One of the pioneering firms in the use of team-based approaches to job design is W. L. Gore & Associates. Gore & Associates has made Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for eleven consecutive years. Gore & Associates is one of only three firms that have made every list published by Fortune.
The purpose of this critical thinking exercise is to garner valuable insight specific to the unique organizational work environment at Gore & Associates. Likewise, this document will address and respond to a series of questions in reference to the corporate culture at W.L Gore. Upon completion of said assessment of Gore & Associates, personal reflection will be given as to whether this is an organization someone would find a
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Gore & Associates Corporate Culture Differentiation
In evaluating Gore & Associates’ corporate culture differentiation, it is clear as to their commitment to diversity and mutual respect, trust and fairness, employee empowerment, and collaboration. Likewise, their commitment to mutual respect goes beyond just human capital; it includes a respect for the environment too. As part of Gore & Associates Environmental Responsibility Statement, they have gone on record with the following; “Gore’s respect for the environment is a natural outgrowth of our legacy of responsible innovation.” “Throughout our history, we’ve applied the principles of sound science to create products that improve the quality of life, including products that solve difficult environmental problems.” (www.gore.com/aboutus/environmental_responsibility_statement, 2011, para. 1).
As per their commitment to diversity and mutual respect, Gore & Associates have adopted a culture that welcomes people from a variety of environments and backgrounds, while embracing the view points that accompany these individuals (www.gore.com/aboutus/diversity, 2011). At a glance, one could say that Bill Gore may have taken notice as to the historical success of the Xerox Corporation, and their same commitment to diversity and fairness. In looking back at week two’s use case exercise, and comparing Gore & Associates with the Xerox Corporation, we discovered many similarities. AT Xerox, diversity is more
Businesses who participate in environmentally friendly practices will become more profitable. There are difficulties and costs that a business will face and profit takes time but is proven to positively impact a business. “The reluctance to address the forces that are polluting the planet always comes down to money (Smith, “6 Reasons Nations Don't Go Green.”). Implementing environmentally friendly practices within a company “will win them customers, and increase profits” (McDonald, “Why Do (or Don’t) Companies Go Green?”). Many global companies today carry out environmental management tools to adapt to environmentally friendly practices, which helps gain customers, and in turn becomes more profitable. In this paper, I will go into further detail explaining why businesses should be more environmentally friendly, the benefits to be gained, costs that come with being environmentally friendly, and management ways that help a company become environmentally friendly.
Many firms are learning that being environmentally friendly and sustainable has numerous benefits. (O.C Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2015). This could enable them to increase goodwill from various stakeholders and also save money in the long term. This will mean that they are being more efficient and less wasteful of resources, which will enable them to be more competitive by satisfying stakeholders. The CEO of
In business , diversity has seen action in the managing of human resource as essential capital in fostering businesses at a global scale . Diversity is also seen as a concept where differences can be a powerful resource . Based on the Case facts, Xerox value diversity as the most priceless resource to drive the company towards achieving its goals.
Slowly, society is changing its views about diversity. Beginning with strong legislation regarding anti-discrimination in the workplace, laws have been established, in the United States, from the Civil Rights Act and Title VII of 1964 (which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, and natural origin), Age Discrimination Act of 1967, Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, just to name a few. These, and a multitude of other laws, have been created as a need to comply with equal opportunity employment objectives as well as a personal feeling of wanting to “do the right thing.” Now, many decades later, it’s not just doing the right thing but rather doing the “smart thing”. With a global economy, a technological revolution, and both customers and suppliers coming from diverse backgrounds, it makes
Organizations who make a commitment to diversity can see a significant impact on business in many ways. Diversity “requires a significant commitment for change to occur” (Delong, 2007, p.9). It is extremely important that leaders understand the commitment and embrace it in order for a positive impact to occur. Employers with diverse cultures and leaders can build positive and successful relationships with customers, suppliers and vendors. They can better attract and retain top talent. All of these equal more financial gain for the company.
