...Title of the Case: Nucor in 2009 Time Context or Period: 1905-2009 of Nucor Summary of the Case: In 1905, Ransom E. Olds, creator of the Oldsmobile, had a dispute with stockholders and left his own company — Olds Motor Works. He soon formed REO Motor Company, which evolved into the Nuclear Corporation of America and ultimately, Nucor. In 1962, this was the year that Nuclear Corporation made two moves that would soon change the company and ultimately the American steel industry. First, they acquired a company called Vulcraft, an unassuming producer of steel joists and girders. Second, to run Vulcraft, they hired a man named Ken Iverson who would soon emerge as one of the great visionaries and mavericks in American industry. Barely staving off bankruptcy, Nuclear appointed Ken Iverson as its new president. He acted quickly to put the company on a course toward profitability including selling off inefficient divisions. Not long after we shed our conglomerate business model to become a highly focused steel producer, The board of directors elected to change the name of the company from Nuclear Corporation of America to simply Nucor. Since then, Nucor has contributed over 70 million dollars to Scholarships and Educational Disbursements. It is a source for millions of dollars for educational funding. To this day, every child of every Nucor teammate is entitled to educational funds from the company. Now, Nucor is one of the leading steel producers in the United States. Later...
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...an Analysis of Case #10 Nucor Corporation and prepare a (4-5 page report). Discuss the trends in the steel industry and how it may impact Nucor’s strategy. The trend had been major steel production using blast furnaces. New technology using arc furnaces adopted by Nucor led to increased production and cost savings. The arc furnace technology took less labor, increased production, and was considered the new most cost-effective strategy among the steel industry. It was Nucor’s decision to adopt this process and be the first to introduce this new process to the United States. Many steel companies were going out of business due to reduced demand for steel and failing economies across the globe in the late 90s into the 2000s. Nucor chose to buy these failing plants when easily convertible to their production lineup. This also in many cases was a cheaper route than building new plants. The acquisition strategy proved to be essential as these failing firms were already setup for steel production at mass quantities and Nucor was able to inherit their ties and partnerships as well as their presence in their surrounding geographical area. The constant drive for efficiency and cost effective production was another strategy chosen to increase competitive advantage, market share, and ultimately become the number one steel producer among heavy competition. Discuss the organizational structure and management philosophy at Nucor. The management structure of Nucor was very different than...
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...University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics Theses 1-31-2007 Organizational Dynamics Programs Nucor Corporation: A Study on Evolution Toward Strategic Fit Regina Gordin University of Pennsylvania, regina.gordin@gmail.com Submitted to the Program of Organizational Dynamics In the Graduate Division of the School of Arts and Sciences In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania. Advisor: Everett Keech This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/od_theses_msod/1 For more information, please contact repository@pobox.upenn.edu. NUCOR CORPORATION: A STUDY ON EVOLUTION TOWARD STRATEGIC FIT by Regina Gordin Submitted to the Program of Organizational Dynamics In the Graduate Division of the School of Arts and Sciences In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2006 NUCOR CORPORATION: A STUDY ON EVOLUTION TOWARD STRATEGIC FIT Approved by: ________________________________________________ Program Director ________________________________________________ Advisor ABSTRACT For much of its century long history, Nucor Corporation and its predecessors displayed turbulent financial performance. Several attempts at a strategic realignment proved unsuccessful, and in...
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...(Ken Iverson & Nucor Company Culture) 1. Company Profile: Nucor is the third largest steel company in the U.S. that is ranked in Fortune 500 Company. The hierarchy of the organization is constructed by employees, supervisor, department managers or officers, general manager, and CEO (Chief Executive Officer). It is the first steel-mill in America that could make flat-rolled steel (high-end steel product made only by the Big Steel companies), to apply thin-slab casting (technology that Big Steel consider as impossible) and to produce iron carbide (efficient energy to produce steel through the scrap metal). In 1906, Ransom E. Olds was the first to establish the company which manufactures cars known as Reo Motor Car. After a while, the firm was sold because of its low profits to create the Nuclear Corporation of America (1955) by Reo Holding. The purpose of the new corporate was to manufacture nuclear instruments, electronics, and to perform radiation studies. In this context, the field was quite interesting and new but without any acceleration. As a result, the first purpose of the company was to acquire knowledge identified in other companies in metals business such as that of Vulcraft (steel joist manufacturing firm in Florence & South Carolina). 1. The Founder Values and Personality Ken Iverson (CEO) was the only person who tries to make an effort in order to overcome the obstacles that Nucor was encountering...
