also always followed the alternative ways in order to increase their profit and market share, and they found that one of the best ways is through organizational innovation. Therefore, in order to improve their business 3M developed 6 different strategies over its history. These strategies helped 3M to promote entrepreneurship and increase customer satisfaction within the market. First strategy of 3M’s was getting close to customers and understanding their needs.3M started their businesses by selling sandpaper and the only way they could generate sales was by getting close to the customers and demonstrating their products for them. This helped them to understand customer’s needs better based on the feedbacks they get from demonstrating their products to this selected group of customers. Afterwards, as a second strategy they tried to seek out niche markets no matter how small they are. Following the success of the first strategy, 3M found that if they offered customers what they wanted, these customers will be loyal to their company. Thus they developed the second strategy to seek niche markets no matter how small, as this will allow them for charge premium prices for their products. Then they included product diversification as the third strategy. By being close to the customers, 3M identified problems that they can solve for their customers through technical expertise. This was efficient as it ensure that they continued to diversify their product offerings by developing new products to solve new or unattended customer needs. Once 3M found a new product to offer in their niche market they would move on to develop related products and thus occupy leadership positions in these markets. As the fourth strategy, they gave importance to the product development and innovation through research. This strategy was developed in line with the third strategy which was encouraging diversification. If 3M where to constantly diversify their product and service offering, the company understood that a support to its system is needed along with improved innovation and new product development to ensure that the company continues in line with their business model. As it is very important in any kind of developing business and as by time 3M gained a good place in market, they decided to get knowledge sharing strategy as the fifth one. This became official with the establishment of the technical forum in 1950s, with the aim of sharing knowledge within the company. This forum comprised of technical council and directors that held annual shows to encourage knowledge sharing in 3M. And lastly, as the sixth strategy they decided to adopt encourage achievement through a rewarding system. This strategy was adopting an employee appraisal scheme that was encouraging achievement by rewarding employees who generated successful business ideas. Employees that successful innovate new products are promoted to be the managers of that product division, this ensured that other staff members are motivated to work harder and discover new product innovation as they seek to one day become managers of their developed product lines. 2. How does 3M distinguish between incremental and fundamental innovations? 3M established a new product development central research laboratory in 1940 in other to distinguish between fundamental and incremental innovation. This approach helped the company to explore the feasibility of new products or technologies that were not related to existing ones. Incremental innovation means innovation made based on existing products and technologies while fundamental innovations are those that are not related to existing products or technologies. In the 1980s, two separate laboratories were developed in order to identify the long term and the short term researches. Short term researches were more of incremental innovation that were designed to respond to industrial and consumer needs, life science, electronics and information technologies and graphic technologies with a life span of 1-5 years. However the corporate lab was designed for fundamental innovations with researches of over 10 years. 3. Describe, as best you can from the case, the culture of the organisation. What does this depend upon? 3M based its success on entrepreneurship fundamentals and innovation. Innovation was encouraged originally in an informal way by the founders, but was later formalized over a century into an organizational culture. The organizational culture is one which encourages innovation, and it has helped 3M to realize success over the years as it was perpetuating itself. Actually this specific culture of 3M’s evolved from the place of origin which was called ‘Minnesota Nice’. It is described as a non-political, low ego, egalitarian and non-hierarchical, hardworking and self-critical. 4. Why has 3M been such a successful innovator for so long? 3M’s success in innovation can be traced back to their employee appraisal. This is because; the organization has found the missing link which numerous organizations tend to overlook when it comes to showing appreciation towards employee’s efforts. 3M is achievement oriented and achievement particularly through research was rewarded through promotion. For instance, successful new product teams were spun off to form a new division in the organization. The leader of the team is often the general manager of the new division and this w as seen as a great motivator. Lesser achievements were also rewarded and failure is not punishable. This increase in 3M employees’ motivation level has been the key to their long term success as their staffs continually give out their best for the organizational success. 5. Can other companies just copy 3M’s structures and culture and become successful innovators also? It is very popular among firms to copy the other firms’ ideas if these other firms are especially profitable. It can be said that if properly copied, organizations that copy 3M’s strategies and culture can be successful innovators as because, 3M’s culture generally employee appraisal and in business psychology. It can be said that the appraisal has been rated high as increasing employee’s motivation level and enhancing organizational success.

