Use the Goretex case to explain how the P.R.O.F.I.T. supports the assertion that it’s managerial practices and organisational culture make it ‘a great place to work’ The Case When Goretex developed the core technology on which most of its more than 2,000 worldwide patents is based, the company’s unique culture played a crucial role in allowing Gore to pursue multiple end-market applications simultaneously, enabling rapid growth from a niche business into a diversified multinational company. The company’s culture is team-based and designed to foster personal initiative. It is
Question 2
Use the Goretex case to explain how the P.R.O.F.I.T. supports the assertion that it’s managerial practices and organisational culture make it ‘a great place to work’
The Case
When Goretex developed the core technology on which most of its more than 2,000 worldwide patents is based, the company’s unique culture played a crucial role in allowing Gore to pursue multiple end-market applications simultaneously, enabling rapid growth from a niche business into a diversified multinational company. The company’s culture is team-based and designed to foster personal initiative. It is described on the company’s website as follows: There are no traditional organizational charts, no chains of command, nor predetermined channels of communication. Instead, we communicate directly with each other and are accountable to fellow members of our multidiscipline teams. We encourage hands-on innovation, involving those closest to a project in decision making. Teams organize around opportunities and leaders emerge. Personal stories posted on the website describe the discovery process behind a number of breakthrough products developed by particular teams at W. L. Gore & Associates. Employees are encouraged to use 10 per- cent of their time to tinker with new ideas and to take the long view regarding the idea’s development. Promising ideas attract more people who are willing to work on them without orders from higher-ups. Instead, self- managing associates operating in self developed teams are simply encouraged to pursue novel applications of Gore technology until these applications are fully com- mercialised or have had their potential exhausted. The encouragement comes both from the culture (norms and practices) of the organization and from a profit- sharing arrangement that allows employees to benefit directly from their successes. This approach makes Gore a great place to work and has helped it attract, retain, and motivate top talent globally.
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