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...Nucor at a Crossroads MGMT XXXX-XXX Nucor’s Historic Performance, Competitive Advantage, and Five Forces Analysis With roots dating back to 1904 in the automobile manufacturing industry, Nucor’s business strategy has morphed many times over the course of the past century in response to struggling sales and unrealized business strategies. Since F. Kenneth Iverson’s appointment as Nucor’s President in 1965, however, Nucor has performed very well. With a focus on efficiency, Nucor is committed to minimizing bureaucracy and maximizing performance and productivity via the utilization of an open-door/continuous improvement/ entrepreneurial culture, a compensation scheme premised on performance-based incentives, and — last, but not least —commitment to technological advancement. With this approach, in an industry with 36 different companies, Nucor enjoyed the second largest market share in 1986, with 16 plants and an annual production capacity of 2.1 million tons of steel. In 1985, Nucor was ranked the most productive steel-maker in the United States and the second most productive in the world, averaging 981 tons per employee, per year. Nucor managed to achieve this success using a low-cost strategy, which proved to be particularly suitable in the highly competitive, commodity-like steel industry. Despite its positive performance, competition in the U.S. steel industry was keen in 1986. At that time, the industry had sustained seven straights years of decreasing domestic...
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...Tuesday, September 9, 2014 Nucor Corp A! Subject - Structure/Ops! • Decentralized ! - Distance between MGMT and ops! • Communication between top mgmt and supervisors?! - Autonomy for plant mgr - operated as an independent business! • Employees tell mgrs about their bad decisions — where is top mgmt? (no input/guidance)! • Too many risks?! - HR - People like working there! • Large labour supply! • Performance based pay, fairness! • Grievance reviews! - GM, then HQ! - Does HQ need to get involved?! • Annual dinners with GMs, monthly crew meetings, employee surveys! - Discuss any employee problems! • No layoffs! - Reduced workweek instead! - Compensation! • 1. Production Incentive plan! - Bonuses for workgroups (25-40 workers) based on anticipated vs. actual production! - 80-150% of base wage - BIG! 1 Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - Late - Lose bonus for the day, Sick - Lose bonus for the week! • 4 forgiveness days per yr! • Too harsh? Maybe not considering strong labour pool! - Supervisors and maintenance included! • No bonus paid of equipment not operating on that shift! • 2. Department Manager Plan! - Annual bonus based on ROA for the plant! • Target of 25%! • Average 82% bonus in recent years! - High?! • 3. Non-Production/Department Mgr Plan! - Accountants, engineers, clerks, etc! - Bonus based primarily on ROA for their plant! - Could be over 25% of base salary! • 4. Senior Officers Incentive Plan! - inc. Plant General Mgrs! - Based on return on shareholders’...
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... | NUCOR CORPORATION (A & B) As of 1999, Nucor Corporation( had been the most innovative and fastest-growing steel company of the last three decades. As an example of how a knowledge machine works, we see Nucor as a far more interesting company than, say, Andersen Consulting or McKinsey, because unlike professional service firms whose only output is knowledge, Nucor’s end product is steel, a tangible non-differentiable commodity. Yet, as we describe below, for much of the three decades from 1970 onward, Nucor had been a knowledge machine par excellence. Since the late 1960s the U. S. steel industry has faced numerous problems, such as substitution from other materials, foreign competition, slowing of steel demand, and strained labor relations and has reported one of the poorest profitability and growth records in the American economy. Yet, despite operating in a fundamentally troubled industry, during this time period, Nucor enjoyed an annual compounded sales growth rate of 17%, all generated organically. Furthermore, the company’s profit margins were consistently well above industry medians, and average annual return to shareholders exceeded 20% (see Box 1 for a business profile of Nucor Corporation). Nucor achieved this phenomenal and sustained success by excelling at a single task: creating and mobilizing knowledge in order to become, and...
