...Week 3 Gore-Tex Case Study 1. Explain what happened to the Gore-Tex brand after the patent expired. What activity can firms use to try to maintain any advantage developed during the patent protection phase? When the original patent expired, Gore-Tex lost all rights to their invention. This allowed other companies to make similar products at a lower price. They now have many competitors. To maintain the advantage, Gore-Tex needs to use their packaging to continue identifying themselves as the superior creator of this type of products. They need to continue selling their brand by placing their labels in highly visible locations. 2. List some of the wide range of products where the Gore-Tex fabric has been applied. “Today the organisation divides its products into four main groupings: medical products; fabric products; electronic products; and industrial products.” (Trott 99) * Medical- implants, vascular grafts, dental implants, and patches * Electronics- cabling used in telecommunication, aerospace, medical industries * Fabrics: waterproof and laminates for backpacks, raingear, coats, gloves, and shoes Reference: Trott, Paul. Innovation Management and New Product Development, 4th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions. <vbk:9781256085539#outline(8.12.7.1)>. 3. It seems that Gore Associates is heavily oriented towards technology; what are some of the dangers of being too heavily focused on technology? Many times, being too focused...
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...Organizational Behavior – Gore-Tex case 1. What impresses you about this company? Is it well-managed? To what extent does the management style match what business schools tell you about 'how to manage'? High-performance organizations are categorized as businesses that constantly perform better than their competitors and they want to bring out the best in people. A flat lattice arrangement emphasizes on putting together groups of like-minded experts who work together on a common objective. What impressed us is how the Organizational cultures impact and affect the individual components of the processes and performance within Gore- Tex and also in Gore Tex all the employees are allow to be associates which in other word give incentives to work harder as they feel responsible for the company . Therefore, Gore-Tex has enhanced its organizational culture to be designed for high performance, in order to boost and execute the best possible strategy. 2. How successful was Bill Gore in defining the business, developing a strategic vision, and crafting a strategy to achieve performance objectives? The case states that Gore-Tex has been very creative and successful with due to its unusual organizational structure and management. Gore-Tex’s flat lattice arrangement allows direct communication among each other and accountability to members of the multi-disciplined teams. With such open channels of communication, employees (associates) are able to meet and discuss projects and other...
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...Case study notes This case study explores a very unique organisation: W.L. Gore Associates. It explores the role of organisational management and culture within a very innovative firm, which is responsible for some very well-known products such as the famous Gore-Tex fabric, and yet few people know much about this remarkable organisation. It is operated in a way similar to that of a cooperative such as The John Lewis Partnership in the UK, where the employees are also owners. In addition, the organisation seeks to minimise management with the emphasis on action and creativity. Case study questions 1. Explain what happened to the Gore-Tex brand after the patent expired. What activity can firms use to try to maintain any advantage developed during the patent protection phase? Competitor products emerged (generic versions if you like). To compete, it was necessary to develop the brand. This is something that has not happened. What else could it do? 2. List some of the wide range of products that the Gore-Tex fabric has been applied? All sorts of clothing, shoes, coats, etc. Also, windsurf sales and kite surf sales. What else could it be applied to? 3. It seems that Gore Associates is heavily orientated towards technology. What are some of the dangers of being too heavily focused on technology? Myopic views such as not listening to customer views, too focused on technology. Missing opportunities that may exist, which involve minor changes. Also, marketing mix considerations need to...
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...1. Explain what happened to the Gore-Tex Brand after the patent expired. What activities can firms use to try to maintain any advantage developed during the patent protection phase? Once the main patent on the Gore-Tex fabric expired, the company lost all rights to its invention, and it opened the door for other companies to offer comparative products at a lower price. Many companies make waterproof membranes now, and some have advanced past Gore-Tex in terms of durability and function. Gore no longer has the ability to protect the make-up of The Gore-Tex brand so competitors have flooded their once exclusive market with “generic” versions (knock-offs). These competitors are many and diverse so there is no single company that competes with them in every area. To maintain the advantage of having a superior product, companies can also ensure their packaging and labeling is kept to strict standards that identify them in an unmistakable fashion. Gore-Tex labels all products that carry its brand name with exclusive hangtags so there is no doubt they are Gore-Tex Brand waterproof membrane. Most boots with Gore-Tex have highly visible labels sewn in. Firms with expired patents can develop new ones, and diversify operations to support their existing products and markets. Gore did this by establishing of venture partnerships in Japan, opening European divisions, and developing next generation materials in medicine and science. They have also divided their products into...
