Discussion – 3M and Long-Term Strategy

Discussion – 3M and Long-Term Strategy

The 3M article identifies McNerney’s micromanaging of the various departments as a risk to the firm. Which of the company’s grand strategies would this threaten? How so?

Micromanaging is usually seen as a negative management technique, as it negatively affects employees’ morale and discourages them from exercising their creativity. The micromanaging at 3M could, in many ways, diminish the innovation in the various departments within the organization. Each of the departments of the company is held accountable for its achievements, success, and conversion of ideas into real products that could benefit the company. The main problem with micromanaging is that it places very stiff performance standards on the departments. Micromanagement places caps on the types of innovations that the departments can develop by setting standards that require them to make only those developments that would be financially viable.

Micromanagement is a style of management where the management controls every little bit of an enterprise, no matter how small they are. Managers who use this strategy require their subordinates to repeat only what they want to be done (DA, 2017). The subordinates are rarely allowed to exercise their own ideas and try to be creative and innovative. Therefore, this management strategy stunts the growth of organizations. Therefore, the micromanagement strategy would have affected the innovation goal at 3M. McNerney hoped that targeted innovation would be his legacy at 3M. He wanted the company to develop groundbreaking new products that would enhance the company’s growth. This is a good goal for a company to have. The problem is that the goal does not align with the management strategy that is employed at the company. If the employees are micromanaged, it is unlikely that they will develop new innovative products that will help the company to stand out and grow.

What long-term objectives are discussed in the 3M article? Identify them briefly.

The main long-term objective that 3M was working on in the article was to achieve greater growth. The company’s main focus was improving the innovativeness of its products so that it could attract new clients and stand out in the market. McNerney hoped that he would develop a legacy of increased innovativeness where 3M would develop a better quality of products. The company gave its researchers the leeway to spend 15% of their time on new projects that would help the company to achieve this goal (Arndt & Brady, 2004).

3M also had the goal of becoming more competitive in the market. The competitive position of the company is discussed under the title “Measures of Success.” The CEO, McNerney, claimed that his focus was to bring 3M back to a great competitive position in the market (Arndt & Brady, 2004). He wanted the company to go back to being a market leader in innovation. Some of the actions that he would take to achieve this include building talent, bringing on new products, and improving the cash flows. These actions would help the company to produce more products and improve the quality of its products to achieve the company’s competitiveness goals.

References

Arndt, M. & Brady, D. (2004). 3M’s rising star. Businessweek, 3878, 62-74

DA, L. H. (2017). Are You Micromanaging Your Team? How to Find Out and How to Stop. The Journal of Medical Practice Management: MPM, 32(6), 394.

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Based on the information in this unit’s readings, post the answers to the following:

The 3M article identifies McNerney’s micromanaging of the various departments as a risk to the firm. Which of the company’s grand strategies would this threaten? How so?
What long-term objectives are discussed in the 3M article? Identify them briefly.
Your post should be substantive and logical to the topic. Read the Discussion Participation Scoring Guide to learn the discussion participation requirements of this course. In addition, post your work in the text box, not as an attached file.

Response Guidelines
Read the posts of your peers and respond to two. Provide a substantive and logical response that considers the following:

Did your peer’s response make you rethink your original post? Explain.
Do you agree or disagree with your peer? Explain.
What other inputs can you provide that might help expand your or your peer’s thoughts?
Resources
3M’s Rising Star.