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...NUCOR CORPORATION (A) 1. Why has Nucor performed so well? a. Is Nucor’s industry the answer? b. Is it the “mini-mill” effect? c. Is it market power (scale economies)? d. Is it a distribution channel advantage? e. Is it a raw material advantage? f. Is it a technology advantage? g. Is it a location advantage? h. Is it the result of an entrenched brand name? i. Is it Nucor’s choice of a unique strategy? j. Is it Nucor’s ability to execute its strategy? Ada beberapa poin utama yang menjadi faktor utama keberhasilan dari Nucor yaitu dari adopsi mini mill. Beberapa keuntungan yang diperoleh adalah: i. Teknologi tungku busur listrik, sehingga biaya yang dikeluarkan lebih rendah, dan bahan baku yang digunakan adalah besi tua sehingga lebih murah. ii. Lokasi di pedesaan sehingga biaya tenaga kerja lebih rendah iii. Produk berkualitas 2. What are the most important aspects of Nucor’s overall approach to organization and control that help explain why this company is so successful? How well do Nucor’s organization and control mechanisms fit the company’s strategic requirements? Struktu organisasi yang dianut adalah system desentralisasi sehingga keputusan lebih cepat dan efektif, tidak harus menunggu keputusan dari kantor pusat. Hal tersebut juga memberikan kemungkinan penurunan biaya karena keputusan dapa cepat dibuat dan diimplementasikan. 3. A crucial element of Nucor’s...
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...Nucor Corporation: Competing against Low-Cost Steel Imports Week 8 Assignment Bus 599 Nucor Corporation is today one of North America largest steel maker company. Although the company has a strong position in the steel market today, things have not always been as positive. According to Crafting & Executing Strategy, Nucor was first known as Nuclear Corporation of America, a company involved in the nuclear instrument and electronic business in 1950’s and early 1960’s. Facing bankruptcy, the company changed direction and decided to invest in the stable steel-joist business. The new name, Nucor Corporation, came along with the change in 1972 to break away from the nuclear image and embrace the new venture. This transformational change was due to the vision of new CEO and president, F. Kenneth Iverson. His strategic initiatives revealed to be a blessing as Nucor Corporation has been successfully growing since its creation. Discuss the trends in the steel industry and how it may impact Nucor’s strategy. The electric arc furnace technology was introduced in 1960. The “mini-mills” was limited when compared to integrated mills in the industry. In addition, the operating costs of companies are lower compared to integrated mills because they use electric arc furnaces that can produce various steel products to minimize production costs. (Thompson, Strickland, & Gamble, 2010). Nucor Corporation started using thin-slab casting during the 1980’s and it was their...
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...University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics Theses 1-31-2007 Organizational Dynamics Programs Nucor Corporation: A Study on Evolution Toward Strategic Fit Regina Gordin University of Pennsylvania, regina.gordin@gmail.com Submitted to the Program of Organizational Dynamics In the Graduate Division of the School of Arts and Sciences In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania. Advisor: Everett Keech This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/od_theses_msod/1 For more information, please contact repository@pobox.upenn.edu. NUCOR CORPORATION: A STUDY ON EVOLUTION TOWARD STRATEGIC FIT by Regina Gordin Submitted to the Program of Organizational Dynamics In the Graduate Division of the School of Arts and Sciences In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics at the University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2006 NUCOR CORPORATION: A STUDY ON EVOLUTION TOWARD STRATEGIC FIT Approved by: ________________________________________________ Program Director ________________________________________________ Advisor ABSTRACT For much of its century long history, Nucor Corporation and its predecessors displayed turbulent financial performance. Several attempts at a strategic realignment proved unsuccessful, and in...
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...ASSIGNMENT #4: HRM ISSUES/DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGIES Introduction This paper presents the analysis of the Nucor Corporation case (Thompson, Strickland, Gamble, 2010, Nucor Corporation, p. C-193). Nucor is one of the largest producers of steel in the United States with a production capacity that exceeds 26 million tons. Nucor was among the first steel companies in the United States to use electric arc furnaces to melt recycled steel. In 2007, Nucor recycled nearly 10 million cars in its production processes, the equivalent of one SUV every four second (Nucor.com). Trends in the Steel Industry Steel Industry Trends are not at all static in this industry and is a very dynamic. The country that is producing the maximum amount of steel may not be in the first position in the coming years. Analysis of the Steel Industry Trends show that from the period starting from 1910 until the year 1960, the first position in terms of producing the largest amount of steel in the whole world was captured by United States of America. During this period, it was observed that almost half of the total steel production around the globe was produced by USA. However, the scenario started to change after the countries like Japan and China came to the fore. Again, in the recent years, India as well as Brazil has shown tremendous performance in the steel production side. According to the recent Steel Industry Trends, China is the largest steel producing nation. However, it has also been seen that the...
