...Change at DuPont The case of Change at DuPont did not involve a particular problematic scenario. Change was constant at the plant and it was part of doing business hence the lack of change management as a rubric. More change was anticipated regardless of any formal change management practices. In order to guide the anticipated changes, the plant manager, Tom, was seeking new business insights from the academic community. Tom’s main focus was to educate managers on new ideas to apply them for further development and expansion of the plant. Furthermore, Tom was not looking for assistance in solving particular problems at the plant but was interested in improving the plant’s overall efficiency as he was under pressure to deliver results. 1. Using specific examples from the story, describe the extent to which each of the three approaches to change are evident in the DuPont case. a. OD The OD approach is quite evident in the DuPont case with the exception of the post-action data gathering and evaluation step. Tom, the plant manager, realized the need to improve the organizational effectiveness and consulted a university professor, Gib Akin, to shed new light on his business operations. Gib took the initiative for collecting the data by physically attending the plant and interviewing employees and managers. In addition, Gib advised leadership on how to introduce change to their employees. Managers and supervisors were advised on what actions they need to take, for example as Palmer...
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...Change at DuPont 1. Answer to Question no.1 Organization Development OD - I think OD is the main focus at DuPont. This can be concluded from the following: • Tom approached university of Virginia to bring the latest business thinking and to introduce managers to new ideas and apply them to improve the efficiency and the plant over all even without having any problems. This emprises that Tom is seeking the organizational development • Tom was looking for improving the company and the employees and hence will lead to stability and sustainability • In order to have this vision, Tom seems to have the necessary skills to ensure that the change is taking place. This is because the OD approach needs various skills and inter-personal skills to implement since it involves working with team and gaining confidences and trust • OD approach needs various skills The Appreciative Inquiry - This approach seeks to identify the recent working condition or scenario and knowledge which would help in developing and designing of the correct future for the organization by the way of discovery of new practices, building of new dreams for the organization and designing or construction of prospective ideas and implementation of those prospective ideas in future. The appreciative approach would help in conduction of effective supervision and any kind of dispute between the management and the employee. In the case of DuPont this is done when Mr. Gib Akin (the professor from...
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...September 28, 2013 DuPont Case Study Introduction Tom Harris is the General Manager of DuPont, which is the major employer in their community. Big changes had taken place when the Orlon plant had closed down, but few changes had taken place. Projects such as getting rid of one operation and installing another was being seen as regular business so there was no change management rubric. The root problem/key issues facing DuPont are closing of the Orlon Plant without creating a change management rubric that would frame the changes being made. Management did not meet with the employees to obtain feedback as to how the changes would affect them and causing management to miss the language and culture already established by its workers. Body 1. To what extent are the following approaches to change embedded in the DuPont story (justify your answer, providing specific examples) OD – Organizational Development is clearly the main focus here at DuPont. Tom had a vision to improve the organizational standards at DuPont not focusing on any problems that may have been present. The projected outcome for DuPont’s organizational structure was improving for the better of the company and the employees. Tom wanted to development to increase productivity for the company and its employees which would allow to company to be in a better stable place in the near future. Tom was building a strong foundation for the company which would benefit everyone involved. Tom seemed to show all...
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... Such as no texting, no speeding, no answering calls. 2. What the airbag company should do is get affiliated with well build car mechanics and have them change the airbag for them instead of the company doing it itself. So, when the company is informed about a deflated airbag they should immediately send an airbag to the closest mechanic next to the customer. There the mechanic changes the airbag and his fees will be paid by the company. “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” 1. What is PFOA and how did DuPont use it? Is PFOA a danger to the environment? How? If PFOA was/is a danger to the environment, why didn’t DuPont stop using it? PFOA is short for perfluorooctanoic acid. DuPont started purchasing PFOA from 3M for use in the manufacturing of Teflon. 3M invented PFOA just four years earlier; it was used to keep coatings like Teflon from clumping during production. PFOA’s chemical structure made it uncannily resistant to degradation. It also bound to plasma proteins in the blood, traveling through each organ in the body. An internal safety limit for PFOA concentration in drinking water: one part per billion. The same year, DuPont found that water in one local district contained PFOA levels at three times that figure. Despite internal debate, it declined to make the information public. DuPont decided...