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...Week5 : For all groups: W L Gore Associates Case study: Gore-Tex® and W.L. Gore & Associates: An innovative company and a contemporary culture[1] This case study explores the role of organisational management and culture within a very innovative firm, which is responsible for some very well known products such as the famous Gore-Tex fabric, and yet few people know very much about this remarkable organisation. It is operated in a similar way to that of a cooperative such as the John Lewis Partnership in the United Kingdom, where the employees are also owners. In addition the organisation seeks to minimise management with the emphasis on action and creativity. Today this enigmatic firm employs approximately 7,000 people in more than 45 plants and sales locations world-wide. Manufacturing operations are clustered in the United States, Germany, Scotland, Japan and China. Proprietary technologies with the versatile polymer polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) have resulted in numerous products for electronic signal transmission; fabrics laminates; medical implants; as well as membrane, filtration, sealant and fibres technologies for a range of different industries. Today the organisation divides its products into four main groupings: medical products; fabric products; electronic products; and industrial products. Gore has approximately 650 US patents and thousands world-wide. Further details of these can be found by visiting the US Patent & Trademark office website at www.uspto.gov. ...
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...Replace this file with prentcsmacro.sty for your meeting, or with entcsmacro.sty for your meeting. Both can be found at the ENTCS Macro Home Page. An Example Paper My Name 1,2 My Department My University My City, My Country My Co-author 3 My Co-author’s Department My Co-author’s University My Co-author’s City, My Co-author’s Country Abstract This is a short example to show the basics of using the ENTCS style macro files. Ample examples of how files should look may be found among the published volumes of the series at the ENTCS Home Page http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/entcs. Key words: Please list keywords from your paper here, separated by commas. 1 Introduction This short note provides a guide to using the ENTCS macro package for preparing papers for publication in your conference Proceedings. The Proceedings may be printed and hard copies distributed to participants at the meeting; this is an option to Conference Organizers may choose to exercise. The Proceedings also will be par of a volume in the series Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science (ENTCS), which is published under the auspices of Elsevier Science B. V., the publishers of Theoretical Computer Science. It’s home page is http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/entcs The ENTCS macro package consists of two files: entcs.cls, the basic style file, and 1 2 3 Thanks to everyone who should be thanked Email: myuserid@mydept.myinst.myedu Email: couserid@codept.coinst.coedu c 2003 Published by Elsevier...
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...about management innovation without tipping your hat to W.L. Gore, the venerable maker of Gore-Tex and a host of other pioneering materials and products as diverse as synthetic vascular grafts, Elixir guitar strings, and Glide dental floss. Lauded as "the world's most innovative company" time and time again, Gore's wholly original (and endlessly inspirational) model for creating a true democracy of innovation is firmly rooted in the story of founder Bill Gore. More than half a century ago, in 1958, Bill Gore quit DuPont to start a business aimed at imagining and commercializing new uses for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)—the material popularized as Gore-Tex. But he wasn't simply interested in inventing new materials or selling products, he was bent on creating an entirely new kind of company—one that unleashed and inspired every person in it, one that put as much energy into finding the next big thing as milking the last big thing, one that was robustly profitable and uniquely human. Bill Gore concevied of W.L. Gore as a kind of experiment in management innovation—one that is still ongoing. The questions that drove him at founding are crucial questions managers everywhere must grapple with today: Was it possible to build a company with no hierarchy—where everyone was free to talk with everyone else? How about a company where there were no bosses, no supervisors, no managers and no vice presidents? Could W. L. Gore preserve a sense of family and collegiality even as it scaled...
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...Confirming Pages g Frank Shipper Greg L. Stewart Salisbury University CASE 26 W. L. Gore & Associates: Developing Global Teams to Meet 21st-Century Challenges1 University of Iowa Charles C. Manz University of Massachusetts–Amherst n 2010, W. L. Gore & Associates celebrated its 52nd year in business. Founded in 1958 by Bill and Vieve Gore in the basement of their home, Gore had grown into a global enterprise famous for its high performance fabrics, medical products, and next-generation electronic products, as well as its use of self-empowered teams of employees (called associates at Gore). In its earlier years, the company had endeavored to restrict the size of its different corporate facilities to 200 associates or fewer, a practice that helped keep the number of teams at a given facility to a manageable number and facilitated cross-team coordination. More recently, however, to better cope with the challenges of a global marketplace, increasing numbers of teams were composed of associates in different facilities, sometimes facilities that were spread across three continents; the coordination of team members working in different facilities was enabled by online communication. In 2010, Gore’s products were sold on six continents and used on all seven continents, as well as under the ocean and in space. The company global operations required teams of associates to tightly coordinate their activities in developing, producing, and marketing...