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...Torah deliberately links these two societies and passes judgment on both. The new pharaoh begins by bringing his cause to the Egyptian people, making the following pitch: 'Look, the Israelite people are much too numerous for us. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, so that they may not increase; otherwise, in the event of war, they may join our enemies in fighting against us and go up from the land' (Ex. 1:9-10). As presented in the text, the pharaoh's logic is hard to discern. His solution to the problem of Israel's burgeoning population is persecution and enslavement, rather than expulsion or genocide (Ex. 1:11). If they are too many, why not just kill them? Pharaoh does eventually order the killing of all the male babies born to the Hebrews, but only after his first policy prescription results in an Israelite population boom (Ex. 1:12, 16). Furthermore, if the Israelites represent a potential fifth column, why is Pharaoh afraid that they will leave the land? He should welcome their departure. Slavery, in and of itself, is not a reliable form of birth control. Nor does it engender the loyalties of the subjected population. Perhaps population control and national security were not Pharaoh's true aims. He was able to justify his subjugation of the Israelites with this pretext, but the lack of logic in his reasoning suggests that his...
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...The Israelites were of the Hebrew religion and live around 13th century BCE. They were from Israel and came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household. The Israelites were enslaved by Pharaoh because Pharaoh feared that there were too many Israelites and if they kept multiplying and a war was to fall upon the Egyptians the Israelites could join the enemies of the Egyptians and fight against them and possibly escape from the land. The Egyptians were the people of Egypt and they served under the Egypt King, who was King Pharaoh. Pharaoh was a new King and he did not know Joseph. Pharaoh had great concern about the Israelite people multiplying and possibly taking over Egypt in case on war. Therefore he was a very cruel king and worked the Israelites very hard. He made them serve with rigor and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field; in all their work they were made to serve in rigor. Pharaoh killed the male born children of the Hebrew women out of his on going fear and concern for them growing strong and mighty in numbers. He tried to get the midwives to kill the male babies at birth but the midwives very uniquely disobeyed Pharaoh therefore he ordered the sons to be cast into the Nile. God found favor on the midwives for not following Pharaoh's orders in killing the babies. God came to Moses and told him go back and speck to your people and tell them it's time ...
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...when he was trying to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. The things that made Moses successful were six things that were install abilities and was anointing. Third is his sacrifice. Fourth is his wisdom. Fifth is he is very confidence. An last his humility. (ex. 12:28) So you see this journey Moses had was making him become one of the most humble leader of his time. A leader communication God instructs his people You hear a lot about in a relationship that there is no communication. Well it’s the same thing as trying to become a leader. Without the ability to communicate a leader goes on a dark long path by himself. You will never get an vision unless you grab it an put it in his or her heart. God did just that when explain to the Hebrews families how they could save the life of their first born sons. (ex 12:3-23) Attitude: My way or the highway!!!!! Pharaoh thought it did. Not only did he rule with absolute power, he also displayed his true arrogance. Pharaoh revels his arrogant character, through his defiant response to Moses request that he let his people go. But Pharaoh Pride led to arrogance, and his arrogance lead to rigidity. His heart became stone cold and hard. You know that really should have been a song. “ My way or the highway” Because the Israelites had a chance it was either his way or the highway, which they chose the highway. Moses need it help Have you ever seen anybody that won anything by themselves? No! No leader can thrive without teammates. Moses...
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...How can I resist peer pressure? “At school you’re faced with so much—smoking, drugs, sex. You know that what the kids want you to do is stupid. But you get to this point where you feel you just can’t chicken out.”—Eve Its natural to want to be accepted by others. Peer pressure play on that desires. For example, if you’re being raised as a Christian, you know that such things pre-marital sex and alcohol abuse are wrong. (Galatians 5:19-21) Many of your peers, though, urge you to join them in these activities. Have they thought about those matters and made their own decision? Not likely. By and large, they “He that is walking with wise persons will become wise, but He that is having dealings with the stupid ones will fare badly.” -Proverbs 13-20 have yielded to the influence of others. They want to be accepted, so they allow others to shape what they believe. Do you? Or do you have the courage to stand up for your convictions? Moses’ brother, Aaron, gave in to pressure- at least in one instance. When the Israelites surrounded him and urged him to make a god for them, he did just what they told him to do! (Exodus 32:1-4) Imagine-this was the man who had confronted Pharaoh, boldly declaring God’s message to him. (Exodus 7:1,2,16) But when his fellow Israelites poured on the pressure Aaron caved in. Evidently he found it easier to stand up to the king of Egypt than to stand up to his peers! What about you? Do you find it hard to stand up for what to know...
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