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... Professor Terrell Glenda Prater Dec.01,2013 DuPont Industries Economic domestic indicators for DuPont Industries include employment situations, employment costs, productivity costs, product price index, consumer confidence, consumer price index, and ecomonic indicators which include attributes of indicators such as procylical, countercyclical and acyclic as well as timing and frequency of data. At DuPont Industries a workshop teaches paricipants to use leading and lagging indicators to measure and improve process efficiency and performance. The objective of this workshop is to help participants understand the role process safety metrics and indicators play in helping organizations continously improve their management of process risks. Participants will learn how world class organizations use safety metrics, including leading and lagging indicators in their journey towards excellence. DuPont has eleven best practice workshops available and is designed to introduce participants to DuPont’s best practices and describe how their participanting can help the organization prevent process related injuries and incidents. DuPont has been implementing Process Safety Management and Operational Risk Management concepts in their facilities...
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...MINIMALLY ACCEPTABLE DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING There are many methods presently available to test urine samples for drugs and to test for alcohol. It is not the intention of DuPont to dictate the methods by which employers of visitors conduct drug testing or alcohol testing. Nevertheless, in order to protect its interests, DuPont has determined certain minimally acceptable elements that must be present in any drug testing program or alcohol testing program whose results it will accept. To the extent a contractor is required by regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation to institute programs for its employees that include “pre-employment testing”, “reasonable cause testing”, and “random testing” requirements, compliance with such requirements will be regarded as compliance with the relevant DuPont provisions regarding testing. As such, testing regimens that comply with such regulations, including the drugs tested for and appropriate cutoffs for drugs and alcohol, shall be regarded as in compliance with DuPont requirements. Any contractor not subject to, or not in compliance with, the U.S. Department of Transportation regulations noted above, must meet the following minimally acceptable criteria for drug testing: 1. All specimens will be initially tested (screened) by an immunoassay test as that term is used in the U.S. Department of Transportation, “Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug Testing Programs,” 49 CFR Part 40 (hereinafter “Federal Procedures”)...
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...1978. In 1983 she received her master’s degree in Management from Kellogg school of management. Here is how she reached the top: as a Sales Rep at Westinghouse where she discovered her passion for business and as a Management Trainee at General Electric. She joined DuPont as a Marketing Manager in 1988 where she quickly moved up the corporate ladder and ultimately became the first female CEO of the 210 year old organization in January 1, 2009. Away from work, she married and had three children. Ms. Kullman travels the world to promote face to face relationships with her enormous corporate team but believes her own family is the most important. She is the 19th executive to lead the company founded in 1802. Prior to becoming CEO, Ms. Kullman was president of the company from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008. In 2012, she ranked number five in Fortune 500’s list of Most Powerful Women. Though DuPont is known for its dominance in chemicals, since becoming CEO Ms. Kullman has pushed the 210 year old company into unexpected new businesses (World of CEOs Dossiers, 2012). Analyze the CEO’s leadership style and philosophy, and how the CEO’s leadership style aligns with the culture. “Inclusive Innovation”, describes DuPont CEO’s leadership style and philosophy. It is a concept which she encourages and applies...
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...DuPont Divestiture of Conoco Student Name: Course ID: FIN561 Merger & Acquisition Assignment ID: Week 5 - You Decide Project Instructor: Jeffrey Hardin Date: November 29, 2013 Table of Content Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………….3 Executive Summary 1.0 Background The divestiture of Conoco by DuPont also reflected changing conditions in the energy industry. As noted in a May 12, 1998, article in the New York Times: DuPont bought the oil company in 1981 as insurance against the pricing and supply tactics of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. But oil prices have been far less volatile than it feared, and DuPont continues to de-emphasize the petrochemical side of its business, so having Conoco as a captive source of raw material is of less strategic importance. (“DuPont to Spin Off 20% of Conoco, the Rest to be Sold Later,” p. D4.) The divestiture of Conoco by DuPont also entailed a two-stage transaction. The equity carve-out in October 1998 represented 30% of Conoco’s shares. The remaining 70% was subsequently divested in August 1999. The divestiture was accomplished via a variant of a spin-off called an exchange offer whereby DuPont shareholders had the choice of either maintaining their DuPont shares or exchanging their stock in the parent for shares in the subsidiary. Q1. WHY HAS DUPONT DECIDED TO SEPARATE CONOCO FROM THE REST OF DUPONT? As part of our increased focus on our materials and life sciences ...