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...Replace this file with prentcsmacro.sty for your meeting, or with entcsmacro.sty for your meeting. Both can be found at the ENTCS Macro Home Page. An Example Paper My Name 1,2 My Department My University My City, My Country My Co-author 3 My Co-author’s Department My Co-author’s University My Co-author’s City, My Co-author’s Country Abstract This is a short example to show the basics of using the ENTCS style macro files. Ample examples of how files should look may be found among the published volumes of the series at the ENTCS Home Page http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/entcs. Key words: Please list keywords from your paper here, separated by commas. 1 Introduction This short note provides a guide to using the ENTCS macro package for preparing papers for publication in your conference Proceedings. The Proceedings may be printed and hard copies distributed to participants at the meeting; this is an option to Conference Organizers may choose to exercise. The Proceedings also will be par of a volume in the series Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science (ENTCS), which is published under the auspices of Elsevier Science B. V., the publishers of Theoretical Computer Science. It’s home page is http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/entcs The ENTCS macro package consists of two files: entcs.cls, the basic style file, and 1 2 3 Thanks to everyone who should be thanked Email: myuserid@mydept.myinst.myedu Email: couserid@codept.coinst.coedu c 2003...
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...Replace this file with prentcsmacro.sty for your meeting, or with entcsmacro.sty for your meeting. Both can be found at the ENTCS Macro Home Page. An Example Paper My Name 1,2 My Department My University My City, My Country My Co-author 3 My Co-author’s Department My Co-author’s University My Co-author’s City, My Co-author’s Country Abstract This is a short example to show the basics of using the ENTCS style macro files. Ample examples of how files should look may be found among the published volumes of the series at the ENTCS Home Page http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/entcs. Key words: Please list keywords from your paper here, separated by commas. 1 Introduction This short note provides a guide to using the ENTCS macro package for preparing papers for publication in your conference Proceedings. The Proceedings may be printed and hard copies distributed to participants at the meeting; this is an option to Conference Organizers may choose to exercise. The Proceedings also will be par of a volume in the series Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science (ENTCS), which is published under the auspices of Elsevier Science B. V., the publishers of Theoretical Computer Science. It’s home page is http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/entcs The ENTCS macro package consists of two files: entcs.cls, the basic style file, and 1 2 3 Thanks to everyone who should be thanked Email: myuserid@mydept.myinst.myedu Email: couserid@codept.coinst.coedu c 2003...
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...Integrating Culture and Diversity in Decision Making: The CEO and Organizational Culture Profile Trinna Filbert Dr. Elizabeth Delone BUS 520 May 8, 2014 W. L. Gore and Associates is a company founded in 1958 by Bill and Vieve Gore. It is an inventive technology enterprise who works to discover innovative products. Numerous products from GORE-TEX fabric, cable wiring, electronics, medical devices, pharmaceutical, tubing, and sealants. The organization is referred to as a team-based and flat lattice organization. There is no chain of command; employees are referred to as associates. Associates and Professional staff are free to speak to one another in their multi-disciplined team. It provided electrical products until the discovery of polymer fabric that is now used as a basis for all the products in the medical and industrial markets. There are four practices the Gore utilizes to hire such associates. The associates networks various self organized groups such as Native American, Asia, Latino-Hispanic, LGBT, physically challenged, veterans, African-American, female associates and white male. Next is their recruiting strategy. The company targets certain universities, career fields and organizations. They choose the brightest and the best. The internet in addition to diverse publications and firms are also tools for finding quality. Third is diverse awareness. All associates are given the opportunity for growth and advancement in the company. They are encouraged...