Economic Crisis in East Asian Country

A large economic downturn in East Asia threatens to end its nearly 30 year run of high growth rates. The crisis has caused Asian currencies to fall 50-60%, stock markets to decline 40%, banks to close, and property values to drop. The crisis was brought on by currency devaluations, bad banking practices, high foreign debt, loose government regulation, and corruption. Due to East Asia†s large impact on the world economy, the panic in Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, and other Asian countries has prompted other countries to worry about the affect on their own economies and offer aid to the financially troubled nations (Sanger 1). The East Asian crisis has affected almost all of the Asian ations, but the three hardest hit countries are Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea. The panic began in Thailand in May of 1997 when speculators, worried about Thailand†s slowing economy, excessive debt, and political instability devalued the baht as they fled for market-driven currencies like the American dollar. Indonesia†s economy soon fell soon after when the rupiah hit a record low against the U. S. dollar. Indonesia is plagued by more than $70 billion worth of bad debts and a corrupt and inefficient government. Thailand and Indonesia also suffer from being overbuilt during real estate booms that Reven2 were the result of huge influxes of cash by optimistic foreign investors. South Korea faltered under the weight of its huge foreign debt, decreasing exports, and weakening currency (Lochhead 4-5). Other major countries touched by the crisis are Japan, China, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Japan†s economy is burdened by $300 billion in bad bank loans and a recession. Chinese banks may carry bad banks loans of up to $1 trillion. The banks lend 66% of China†s investment capital to state-run industries that only produce 12% of China†s industrial output (Manning 2). Malaysia and the Philippines are both faced with devalued currencies and lowered stock markets The implications of the Asian financial crisis are many. A declining Asian economy will reduce demand for U. S. and other countries† exports. The devalued currencies of East Asia will make Asian imports seen cheap and will lead to increased American imports, thus increasing our trade deficit (Lochhead 2). A worldwide banking mergency could result if the embattled Asian economies failed to pay back their loans to the U. S. and other countries (Duffy 2). If the Asian economies fall further, in a desire to raise cash, they might sell the hundreds of billion dollars of U. S. treasuries they now own, leading to higher interest rates and an American recession (Lacayo 2). An article in the Economist reported that the Asian economic turmoil and the layoffs that may result, could instigate increased discontent and possibly give rise to violent strikes, riots, and greater political instability (1-2). Reven 3 Since the financial tumult causes instability in the world market, several solutions have been proposed designed to restore the health of the Asian economy. The International Monetary Fund is offering $60 billion in aid packages to Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea (Lacayo 1). The aid will be used for converting short-term debt to long-term debt and to keep currencies from falling lower in the world market (Passell 2). Lower currency values make repaying loans to other nations more difficult (Sanger 1 ). The aid packages are tied to measures that will ensure that the recipient countries reform their economies. Some of the measures the nations must follow are increasing taxes to decrease budget deficits, ending corruption, increasing banking regulation, improving accounting information so investors can make better decisions, closing insolvent banks, selling off inefficient state enterprises, and increasing interest rates to slow growth and encourage stability (Lacayo 3). Hopefully these market reforms will allow East Asia to improve its economic outlook. Since most of the Asian nations have balance budgets, low inflation, cheap labor, pro-business governments, and high savings rates, the long-term outlook for these countries is very good (Marshall 1). The financial crisis, instead of destroying the Asian tigers, will merely serve as a much needed lesson in debt management, orderly growth, competent accounting practices, and efficient government. Considering the size of Asias contribution to the world economy, a rapid recovery will be greatly anticipated.

