Northrop Grumman Case Study

National Rifle Association: Would use campaign contributions due its large membership and access to funds. They are ranked 225 of 20,981 in most money spent for lobbying purposes in the United States. Two major national level policy making institution that the NRA targets is the US House of Representatives and the Senate.

In the case “Metalcraft Supplier Scorecard”, the author uses an example of a decision-making problem regarding to which supplier should Metalcraft choose to lead to the topic of the Metalcraft supplier scorecard. Metalcraft, as a component designer and manufacturer, supplies a few largest automobile manufacturers with vehicle parts all over the world. As one of the tier 1 suppliers, Metalcraft offers and ships finished parts and components using in the automobile production process to automakers.

There are many competitive forces that are affecting Nucor Corporation. Some of the primary ones are the market size, number of rivals, and pace of technological change.

MTC initially needed to obtain substantial investment capital due to two main factors: a research-heavy industry, and the need to create most of the markets for its products. Although the founders' goal was to become a major manufacturing company, they did estimate that the company would need $50 million in capital before it would become self-sufficient. Their initial financing model was to first recruit a superior technical team, use that to attract additional equity investment and development funding from interested corporations, and then develop manufacturing capabilities. Commercial sales began 2.5 years after inception, and MTC is nearing the break-even point in 1990.

The election of members to Congress in the United States of America is contingent on the financial muscles of the candidates and their supporters. It all starts with a deep pocket investment. The recently concluded election will yield a new administration with new cabinet members. The election of Donald Trump as the next U.S President is partly attributable to the synergy and efforts made by some of the most influential people in the Republican Convention. With Trump already appointing some of his chief strategists, it is necessary to conduct a deeper analysis of the financial input of other members of the Congress in an attempt to gain seats.

According to a survey conducted by FORTUNE on lobbyists, lawmakers and staff of the lawmakers found the that aforementioned groups consistently ranked the NRA as the second most powerful interest group in the United States. Furthermore, the NRA (National Rifle Association) spends around three million dollars annually according to Opensecrets. Even if you disagree with the beliefs of this interest group, they do show how an interest group can exercise influence without spending large amounts on lobbying.

Wayne, Lasser, Miller and others tend to agree that lobbyists and PACs have a great amount of influence over congress members because they may have direct connections and give campaign contributions. Recently, the airlines industry convinced congress to pass a $15 billion aid package it needs in order to survive. “The airlines had plenty of resources to draw on: 27 in-houses lobbyists, augmented by lobbyists from 42 Washington firms, including former White House aides and transportation secretaries, as well as the airlines own chief executives and corporate board members, whom all are well known in the halls of congress”(Wayne, NYT, 10/01/01. Lasser, American Politics, 1999. Miller, The American Prospect, 10/23/00. Geiger, Washington Post, 11/4-10/91.)

Advanced Technologies. Lockheed Martin is bringing decades of experience of developing cutting edge technologically advanced systems to the marketplace. Through their legendary Skunkworks program, they have developed the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter, U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane and the SR-71 Blackbird. These are craft were operational long before the public even knew of their existence. The SR-71 developed in the 1960s still holds many speed and altitude records. The F-35 takes this experience and incorporates it. It is a fully stealth aircraft that uses advanced geometrical shape and electronic methods to remain undetectable. Each F-35 is fully linked to all other aircraft, being able to “see” what they see. The pilot wears an advanced helmet that allows them to see “through” the aircraft using 6 infrared cameras mounted around the aircraft, virtually eliminating any blind spots.

The company is currently involved in a many major programs for the Defense Department. They are producing the RQ-4 Global Hawk an unmanned air system (UAS) that is the only UAS that is allowed to fly in US airspace. They are also developing and producing active electronically scanned array radars for the F-35 and F-16 as well as a multitude of electronic warfare systems like the US Navy’s Next Generation Jammer. The Lightning family of advanced targeting pods is also a key program within Northrop Grumman, with the Lightning Generation four reaching its 250th produced unit. Northrop Grumman is also developing the X-47b for the US Navy, which would give them a stealth carrier launched unmanned combat air vehicle, which would be the first for the US Navy. This aircraft also made history, by being the first unmanned combat air vehicle to accomplish a

