Research Paper on:
3M Case Study

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
company in the past had been based on innovations; the development of new technologies and the finding of application for the technology, this had been the case ever since Francis  Okie developed the waterproof sandpaper. The development of an idea did not always need an immediately large scale commercially viable application as the company had learned over the years that  new technologies would often be adapted to uses the originator never considered. In addition to this there was also the realisation that small niche markets could also be very profitable.  The culture was built on individual innovations and the need to communicate and transfer knowledge, as the company had increased and management were unable to keep control new strategies  were developed that kept the innovative culture alive; these included the technical council, the technical forum and the holding of internal science fairs and the grow and divide strategy that  allowed new departments to grow and become separate business units. The company had sought to retain an entrepreneurial style even with the large size of the company. Growth was seen  with new products and international growth, but there were also some problems. The culture if innovations also lead to high costs and the increasing economic pressures meant a series  of reorganisation were needed to bring costs back under control. The strategy also impacted in the level of innovation with more controls taking away from the former entrepreneurial culture. The  pace fo development needed to be increased as competitors were undertaking faster development. The company had, in the past, always used innovation as a way of dealing with competition, looking  to add value to a product through the innovation or quality as a form of differentiation, and had never competed on price. Many of the products markets were now highly