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...Executive Summary: On January, 1998, the Senior Executives of DuPont are considering possible divesture of Conoco. Based on financial analysis and economics data analysis, I propose that divest 40% shares and keep the mainly control of Conoco. We believe that divesting Conoco from DuPont will: - permit DuPont to expand its life sciences business, while at the same time allowing Conoco to pursue its investment program in new and capital-intensive oil and gas projects; - facilitate future partnerships, combinations and other arrangements between Conoco and other entities in the oil and gas business; - allow each company to offer incentives to its employees that are more closely linked to its performance; - permit each company to focus its managerial and financial resources on the growth of its business (2) And we also believe that by controlling Conoco, DuPont will: - benefit from the cost of control, promote competitive in other market which need to use crude oil as its raw material. - gain from the increasing price in crude oil in future cause the resources is nonrenewal. Thus, based on financial and economics perspectives, DuPont need to divest 40% of Conoco and keep control the rest of it. Analysis Ladies and gentlemen shareholders, Chairman, Director and Managers, It is a great pleasure to greet you all once again on behalf of the managers of DuPont, and welcome you to our shareholders’ meeting. Today, I have a big decision to announce...
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...most importantly to the environment. Studies have been done regarding the possible negative effects of the depletion of the ozone layer. First, it was said that a small 5% decrease in the ozone would probably produce thousands of new cases of skin cancer every year. Second, solar radiation can damage the planktons in the oceans which provide the world its oxygen supply. Apart from that, the existence of certain plant and animal species will be jeopardized. Lastly and probably the most alarming of all, the solar radiation can and will lead to climatic changes such as the melting of the polar ice caps which will then lead to a gradual rise of the sea levels and will eventually flood coastal areas around the world. A major cause of the depletion of the ozone layer are from the chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases that are released from aerosol spray cans which rises up to the stratosphere. A major player in this problem is the Dupont Company from the United States which is said to be the largest producer of the gases that harm the stratosphere. Aside from producing one billion pounds of fluorocarbons, the company is constructing a new chlorofluorocarbon plant which will be the largest in the world. Despite countless scientific experiments and researches regarding the ozone layer, a lot of people are still skeptical about the depletion and its effects. Most would say that the depletion is only but a myth or a theory with no real accurate results. DuPont’s move was to heckle the...
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...Growth Commitment Results 20 13 Impact Partners DATA B OO K DuPont Investor Relations Contents 1 2 DuPont Overview Corporate Financial Data Consolidated Income Statements Consolidated Balance Sheets Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Selected Additional Data 6 DuPont Science & Technology 8 Business Segments Agriculture Electronics & Communications Industrial Biosciences Nutrition & Health Performance Materials Safety & Protection Performance Chemicals 22 Corporate Financial Data Segment Information Selected Additional Data Inside Back Cover Board of Directors and DuPont Leadership Individual Shareholder Relations: (302) 774-3033 Main Office Number: (302) 774-4994 Internet: www.dupont.com The DuPont DATA BOOK has been prepared to assist financial analysts, portfolio managers and others in understanding and evaluating the company. This book presents graphics, tabular and other statistical data about the consolidated company and its business segments. Forward-Looking Statements This DATA BOOK contains forward-looking statements which may be identified by their use of words like “plans,” “expects,” “will,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates” or other words of similar meaning. Although they reflect our current expectations, these statements are not guarantees of future performance, but involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Some of which include: fluctuations in energy and raw material prices; failure to develop and market new products...