I decided to do my research at Lowe’s Home and Improvement. Lowe’s Home and Improvement is a hardware store that sales everything from your basic household appliances to minor cleaning supplies. Lowe’s believes that in order to maintain great customer service they feel that they must follow these simple rules: Provide customers with environmentally-responsible products, packaging and services at everyday low prices, educate and engage employees, customers and others on the importance of conserving resources, reducing waste and recycling, review and communicate progress made toward achieving established goals and objectives, and to engage on public policy issues related to sustainability. In this report I will discuss how I observed two
As we have seen an increase in awareness around sustainability and climate change, with the help of Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth documentary in 2006, we see organizations moving towards mitigating the effects of climate change in various ways (Al Gore, n.d). As this corporate social responsibility has become more prevalent, organizations are now pushing their green agenda by publishing sustainability reports, doing mass marketing and implementing sustainable business practices to portray the image that they too are working towards protecting the earth’s natural environment all the while focusing on their underlying goal of selling their products and
“Businesses started caring a lot more about diversity after a series of high-profile lawsuits rocked the financial industry.” (Dobbin & Kalev, 2016). This first sentence in the Harvard Business Review’s article, “Why Diversity Programs Fail”, states a key fact about all organizations, do not want to “waste” or “lose” money because of a lawsuit such as; a race discrimination lawsuit or a sex discrimination lawsuit. There are many procedures and programs that can be implemented to prevent these types of issues in the workplace, are they still going to happen, yes, can these issues be addressed before a lawsuit is even a thought, yes. Therefore, this paper will look at two organizations that have been at the forefront of the diversity and inclusion
The Dow Chemical Company has been around since 1950 and currently boasts approximately 53,000 employees. They, like Monsanto, are proudly committed to sustainability by “going beyond our current capabilities and the reach of our products and solutions” and they pursue game-changing collaborations to advance social and environmental progress (Dow.com.) Their goal to boost agricultural productivity while preserving the environment sounds perfectly responsible but it is what they are not telling an unsuspecting public about their solutions that may be a problem in the long-run (Dow.com.)
The grave, yet subtle, danger that large corporations put the world in is one that not many companies are committed to fixing. Large companies use substantial amounts of water, energy, fossil fuels, etc. and have almost depleted important resources. The Target Corporation has worked tirelessly to improve their environmental standings and therefore, increase the overall well-being of the world. Target, the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, with Walmart being the largest, has set goals year after year to change their consumption habits and increase their environmental sustainability. While Target has many environmentally friendly products and practices, the company has also committed some infractions, making many skeptical
He came with a vision of environmental sustainability.” Tyler explained that the company was wasting so much and was not an environmentally friendly corporation (para.1). Elm is now vice president of corporate and business sustainability. He stated, “Sustainability is strategy” (para.2). “Under the banner of corporate social responsibility (CSR)- the notion that business should have a moral conscience on social issues, and a concern for the needs of future generations when it comes to the environment” (para. 4).
The culture of W. L. Gore & Associates can be described by its lattice organization and sponsor program and the company’s values were devised based on the principles of fairness, freedom, commitment and discretion.
Xerox defines diversity as a priceless resource and a key to their success. It more than just race or gender. By incorporating in a company like xerox different cultures and ways of thinking it expands the mind set of the company and leads toward creating innovative solutions and business opportunities (Xerox).
The economy today runs on an antiquated ritual of exploiting, plundering, devastation, and manipulation of land for material wealth, profiting the wealthy and condemning the poor. This mindset is no more sophisticated than feudalism, a system so bad it had to be outlawed along with witchcraft. The idea that exploitation of land is justified has brought plastics to the ocean and leveled rainforests. Large corporations have grown larger by manufacturing and production, depleting the planet’s resources in the process. Now, companies must make a combined effort to put the environment first, before profit. Because of their harmful practices, consumers have the right to know where products come from, how they’re made, and the impact on the environment. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of the large corporations to change their harmful practices, to make strides towards ending climate change and use clean, sustainable methods.
In a world that has grown increasingly smaller due to mass media, world travel, and readily available information, the workplace has grown increasingly diverse in both gender and cultural aspects. Individuals no longer live and work within the confines of their geographic locations. At almost any position with any company the individual employee is a part of a larger world economy that harvests assets from the ends of the earth. Because of this, companies seek to capitalize on diversity to become more creative and flexible in their business models.