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...6 W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. Frank Shipper Salisbury State University Charles C. Manz Arizona State University To make money and have fun. W. L. Gore On July 26, 1976, Jack Dougherty, a newly minted MBA from the College of William and Mary, dressed in a dark blue suit and bursting with resolve, reported for his first day at W. L. Gore & Associates. He presented himself to Bill Gore, shook hands firmly, looked him in the eye, and said he was ready for anything. What happened next was one thing for which Jack was not ready. Gore replied, “That’s fine, Jack, fine. Why don’t you look around and find something you’d like to do.” Three frustrating weeks later he found that something, dressed in jeans, loading fabric into the mouth of a machine that laminated the company’s patented Gore-Tex membrane to fabric. By 1982, Jack had become responsible for all advertising and marketing in the fabrics group. This story was part of the folklore that was heard over and over about W. L. Gore. By 1991, the process was slightly more structured. New associates took a journey through the business before settling into their own positions, regardless of the position for which they were hired. A new sales associate in the Fabric Division might spend six weeks rotating through different areas before concentrating on sales and marketing. Among other things, he or she might learn how Gore-Tex fabric was made, what it could and could not do, how Gore handled...
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...Explain what happened to the Gore-Tex brand after the patent expired in 1996. Once the main patent on the Gore-Tex fabric expired, the company lost all rights to its invention, and it opened the door for other companies to offer comparative products at a lower price. Many companies make waterproof membranes now, and some have advanced past Gore-Tex in terms of durability and function. Gore no longer has the ability to protect the make-up of The Gore-Tex brand so competitors have flooded their once exclusive market with “generic” versions (knock-offs). These competitors are many and diverse so there is no single company that competes with them in every area. A fabric that would enable moisture to escape and at the same time prevent moisture from entering would seem unachievable, but that is precisely what the Gore-Tex® fabric does. Rain coats incorporating the Gore-Tex® fabric were first introduced way back in 1976, hence the patent for the breathable fabric expired in 1996. However, new patents are still active on improved methods of making Gore-Tex® fabric. There are now many generic versions of breathable fabric on the market. The success of the product has largely been witnessed in the 1990s as outdoor pursuits grew rapidly in popularity during this period. This led to an explosion in sales of Gore-Tex related products, such as coats, back-packs, shoes and trousers. Indeed, clothing manufacturers who used the Gore-Tex fabric in their garments, such as Berghaus, Karrimor and...
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...Assane DIOUF MBA-Bronx Campus MG- 800 Case 4 : WL Gore Introduction W.L. Gore started as a small company in their basement and has grown into a giant manufacturer with the company’s products being used globally in almost all sectors, including automotive, aerospace, chemical processing, electronic, manufacturing, healthcare, military, and textile industries. W. L Gore and Associates is best known around the world for producing high performance fabrics, medical products and electronics using polytetrafluorethylene; an artificial fiber referred to as PTFE. The company was founded by Wilbert L. Gore (Bill) and Genevieve Gore in 1958 after Bill left his job at DuPont. Today, W.L. Gore with the guidance of the Gore Family is renowned for not only the products that they produce, but also for their unique culture and design that has set the pace for which others such as Google try to emulate Swot The first and most apparent strength of the W.L. Gore company is its diversity of products. The company is able to market to a variety of industries on a global level, including electronics, medical industry, IT, aeronautics, and telecommunications. This diversity affords the company some protection financially should there be any negativity in a given market segment. Another important strength of the company is its strong growth and financial performance over the long-term. According to the information presented, it has been profitable for 37 years and has consistently ranked...
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...Enron---The Complete Perspective Introduction Ken lay founded Enron almost fifteen years ago and the foundation which was laid in a Houston town is now almost a $100 billion a year corporation. Top ten in the Fortune 500 list it runs in the same league as International Business Machines Corp. and AT&T Corp. Like all Multi National Corps. Enron has subsidiaries in India, China Philippines, a water company in Britain, pulp mills in Canada and gas pipelines across North America and South America. But the real power lies in the Houston area where it is the leading supplier for electricity and natural gas. As it rose to power it had plans to enter the fiber-optic cable, TV advertising time and wood pulp and steel market. Further, it also had political interest in the nation and like all MNC's lobbied behind its candidates in this case being Bush, who is now President. This seemed to pave the way for Enron's success and put it in a prime position for pulling the strings of power. Now, however, suddenly the power dynamics have changed. From being the top Corporation in the US and the world it is now fighting to retain its stock value. Assets have been pledged to the bank, creditors are scrambling for blood and company lawyers planned to file for bankruptcy. Most of the customers that Enron boasted off have long gone. From the point of creating power it has come down to the mercies of those in power. The company had approximately 21,000 employees all in dire straits as their future...
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