Dow Corning corporation 1

DOW CORNING CORPORATION

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1. INTRODUCTION

This provided case study which is further divided into part A and part B, explains

that how a firm works when it adopts any kind of perspective in order to manage its work

and business.

In part A the rethinking of the main role of information technology mainly focuses

on all over the business context and along with this it also describes that what is the main

role of information technology at the Down corning in late 1994, whereas in part B, the

re-engineering process is carried down.

Apart from this, the case also focuses on that how all the plans are being

implemented and all that plans which help in the re-engineering process of global

processes.

2. BACKGROUND

Dow corning corporation is one of those organizations which were founded in

1943 as a mutually and jointly owned corporation of the corning in-corporate and the

Dow chemical company in order to develop the ability and the potential of all the silicone

materials. (Andre, 2004, pg 56-67)

The main principal of Dow corning corporation consists of polycrystalline silicon

and the silicone materials. Apart from this the corporation on the other hand also

manufactured the high purity type of polycrystalline silicon, which is termed as the

principal kind of intermediate material for any semi conductor chips.

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In 1994 the Dow corning had the sales of about $ 2.2 billion, employees around

8300 and around 45000 customers from all over the world.

Dow corning along with all its achievements also manufactured and developed

and along with this also marketed 5000 products of silicone, which is very well related to

the chemical materials. In this case it is also mentioned the Dow corning also targeted the

performance of all the products. It has also a great competition with all the large regions

and with all over the global companies. (Andre, 2004, pg 56-67)

On the other hand the situation also arises where the customers of Dow corning

were demanding very fast and with more and more responsibilities in order to have a

unique needs. Along with this one of the main and an important structure which is known

as the matrix structure which also allows the Dow corning in order to view all the

geographical area, all the specific functions. Basically it consists of two business groups.

CPBG and the other one is AMBG. These two above mentioned business groups are

some how different from each other as CPBG totally emphasis on those products which

are established or created under a perfect operational strategies where as the AMBG

business group helps in orientation, innovation and how to focus on the regional and also

on the local customer relationship and also it helps in working geographically.

On the other hand the Dow corning also helps in order to articulate their all

commitment to a creative and also to an open culture that totally recognized the values

and the norms of their stability. Along with this the management team was also very well

determined in order to avoid all the initiatives related to re-engineering department.

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3. WHAT MISTAKES WERE THERE

Apart from all those successes, which this company had faced, apart from this

there was something, which results in a great loss for this company.

The breast implants lead to face some crisis. As in 1992, FDA known as food and

drug administration argued that the manufacturers were mot sufficiently producing

something really good and as the measure of safety for breast implants, so therefore they

banned the sale of those kind of breast implants which were filled with the silicone gels.

Due to this banned issue the Dow corning corporation, which were producing for almost

implants for over 30 years, discontinued their production.

This banned action by FDA also led to a torrent of all their products. Due to this

whole situation, the company faced a lot of problems and only because of this the

company faced such kind of problems, which also led to a great harm and damage for the

company. (Andre, 2004, pg 56-67)

4. ACTIONS

Apart from all the mistakes which were somehow made by the Dow corning

corporation, the senior heads also promised their shareholders and their employees that

they will do their best in order to continue with such kind of environment which will be

with an open communication and which will concern both, the Dow corning management

and also the breast implant crisis. Along with this they also came up with about a six

pages of advertising which costs for about $5170 in the local market.

The IT department at Dow corning was also working very well, it had a staff of

about 120 employees who were directed by a director. The IT department was also

responsible for the following main areas:

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• Main framing e-mail.

• Ending global systems financial reporting and also the training systems.

• Telecommunicating.

In 1992 the system information management also issued one of a very well known

information network known as the information network principles.

The information system of the Dow corning is considered as one of a very

important tool n order to enable their multidimensional organizational structure. The top

managers of the Dow corning are always concerned about their global supply chain

management. (Andre, 2004, pg 56-67)

The supply chain management was started along with all the understandings that

what actually are the requirements of their customers and is they able to fulfill their

requirements.

Along with this the Dow corning also started to investigate all over the world the

process along with the implementation of SAP, as an alternative, they introduced a

software package in order to integrate all those chain supply processes along with all the

systems.