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...1-310-919-0950 Hi rlaughter1981 StudyMode.com Essays Book Notes AP Notes More Essays » Chemistry Dupont Case By tweaklefairy, Feb 2009 | 9 Pages (2,231 Words) | 1641 Views | 12345 Report | This is a Premium essay for members like you Executive Summary DuPont has been known for its low reliance on borrowings. In the 1970’s, the company had to assume a substantial portion of debt of Conoco, a newly acquired company. In 1983, the managers have to decide about the future optimal target debt ratio. Should the company continue to keep about 40% of its assets financed via debt or should it strive to lower its borrowings to 25%? We defined several criteria to determine our choice – return, risks and other quantitative and qualitative factors. Targeting a debt ratio of 40% will maximize the firm’s value. A higher earning’s per share and dividends per share will lead to a higher stock price in the future. Due to leveraging, return on equity is higher because debt is the major source of financing capital expenditures. To maintain the 40% debt ratio, no equity issues will be declared until 1985. DuPont will be financing the needed funds by debt. For 1986 onwards, minimum equity funds will be issued. It will be timed to take advantage of favorable market condition. The rest of the financing required will be acquired by issuing debt. Case Context DuPont is a very big company with a low debt policy designed to maximize financial flexibility and insulate operations...
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...brands of seeds, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, insect control products, and plant growth regulators. Acquisition and Selling of Conoco Our recommendation: Our recommendation is based on the performance of the division called Conoco which was the chief operating division adopted by the company in 1980s. As per our recommendation DuPont should divest in Conoco in a phased manner so that company can be free of non performing unit. Between 1940 and 1980, DuPont developed and marketed technologies such as Dacron, Mylar, Lycra, Kevlar, Tyvek, and Nomex. The company also expanded its pharmaceuticals and medical products business. The company acquired Conoco, an energy supplier, in 1981. In 1991, DuPont's pharmaceutical business entered into a joint venture (JV) with Merck, to focus on non-US markets. During the 1990s, the company acquired Protein Technologies International, a producer of soy protein products and Imperial Chemical's polyester-resins, a company with intermediates and polyester-films operations. In 1998, the company bought Merck's share of the pharmaceutical JV and renamed the company, DuPont Pharmaceuticals. Later that year, DuPont started selling its interests in Conoco which was completed in 1999. Conoco facility can be classified as cost center. It is one of the main cost centers of the company and hence the most resources are hogged up at this center. One needs to identify resources properly at this center so that we can classify it properly and manage it...
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...approaches to change of organizational development (OD), appreciative inquiry, and sense making are embedded in the case study “Change at DuPont.” OD – Organizational Development is clearly the main focus here at DuPont. Tom had a vision to improve the organizational standards at DuPont not focusing on any problems that may have been present. The projected outcome for DuPont’s organizational structure was improving for the better of the company and the employees. Tom wanted to development to increase productivity for the company and its employees which would allow to company to be in a better stable place in the near future. Tom was building a strong foundation for the company which would benefit everyone involved. Tom seemed to show all the necessary skills needed to push his desired change. Appreciative inquiry – This approach points to the assumptions underlying the appreciative inquiry approach to change, which seeks to identify what is currently working best and to build on this knowledge to help develop and design what might be achieved in the future. Apparently, the southern stock-car racing metaphor was predominately used to explain teamwork, but was also the pattern for accomplishing it as well (p. 211). Once a particular system is introduced to employees, it’s usually hard to introduce a new system. Sense-making – There has been arguments that sense-making activities across the organization are indicative of the importance of understanding change as the accomplishment...
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...Introduction The root problem/key issues facing Dupont are closing of the Orlon Plant without creating a change management rubric that would frame the changes being made. Management did not meet with the employees to obtain feedback as to how the changes would affect them and causing management to miss the language and culture already established by its workers. Case Questions 1. To what extent are the following approaches to change embedded in the DuPont story (justify your answer, provide specific examples): a. OD b. Appreciative inquiry c. Sense-making a. OD – Organizational Development speaks to the focus of the interpreter or coach change manager in this case. The coach as change manager concentrates more on the capabilities of the individuals in the organization, than on the specific processes (Palmer, I., Dunford, R., Akin, G. 2009). Tom displayed coach change manager characteristics when he sought out the academic community to assist in introducing DuPont’s managers to new ideas and rebuild its work culture. This revealed Tom’s commitment to a systematic diagnosis, of the whole organizational system and puts the focus on humanistic, democratic, and developmental aspirations (Palmer, pg 209). b. Appreciative inquiry – a method of problem solving that was pioneered by David Cooperrider in the mid 1980’s speaks to reviewing what is going well within in an organization and builds upon them. This approach recognizes and values the current contributions as well...
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