3M Corporation
Company Background:
The Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Corporation (3M) was founded in 1902. It reported sales revenues of $16.7 billion during the year 2000. These revenues came from 3M's six business divisions: industrial; transportation, graphics, and safety; healthcare; consumer and office; electro and communications; and specialty materials. All business divisions were profitable in 2000. The same year, the company made more than 60,000 products and about $5.6 billion sales came from products that had been introduced during the prior four years and another $1.5 billion came from products introduced during 2000. Annually, more than 75,000 employees worked to create more than 500 new products. The company was recognized for its vertical organizational structure, with businesses established by technologies and markets. It was one of the most admired corporations in America and was awarded the National Medal for Technology, the U.S. government's top award for innovation, in 1995.
Business Goals and Strategy:
3M Corporation's each division is treated as a profit center with no interdivisional business between the six divisions. The business unit strategy is to "hold" as the company wants to maintain and increase profitability and market share. In terms of corporate strategy, 3M functions as an unrelated diversified corporation with the prime goal to innovate consistently, thereby offering a large product base to customers and maintaining competitive advantage.
Current Management Controls with Evaluation and Recommendations:
Early in 3M's history, chair and CEO William L. McKnight introduced a number of formal and informal controls to enable the corporation to innovate consistently and achieve its goals. The current management has ...