3m and Norton
3M and Norton
Evolutionary vs. Classical Strategic Management
A Case Study from Jim Collins & Jerry Porras, Built to Last, 1997
Questions for Discussion
(1) 3M’s strategy contradicts nearly everything that an MBA program is supposed to teach you about planning and control. Explain:
a. How would marketing studies and product planning benefit 3M in producing more successful products?
b. How 3M can expect to survive in the long run if it is unable to compute the return on investment and cash flow of each project in which it invests?
c. Whether or not 3M actually has a ‘stealth’ planning system?
d. What is the risk associated with 3M’s strategy?
e. What alternatives can produce the same return without the risk associated with 3M’s strategy?
(2) 3M seems to be quite lenient with managers whose projects fail to meet ROI targets. Can you think of a way to prevent 3M’s product failures and keep generating profitable products? What would such a strategy look like?
(3) Many of 3M’s products seem trivial (such as Post-it Notes), and accidental. Has 3M just been lucky in the past? Would it be able to improve its performance if instead it targeted particular markets and products, and directed its engineers to develop products specifically that would sell? What would such a strategy look like?
(4) 3M’s relaxed environment is likely to attract freeloaders and deadwood to their staff. How should 3M manage these problem employees? Is there a Human Resources strategy that can prevent the accumulation of non-performing employees in a relaxed, self-motivating work environment like 3M’s?
(5) Classical strategy involves detailed formulations of mission statements and strategic plans, and the organization of employees to implement these plans. Why do Classical strategies fail to work in companies like 3M and Norton?
(6) How could Norton have modified its strategy to compete successfully with 3M?
Evolution at 3M
We like to describe the evolutionary
Evolutionary vs. Classical Strategic Management
A Case Study from Jim Collins & Jerry Porras, Built to Last, 1997
Questions for Discussion
(1) 3M’s strategy contradicts nearly everything that an MBA program is supposed to teach you about planning and control. Explain:
a. How would marketing studies and product planning benefit 3M in producing more successful products?
b. How 3M can expect to survive in the long run if it is unable to compute the return on investment and cash flow of each project in which it invests?
c. Whether or not 3M actually has a ‘stealth’ planning system?
d. What is the risk associated with 3M’s strategy?
e. What alternatives can produce the same return without the risk associated with 3M’s strategy?
(2) 3M seems to be quite lenient with managers whose projects fail to meet ROI targets. Can you think of a way to prevent 3M’s product failures and keep generating profitable products? What would such a strategy look like?
(3) Many of 3M’s products seem trivial (such as Post-it Notes), and accidental. Has 3M just been lucky in the past? Would it be able to improve its performance if instead it targeted particular markets and products, and directed its engineers to develop products specifically that would sell? What would such a strategy look like?
(4) 3M’s relaxed environment is likely to attract freeloaders and deadwood to their staff. How should 3M manage these problem employees? Is there a Human Resources strategy that can prevent the accumulation of non-performing employees in a relaxed, self-motivating work environment like 3M’s?
(5) Classical strategy involves detailed formulations of mission statements and strategic plans, and the organization of employees to implement these plans. Why do Classical strategies fail to work in companies like 3M and Norton?
(6) How could Norton have modified its strategy to compete successfully with 3M?
Evolution at 3M
We like to describe the evolutionary