The Dow corning corporation is consider as one of that organization which has it

own sets of strategies, which totally work on its own set of principles, and strategies. No

doubt they face some difficulties too but apart from this they also work very well in order

to generate better and better results and also in order to become the most successful

organization in the world. (Andre, 2004, pg 56-67)

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5. PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACH

While reviewing the business process and on all the projects related to the re-

engineering process the company decided to implement different methods, one of the

methods is the recent pilot implementation. The more and more success of the pilot

implementation generates such kind of result, which was very much supportive for the

organization itself. Where as on the other hand there were some members who were

hoping to lower down and also they were deciding to reflect them on whatever they had

gained from the entire pilot projects, Lacefield also felt that this was very much important

in order to set different ambitious deadline in order to set further sets of implementations.

It was also stated that if you ever wish to sustain and to keep the momentum of any kind

of change program then in order to do so you have to continue in order to gain milestones

that are very much challenging as well as aggressive. Otherwise, you will get to an end of

the pilot project and it is therefore consider as an anticlimactic when ever it is the

beginning stage.

The Dow corning corporation also opted for many kinds of different approaches.

It also compressed the most upgraded sequence by just signing the SAP agreement and

with the help of this they very easily formed the supplier management relationship.

This project was one of the most important projects for this organization as it was

the one who can save this organization from being harmed.

The Dow corning plan also extended for the operation procurement software.

They worked very well and very much harder in order to be the most successful along

with most powerful one. (Jim, 2004, pg 20-22)

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Dow corning organization is a jointly owned company of the corning

incorporation as well as of the Dow chemical corporation which manufacture and

develop all the silicone based products as well as silicon for all over the global market.

The company also had a magnificent history of the consistent and also of the regular

growth in the sales, which thus reached to about $ 2.2 billion in 1994 and also to $ 2.5

billion in 1995.

As a result of all these charges towards the income in order to have future

settlements and also the current settlements of all the lawsuits, which are, somehow

directly or indirectly related to the silicone breast implants which are all gel filled.

Along with this the Dow corning corporation had also recorded all the operating

losses in both the years 1994 as well as in 1995. In addition to this, Dow corning

corporation was also facing an increasing global world wide which is also termed as a

global competition also presented all the requirements in order to have more and more

faster cycle times, also in order to have lower costs and along with this a greater and

more enhanced responsiveness for all the needs of the customers.

Each and every employee who works in the Dow corning organization is very

much devoted and also committed towards their work so that they can work very well

and also can put their efforts so well that they can for sure gain success and success.

In order to address these all requirements the management also thought that, it

was very much imperative in order to re-engineer and also to re-design the global

worldwide supply chain. Along with this at the center of all the hard efforts of the re-

engineering process, the main and the most important part was the implementation of the

SAP/R3. (Jim, 2004, pg 20-22)

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The senior management also agreed for the implementation of the SAP in the

early 1995 and at the same time they also introduced three main and the most important

changes in the IT management.

• A new and innovative committee along with the process and IT board

which consists of the senior officers.

• The functions of IT, which was generally combined to perform different

kind of functions.

• The vice president, Charlie Lacefield of engineering and manufacturing

department was also appointed to the most newly positions.

There were different functional computing corporations; they were re-organized

into a well systematic federal system. This kind of well-modified corporation was

working in order to generate most powerful and better and better results.

Lacefield on the other hand also made it clear that all the primary goal related to

the IT departments and units was only to support the project termed as PRIDE, the Dow

corning corporation’s long term effort. Along with this the management also used

different kind of graphics in order to communicate their views related to the re-

engineering process and also the re-engineering efforts to the employees. (Jim, 2004, pg

20-22)

First of all the implementation of the project SAP/R3 would very much easily and

firmly facilitate the implementation process of the global transactions where as this alone

would provide better and better benefits, along with this the firm also anticipated more

powerful advantages, it also produce more significant benefits from the re-designation of

the Dow corning’s four main and core process of operations.

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• Financial management.

• Personnel management.

• Customer focus.

• Product delivery.

Finally the re-engineering process was further extended to the four main decision

making process.

• Portfolio development.

• Opportunity development.

• Direction and planning.

• People development.

