...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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...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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...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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...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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...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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...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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...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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...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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...(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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...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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... | 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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...There are a few significant reasons Nucor has done really well in the past. Ken Iverson had a unique strategic vision for the administration of the workforce, optimizing operational efficiency of plants and making wise investment decisions overall. As a result, Nucor demonstrated superior capabilities by effectively using its resources to develop efficiencies in volume production, and bring products to market more cheaply and more quickly than its competitors. To begin, Nucor utilized a combination of research and development activities that advanced the speed and efficiency of its production process. The company invested heavily and steadily in its capacity and made serious efforts to embody technological advances. Nucor was able to lower its overall costs using their extensive experience in building and remodeling minimills in ways other firms were unable to imitate. Not only Nucor has been able to start up its steel mills within 18 months of groundbreaking, but also it had the speed of delivery to customers and suppliers by locating mills in similar geographic regions. Without a doubt, Nucor was the low cost- high efficiency leader in the market. In addition, the workforce was held accountable for the performance of the business at all levels. The company decentralized as many decisions down to the plant as possible but held managers accountable for an annual contribution of 25% of the net assets employed at that plant. The workers also received performance-based...
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...Ques1: ECV Fit for Nucor Environment • Outdated technology, rising cost competitive imports, and unfavourable labour costs and contracts resulting in restructuring in the industry – job cuts and capacity cuts • Initially minimills produced low end structural products enjoyed various advantages such a decline in demand for scrap metal (a critical input for them) from integrated players, reduction in minimal efficient scale of production and capital cost per ton of capacity by a factor of 10, closer to market locations • Currently minimills have expanded their product base (to high end products) and geographic focus, thereby resulting in break-down of geographic insulation. This resulted in reduction in volume growth, which reached single digits in 1980s • Reorganization and buy-outs of other mini-mills in the face of changing environment • R&D going on for evaluation of various alternative casting technologies. None proved commercially feasible yet Company • Faced tough times until the hiring of CEO Ken Iverson in 1962. He decided to divest most of the businesses and focus on the core steel business. He has also risked to build company’s modern minimill in Darlington in 1962 • Two pillars of success: Build steel plants economically and operate them efficiently • Second most productive steel maker globally • Flat hierarchical structure with only 5 layers of management, with clear distinctions of roles, responsibilities and autonomy. Capital budgeting - top management...
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...Nucor Corporation (A) We are a cyclical business... Basically when you are at the peak of the cycle—times are good, interest rates are low, people are building—our margins increase. When we go to the trough, of course, the margins are squeezed. But over the last 25 years Nucor has never had a losing quarter. Not only a losing quarter, we have never had a losing month or a losing 1 week. —John D. Correnti, President and CEO, Nucor In 1998, Nucor was a Fortune 500 company with 6,900 employees and had sales of $4.3 billion in steel and steel-related products. Its chairman, F. Kenneth Iverson, had headed the company for more than 30 years. During his tenure, the steel industry faced a number of problems, including foreign competition, strained labor relations, and slowed demand for steel (related in part to the substitution of alternative materials). Despite these industry challenges, Nucor’s sales during Iverson’s tenure grew at an annual compound rate of about 17 percent per annum. Selected comparative financial data are shown in Exhibit 1. In different years, both Iverson and Nucor CEO John Correnti were named Steelmaker of the Year by New Steel magazine. History Nucor traced its origins to auto manufacturer Ransom E. Olds, who founded Oldsmobile and, later, Reo Motor Cars. Through a series of transactions, the company Olds founded eventually became the Nuclear Corporation of America, a company involved in the nuclear instrument and electronics business in the 1950’s and...
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...MGMT – 702-101 Nucor Case Study Instructor: James Farmer By, Arulraj Rajaram – 300729443 Strategic Management Date: 29th July, 2013 Page |2 1) Rolled steel is a commoditized product. Commoditized products are extremely difficult to differentiate and distinguish (in terms of marketing and sales methods) from your competitor’s products. Name and explain at least three strategies that Nucor Corporation has employed to differentiate its products and services, from its competitors. A) Nucor Corporation has employed various strategies to differentiate its products and services, from its competitors over the years. They have differentiated their products and services so well that they offer steel users with a wide range of steel products. The three strategies that Nucor has employed are: Low Cost of Production Strategy: Nucor constantly worked on attaining low cost of production by improving their production efficiency. Nucor constantly made investments in modernization of their plants, and new technology in the production of steel. They adopted automated technology that helped in fewer requirements of employees to operate. Thereby, increasing the productivity of labor and decreasing the cost. Nucor also employed electric arc furnaces and fewer production steps which lead to low energy costs. Also, the management system of Nucor was designed in a way that led to increased innovation by the employees and quick decision making. All these practices helped Nucor to have a competitive...
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