Consulting article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Consulting article - Essay Example Certainly, most people do not really require hand held internet access, video camera and telephone in the same device. However, communications within a company requires compatibility. In the case of communications, providing compatible hardware is more important than upgrading. Technology change generally would not be a vital factor in the decision to upgrade unless a specific application requiring the upgrade became available. Health diagnostic equipment is high cost and regulated on a need basis. The desire to expand a hospital by adding 50 beds to meet a health demand may occur years before a Certificate of Need (CON) process is completed. The anticipated technology incorporated in the certificate application may be functionally antiquated. Technology may eliminate the need for the beds. So, when management collects data to assess the decision in-house, they must anticipate future developments or their time will be wasted lobbying for an irrelevant change. The environmental remedi ation regulations are both pliable and rigid. Brownfield sites are judged on a â€Å"risk assessed† basis to encourage redevelopment of contaminated sites. The building may be restricted to industrial usage only, or perhaps residential with no basements. The increased allowable limits of contamination are attained at less cost than full compliance remediation. Once the site is cleared for redevelopment, utilities are installed. However, now instead of Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) regulations, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations cover workers in trenches cut from contaminated soil. OSHA may require breathing apparatus and specialty clothing to work in a hydrocarbon rich environment. Worker safety and health regulations are much more rigid. The soil cuttings may be unusable on the site, but removal is complicated since the increased, compromised, level of contamination is greater than landfills can receive. The cost of disposal incr eases. Management requires a broader view of Brownfield development in this scenario because future costs and inconvenience may outweigh the initial savings. Time and application change the regulations regarding levels of contamination, and therefore, the company bottom line. In these three examples, technology, regulations and consumer demand change with time and the application of technology. Prudent business manages to the balance sheet and the income statement. In the first scenario, with telecommunications devices, forecasting technological change is relatively accurate and simple. Poor decisions do not affect the bottom line too badly, and overcoming the poor decision is not difficult. In the latter scenarios, poor decisions complicate operations and negatively affect the bottom line. And unfortunately, forecasting change is difficult. The health care system problem resolves when management â€Å"hindcasts† technological change. Using the hospital bed example, managemen t needs to look at two past trends. Population growth and bed utilization data in the service area for the past ten years will show a trend comparing supply and demand. When service area population increases, bed utilization should increase if the number of beds remains constant, unless technology reduces in-hospital stays. So, the proper statistic is rate of bed utilization per 1000 people. If this number is decreasing faster than the population increa

Interpretative Panel of Cypriot Bichrome III equestrian figurine, Article

Interpretative Panel of Cypriot Bichrome III equestrian figurine, Cypro-Archaic II, c. 600475 BCE - Article Example The artifacts had originally been excavated from Cyprus between 1955 and 1961 after the famous James Stewart’s expeditions to Cyprus.2 Despite being a professor of archeology at Sydney University, James Stewart received significant support for his archeological expeditions from the University of Melbourne. As a result, the expeditions were largely known as Melbourne Cyprus Expeditions and many artefacts such as Cypriot Bichrome III equestrian figurine were later allocated to the University of Melbourne. Historically, figurines of horses mounted with riders were particularly common in during the cyproarchaic II periods. Cyprus the origin of the figurines is a Mediterranean island situated south of Turkey, Easy of Greece, North of Egypt and west of Syria and Lebanon3. Equestrian figurines are small sculptures of horses and their riders. Generally, similar historic artifact of equestrian figurines like the one currently housed in the university of Melbourne art collection have been found in various sanctuaries and tombs belonging to stone age Cyprus societies4. It is widely believed that during the antiquities (particularly between 600 and 475 BCE), little figures were commonly left by worshippers at sanctuaries as part of the offerings of the ancient Cypriots to their gods and goddesses5. However, it was expensive to own a horse during the cypro achaic II period and it is only probable that the figurines like the cypriot Bichrome III equestrian sculpture may have been left by the wealthy and nobles who may have wanted to emphasize how important or wealthy they were. Sagona, A., ‘Horse and rider figurine’, in C. McAuliffe and P. Yule, Treasures: Highlights of the Cultural Collections of the University of Melbourne, The Miegunyah Press: Carlton, 2003, pp. 134–

Health Administarion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Health Administarion - Essay Example This innovation and creativity will be more advanced than the previous one and hence improve the quality of the good, attract more customers and reduce competition of the product. In order for customers to reflect or indicate their full satisfaction on a product or service quality, they have to see integrity and accountability measures being taken by the organization and this assures them of constant quality product. There is need for these two virtues are usually indicated in these surveys. If the results are to be followed and the virtues ensured, then there will be an increased trust in the products and an improvement in the outcomes based on quality. Finally, disgruntled customers make criticisms when filling out these customer satisfaction surveys. These criticisms are usually accompanied by suggestions of how the customers expected the quality of the product or service to be. If the suggestions of the unsatisfied customers is paid attention to and acted upon, then the final quality of the product or service would