Raytheon was founded by a group of engineers in 1922. The company provides advanced and integrated technological products, services, and solutions for both domestic and international customers. Raytheon is the fourth largest aerospace and defense company in the United States with $24 billion in sales and more than 63,000 around the world (Forbes, 2017). Raytheon has been successful growing through its existing and new government contracts, as well as through mergers and acquisitions. (“Raytheon’s 10-K Report”, 2016). Raytheon is organized into four businesses based on customer’s key mission areas: Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS), Raytheon Missile Systems

Today, the Lockheed Martin Corporation is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland and employs 126,000 people worldwide. The company is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems. Lockheed also serves both domestic and international customers with products and services that have defense, civil, and commercial applications, with their principal customers being agencies of the U.S. Government. In 2011, 84% of their $45.8 billion in net sales were made to the U.S. Government, either as a prime contractor or as a subcontractor. Lockheed’s U.S. Government sales were made to both Department of Defense (DoD) and non-DoD agencies. Sales to foreign governments (including foreign military sales funded, in whole or in part, by the U.S. Government) amounted to 15% of net sales in 2011. The remainder of net sales was attributable to commercial and other customers. In 2011, net sales at Aeronautics of $13.2 billion represented 29% of their total net sales. Aeronautics has three principal lines of business and the percentage that each contributed to its 2011 net sales was 68 percent combat aircraft, 20 percent air mobility, and 12 percent in other aeronautics programs. At December 31, 2011, we operated in 545 locations (including offices, manufacturing plants, warehouses,

Black and Decker (B&D) was founded in 1910 by Duncan Black and Alonzo Decker. By 1917, B&D had world’s first patent in portable power drills. Since then, B&D has been the world’s largest producer of power tools and power tools accessories. The power tools market in 1990 in the US mainly comprised of three segments-Professional Industrial Tools (PI), Professional-Tradesmen (PT) Tools and Consumer tools. B&D was a market leader in America power tools industry worth $1.5 Billion, with a share of 30%. It was number one in PI and consumer segments with a share of 20% and 45% respectively. However, its share in the fastest growing market segment of Professional-Tradesmen Tools was only

In mid-September 2005, Ashley Swenson, the CFO of large CAD/CAM equipment producer must choose whether to pay out profits to the firm¡¦s investors or repurchase stock. On the off chance that Swenson pays out profits, she should likewise settle on the extent of the payout.

Lockheed Martin is a major security and aerospace company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Employing over 97,000 employees worldwide, Lockheed Martin is principally focused on research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products, and services (Lockheed Martin at a Glance, n.d.). Lockheed Martin is organized into broad business areas to include aeronautics ($17.8 billion in 2016 sales), missile and fire control (6.6 billion in 2016 sales), rotary and mission systems (13.5 billion in 2016 sales), and space systems (9.4 billion in 2016 sales) (Lockheed Martin at a Glance, n.d.). To better understand the global giant that is today’s Lockheed Martin, a historical look at the two companies that merged in 1995 and their respective accomplishments is essential.

The entrepreneurial sprit which began the foundations of Lockheed Martin remains alive within the company today. Although, the companies’ stricter guidelines do not allow an employee to simply begin an entrepreneurial venture on their own, the company has evolved from an airplane manufacturer to an organization that is involved in everything from defense to space exploration. This massive diversification of interests was brought about by intrapreneurial ventures. It was Lockheed Martin that coined the phrase “Skunkworks”, meaning specialized teams dedicated to discovering new projects. The origin story of “skunkworks” is well known and shows the tenacity and innovation that Lockheed Martin is capable of. In 1943, an engineer named Clarence “Kelly” Johnson and a group of young engineers were asked to design and build a jet fighter to help the US Army prepare for the growing German threat. The small group was isolated and the project was kept secret operating out of a circus tent because available and private space was scarce in the Lockheed Martin facility. The group was given one hundred and fifty days to complete the project, and they completed the jet in one hundred and forty-three (Miller, 1995). This spirt of innovation and growth marked the true beginning of the boom in product development which continues to this day under the same name, but this time trademarked.