The efforts of the re-engineering also had expected time duration of about 10

years. All the benefits would further grow and the people skills would also evolve around

throughout the process.

On the other hand the management of Dow corning corporation also decided to

invest in the software known as SAP because all the analysis had shown that this above

mentioned software would be efficient enough for the corporation in order to re-engineer

all its world wide workflow process.

The contract negotiations also focused on all over the full fledge system of the

software. In order to ensure that all these implementations would also lead to the radical

change in the corporation’s process, the senior management also developed a list of the

re-engineering priorities. (No name, 2000, pg 20-24)

6. PARTICULAR CHALLENGES TO THE GLOBAL COMPETITION

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This implementation, which is termed as a pilot implementation, also gives some

important and most advantageous lessons in order to formalize much more in the learning

process. Along with this the implementation had also helped a lot in clarifying the role of

all over the global team.

All the global team had also accepted the primary and as well as secondary

responsibilities in working with the individuals in order to implement the R3 at all the

pilot sites.

Moreover the IT department has worked very well in order to save this

organization. And it also worked in order to identify the main issues where the actual

problem is so that they can very easily solve that particular problem. All the senior heads

of Dow corning wanted to meet the key requirements as soon as possible in order to be

the most popular one and also in order to be the most successful one.

In future implementation, the management also expects to rely on those particular

areas teams for the implementation support only and only to allow the global team in

order t focus on adding the performing as well as the functionality kind of multiple

implementations. (Jim, 2004, pg 20-22)

As one of the part of the workflows of re designing and also developing the

additional functions, the members of the global team had also started communicating and

interacting with all the experts who can solve their issues more quickly and easily.

The company’s head says that we expect that with the help of this we can have a

very good experience with the help of which we can work very well and when we will be

able to work very well then we will for sure generate the best and the best results.
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The company has to face a number of different kinds of challenges in order to

work harder and harder and also to generate better and better results so that they can

produce best and the best. Challenges are of different kind, some are those kinds of

challenges which most of the companies faces due to their competitor’s work. When their

competitor are working very well and producing the best and the best result then the level

of challenge automatically rises and the opponent part has to work harder and harder in

order to save their own company or organization. (Curtis, 2000, no pg)

In this mentioned case the challenges are very much critical because the

production of silicone based materials for the purpose of breast implants were banned and

this banning issue cause a great harm for the company itself because due to this the

opponent party was working very well and this was a great misleading issue for the Dow

corning corporation. (Jim, 2004, pg 20-22)

Challenges which were faced by the corporation were very much challenging and

were no doubt very much difficult because all the opponent parties or the opponent

corporations were very much demanding, but apart from this Dow corning faced these

challenges and made themselves the most successful and also the most powerful one

among other corporations. Moreover all the departments in the Dow corning corporation

worked very well and very much harder in order to generate best and the best results.

Each and every department whether it is an IT department or the finance department or

the marketing department or any other department they worked very well and produced

such kid of result which was really amazing. (No name, 2000, pg 20-24)
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In order to ensure that all the area team are very much better, they are prepared

very well in order to support all kind of the local implementation and as well as the

management, which along with this provide an extended kind of training for all the

members or for all the team members. An initial training also took place in the Midland,

where the members of the global team were not only taught about the existing functions,

but apart from this they were also taught that how to use them, how to maintain a balance

between each and every kind of work and also that how to cope up with each and every

kind of work related activities.

All the employees are very much devoted towards their organization to be the

most popular and to be the most powerful as well as the most successful organization in

the world. (No name, 1999, pg 30-33)

This Dow corning corporation is a corporation which is working with full stream

of work and in which each and every employee who works; work according to the

organization’s demand and along with this they also work according to the work load.

The implementation system which is also mentioned above is very well-defined,

the role of the global team is that what actually they are here for, what are their

responsibilities. (Andre, 2004, pg 56-67)

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Colas Andre, (2004), “Biomaterials Science, Second Edition: An Introduction to

Materials in Medicine”, page 56-67.

No name, (1999), “Panel confirms no major illness tied to implants”, page 30-33.

N name, (2000), “Chronology of silicone breast implants”, page 20-24.

Jim, (2004), “Dow Corporation”, page 20-22.

Curtis, (2000), “Breast implants at Dow Croning Corporation”.