Network Security Plan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Network Security Plan - Term Paper Example The physical security will involve securing network cables and servers from intruders. The intruders might originate from within the organization or from outside. Response teams in case of any intrusion will include people like the network security companies or the information technology department within an organization. The response plan to network failure may include having some redundant network cables laid down within the building. The wireless network will provide response plan by having multiple access points covering the same area. The security plan will try to identify what network infrastructure is easily accessible by intruders to the network. Different forms of validation will be proposed to prevent unauthorized person from accessing the network. The network will be evaluated by inviting white hat hackers to try and hack into the network. The hackers will provide a list detailing weaknesses in the network together with some improvement proposals. The incidence response wi ll provide situations where third party organization provides the infrastructure to run the organization in times of crisis. Some of the infrastructure providers are the telephone company providing their line for network connection while the fiber optic cable is down. Incident Response 4 Support 5 Vulnerability assessment 6 Code injection leak test 6 Substation leak test 7 Network scanning 7 Manual testing on passwords 8 Carrying out vulnerability tests in links 8 Physical Security 9 Spyware 9 Incidence response policy /Team 10 Incident Response The network users will face a denial to service incidence. The incidence will involve denying authorized users of the network crucial services like accessing mails over the network. The incidence can be caused by things like hackers flooding the network with data that are not needed by the users of the network. Such flooding will slow down the network, and workers cannot even read an email using the organization network. The occurrence of de nial of service is a common thing within companies which might lead to dissatisfaction of customers and workers. Mitigation of such incidence would involve setting up firewalls within the network to identify any unwanted packets in the network. Response plan would involve purchasing packet scanning software. The software will identify packets that are flooding the organization network and their origin machine. The packets once identified termination of the network connection to the machines flooding the network should be carried out immediately. The backup network can be used at this situation leaving out the flooded network. Switching to the network will ensure the network runs at the preferred speed and delivery of service continues as planned. Another incident would be breakage of the backbone network which might be a fiber optic cable. The breakage of the cable might have been caused by vandals or natural calamities like floods, earth quakes and earth drift. Such situations woul d mean zero connection to the Internet because the network infrastructures are down. Having a redundant network connection from an Internet service provider can provide a response plan. The redundant network connection should be using totally different infrastructure to reduce the probability of the two networks not working. One of the infrastructures can be a network provider using satellite to provide connection. The satellite connection

What is the self and how can we know it, or can we know it at all Term Paper

What is the self and how can we know it, or can we know it at all - Term Paper Example Ascribing from the above definition it can be argued that the self refers to what someone perceives or thinks about himself. The self concept can be known when one becomes aware of oneself. An individual can know this concept when he belief on himself or herself and achieves a higher level of personal attributes awareness. It can be generally the self can be viewed o three strands perspective. First is the physical self who basically comprise the sense of embodiment, psychological self which is the ability to differentiate between self and others (Mitchell 56). Finally is the higher level sense which summarizes the actions attributed to the psychological and the physical self. The self can also be identified by the discourse and the conduct of the individual. In regard to this, the intentions of an individual and the actions which emanates can also be used to describe the self. The identity of the self concept of an individual is determined particularly by the distinct characteristic s and attributes of an individual (Mitchell 98). Descartes’ position on self Descartes’ position and perception of self is the ascription of the self to being the transcendent agent which can be referred to as homunculus. Descartes provides that the self is a non-natural entity citing the soul which basically determines the various human components and perceptions. On this agent causation view the concept of free is the cause of the actions which is attributed to the self and that it is free from the natural causation (Mitchell 115). This Descartes’ position on self can be referred to as indeterminism where the argument is basically based on the free will of the individuals. The argument is further based on the moral responsibility and it asserts that the existence of the self leads to existence of the free will which is responsible for an individual actions. This position in is perceived voidable because of the belief of the existence of the soul which basicall y affect the human way of thinking and how bodies react. The self of an individual is highly connected to the source of the personal identity (Mitchell 120). Descartes’ position on self ascribes to the fact that the soul is relevant in determining the identity of an individual. This is further attributed to the soul imperceptibility and being the source of the identity. The weakness of this view is the fact that the soul may change having the same memoires attributes and the doubt in regard to the change and dynamism of personal behaviors (Mitchell 146). Locke’s empiricism and the self Locke’s empiricism and the self are based on the argument which considers the self as immortal and attributes it to the personal immortality. Locke asserts that the self doesn’t know the nature it ought to have in order to be able to think. The determination of the soul identity is also ascribed since matter is basically in a continuous flux. He further argue that the key t o the self of a person is individual is memory. What makes a person attributed to the self is the ability to posses the living awareness of the personal interest which basically makes a person who he or she is. In this Locke’s view of the self the aspect of memory having substantial basis is taken into account. There is the possibility of the self having immortality without opposing anti-dogmatism. The strengths associated to this perception are that it justifies the belief of individual self, its gives a common ground of discussing the validity of the personal self (Mitchell 78). The weaknesses of this stand are that it does not clearly explain the demarcation