Case Study: 3M company for which innovation is everything

Three M is a company whose products are difficult to avoid, whether those products are transparent adhesive plastic strips, papers that are used to write short letters and glued to doors, pieces of fabrics used for polishing and cleaning, protective materials for fabrics and so on.

Obviously, the name " Three M " is found all over the house, and they are products that you might use without knowing their product; many of their products are used in hospitals, factories, and around roads; and in fact there are more than 900 types of transparent adhesive strips alone.

The company was established about a century ago in the city of Toharbors in Minusota, on the shore of Lake Siberior; the company has been accustomed since its inception to the manufacture of innovative products needed by customers, and of its first products is 3M-lte , a product used to smooth the curved parts of automotive bodies without causing any harmful effects; it can be said that this company specializes in innovation itself.

If there is a problem, it is likely that the company has worked on producing a product to solve it, consider the following examples: The company's engineers develop ways to produce banners according to the wishes of each customer in small numbers and low prices that small companies can raise.

In order to help solve the problem of producing a powerful battery that powers a computer the size of a book, but is so small that it can be easily moved from one place to another, the company has not developed a new battery but has developed new ways to manufacture computer screens that do not need a large amount of power.

If you've had a broken hand or leg for a while, there's a chance that your doctor put your fracture into a strip of strong synthetic fibers produced by the company for this purpose, and named it Scotch Casting Type instead of those heavy plaster strips that were used hundreds of years ago.

One of the factors that led to this result was the famous 15% rule that has existed in the company for a long time, and according to that rule the company allows each worker to spend 15% of the company's time to work on projects that were not assigned by the company, without obtaining permission from anyone; and the company realized from its early days that if technicians are allowed to spend time on different works even if they do not have prowess in those works They come up with ideas that are difficult for management to think about, and the 15% rule still exists in the company today.

In order to stimulate the spirit of innovation among its employees, the company encouraged the transfer of ideas between departments, and therefore the company encouraged the establishment of formal and informal communication networks between technicians, for example, the strategic units of the company regularly make exhibitions in which the latest technologies produced by it are displayed for the employees of other units to see.

The most important goals of managers at Three M are to spread creativity and innovation in the company, and the company often urges its employees to produce new products in application of the rule that the annual sales quarter must be of new products not more than five years ago; and in 1992 L.D. DeSimon, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, noted the short life cycle of the product, and therefore presented a more challenging goal for employees, which is that the company gets On 30% of its annual sales of products not older than four years; this goal has ignited the fire of innovation in the company until it achieves this goal two years after it was established.

Most companies reward the successes of their employees with money, but Three M is taking an extra step in this area, as it offers in addition to money something that is loved by the most innovative workers, represented by a special club for creators, the Carlton Community, which is a special association to recognize those who have provided the company with extraordinary contributions in the field of science and technology; and members of this association who have created products that are used by everyone such as: Magic adhesive tape, notesheets, and products that protect clothing; the company also offers many grants to cover the expenses of technicians and others that are not covered by the budgets of the departments in which they work.

It is clear that Three M is not only working to achieve innovation, but it seeks to make sure that innovations have achieved their effects, and to a large extent the focus on innovation has been the reason for the success that the company has enjoyed for a century, and without a doubt 3M is a private company, but it is not the only one in this field, with it General Electric, Dioponb, Bermid, Pfizer and others.

* Management of behavior in organizations: Gerald Greenberg and Robert Barron, Mars Publishing House.

After reading the previous case of study, answer the following questions: (c1) (6 degrees)

Extract the innovations that 3M has come up with in addressing many of the problems facing the world? (Two degrees)

What made 3M reach that level of excellence in innovation, how does 3M reward the innovators who work for it? (Two degrees)

What innovations can be applied at the institutional level (at the University of Applied Sciences) referred to in the case? (Two degrees)

no hand writing ( different answer that in the site )