Nucor Corporation Case Essay

SummaryFor more than 20 years the Nucor Corporation has been peerless of the leading manufacturers of steel and steel relate products in the world. With their technology advancement, low debt ratio, decentralized type of organization and many more, this company still thrives to achieve better goals in their company. Aside from the positive views of the company, it also set about problems like bankruptcy. (te pakidagdagan n lng)HistoryNucor traced its origins to auto manufacturer Ransom E. Olds, who founded Oldsmobile, and later, Reo Motor Cars. Through a series of transactions, the company eventually became the Nuclear Corporation of America, a company involved in the nuclear instrument and electronics business. In 1972, the firm changed its name to Nucor Corporation. By 1998, it had become Americas second-largest steel maker.OperationsNucor related its diverse facilities in rural areas across the United States, establishing strong ties to its local communities and its work force . As a leading employer with the ability to pay top wages, it attracted hard-working, devote employees. These factors also allowed Nucor to select from among competing locales, siting its operations in states with tax structures that encouraged business growth and regulatory policies that favored the companys commitment to remaining union-free. By mid-2008, Nucor operated 53 facilities throughout the United States and one in Point Lisas, Trinidad. The company also maintained operations through wholly owned subsidiaries, Harris Steel and the David J. Joseph connection (DJJ).StrategyNucors strategy focused on two major competencies building steel manufacturing facilities economically and operating them productively.Organization StructureCompared to the typical portion 500 company with 10 or more management layers, Nucors Structure was decentralized, with only the four managementlayers illustrated below lead / Vice Chairman / PresidentVice President / Plant General ManagerDepartmen t ManagerSupervisorHuman Resource PoliciesEmployee relations at Nucor were based on four principles 1. Management is obligated to manage Nucor in such a way that employee will have the opportunity to earn according to their productivity. 2. Employees should feel positive that if they do their jobs properly, they will have a job tomorrow. 3. Employees have the right to be treated fairly.4. Employees must have an avenue of appeal when they believe they are being treated unfairly.CompensationNucor provided employees with a performance-related compensation system. whole employees were covered under one of four compensation plan, each featuring motivators for meeting specific goals and targets.1. ware Incentive Plan* employees directly involved in manufacturing were paid weekly bonuses based on actual output in relation to anticipated achievement tonnages produced. The bonuses were paid only for work that met the quality standards and were pegged to work group, rather than individua l output. 2. Department Manager Incentive Plan* Department managers earned an annual incentive bonus based on the performance of the entire plan to which they belonged. The targeted performance criterion here was return on assets.3. Non-Production and Non-Department Manager Incentive Plan * All employees non in the Production Incentive Plan or Department ManagerIncentive Plan including accountants, engineers, secretaries, clerks, and receptionists received a bonus based in the beginning on each plants return on assets. It could total over 25% of an employees base salary.4. Senior Officers Incentive Plan* include all corporate executives and plant general managers. A portion of pre-tax earnings was placed into a pool that was divided among the officers. If Nucor did well, the officers bonuses, in the form of stock (about 60%) and cash (about 40%), could amount to several times their base salaries. If Nucor did poorly, an officers compensation was only base salary and, therefore, significantly below the bonnie pay for this level of responsibility.Information SystemsBenefitsNucor took an egalitarian approach toward employee benefits. Nucors benefit program also attested to the companys commitment to education.TechnologyNucor did not have a formal R&D department, a corporate engineering group, or a chief technology officer. Instead, it relied on equipment suppliers and other companies to do the R&D, and they adopted the technological advancements they developed whether in steel or iron making, or in fabrication. Teams composed of mangers, engineers, and machine operators decided what technology to adopt.time to comeThe companys biggest challenge (in the future) is to continue to grow the company at 15 20% per year, and to keep earnings parallel with its growth.AnalysisNucor Corporation became one of the top corporations in the steel industry because of their handwork and technology innovation. This company also sees and takes care of its employees needs, wh ich in return gives thema quality service in their work.ConclusionNucor, even though we can see it as a successful, almost perfect company, still faces problems like other businesses in the industry. puzzleThe company has lost one-third to one-half of its market value when the stock reached its peak value (mid-2008), and has not recovered as of 2012.RecommendationWe can advocate change in the companys technology, like getting more advance equipments in making steel and steel-related products. Or the company could make a merger to other company to utilize its resources to its maximum while keeping cost low.