September 22, 2015

Mr. Nick Dirnberger

1641 1st St N
Fargo, ND 58102
Subject: Company Compare and Contrast Letter
Dear Instructor Kaser:
The process of researching the companies of Polaris Inc. and Emerson Electric Co. took
much longer than I thought it would. Although, I also learned a lot more than I thought I
would and can honestly say that I feel much more comfortable with both of the
companies. I spent many hours researching their cultures, values, key players,
business, communication styles, and the public view of the companies.
The main difference between the two is their personas. Polaris demonstrates a more
colorful and appealing website showing their passion for their products and their riders.
One of their mottos is work hard, play hard. Even the employees show their passion
for their company by riding Polaris products and essentially unintentionally advertising
for their company. Whereas Emersons persona appears to be strictly work oriented, all
work no play. Their website is mostly just informative. According to an employee, they
have the necessary high standards. This being said, it is not that Polaris doesnt have
high standards, it is just more direct when examining Emerson.
Polaris and Emerson have few similarities, although much of their core values are
similar. They both express a great importance in the excellence of their employees.
They both have a commitment to high standards and producing quality products while
keeping ethics and excellence a top priority.
Researching these companies has provided me with a better sense of what they are
looking for when it comes to employees. Analyzing Polaris has shown me that I should
use a semi-formal style in my application material. And since Polaris emphasizes
passion and enthusiasm for their products and riders, I should demonstrate my passion
and interest in their products and how I could contribute to the betterment of their
products. Emerson is more business driven persona pushed me to use a very formal,
very professional style.
Sincerely,

Nick Dirnberger
Enclosures (2)

Polaris Industries Inc. Profile

Company Profiled: Polaris Industries Inc.
Position Applying For: Engineering Intern
Company Website: http://www.polaris.com/en-us/home.aspx
Type of Business: designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets high quality on and
off-road vehicles, generators, and parts
Business Objective: To show that being outdoors and riding their machines can better
peoples lives
Brief Description of Position: An engineering intern will receive personalized goals and
projects that relate directly to the needs of the company. You will have to collaborate
on teams with people of various professions to design, develop, and implement
different projects. You will expand your skillset and learn or practice key skills required
in the engineering field such as CAD modeling or drawing, casting, product testing, and
manufacturing.
Introductory Narrative: My passion for problem solving, love of driving and working on
off-road vehicles, and education in static and dynamic analysis, provide me with the
necessary tools to be an engineering intern for Polaris. I grew up riding old dirt-bikes,
snowmobiles, go-carts, around my parents rural home just 45 minutes from the Polaris
Headquarters in Medina, MN. I have a love for engines and taking them to the extreme.
Demographics: Polaris Industries is headquartered in Medina, Minnesota. The
engineering, manufacturing, and distribution facilities are all located in the United
States, but the company is International. They conduct business in 7 countries
worldwide, the most recent expansion being born in August of 2008 in Madrid, Spain.
The most recent Spain location gives service to over 45 dealers in the Spanish territory.
Sources of Revenue: Polaris gains its revenue from the manufacturing and distribution
of its various on and off-road vehicles, and all-terrain vehicles. It also sells Polaris
apparel.

Whos Who:
Chairman and CEO: Scott W. Wine. He has been the CEO of Polaris Industries Inc. since
September 1, 2008 and the Chairman since January 31, 2013. He has worked for a
variety of international companies, being directly responsible for Honeywells
international operations.
President and Chief Operating Officer: Bennett J. Morgan. He is a long-time Polaris
employee who has served in various departments within Polaris. He joined Polaris in
1987 working in product development, marketing, and operations management.
Senior Vice President - Human Resources: James P. Williams. He joined Polaris in April
of 2011 as Vice President Human Resources. Previously he held various executive
positions with Monsanto, General Motors, and Honeywell.
Core Values: Polaris preaches that the key to its success is directly related to their
employees. The ethics and values of its employees are regarded highly in Polaris. The
values were defined directly by employees themselves. The Polaris Performance
Management Program actually evaluates employee performance on how well they
represent the companys values such as: Team player, innovation, employee
development, customer focus, integrity, passion for excellence, problem solver, and
leadership. In sum, Polaris doesnt just care about what product or design is bringing in
the most money, they care about satisfying their loyal customers.
Public vs. Actual Persona: Polaris public persona demonstrates an enthusiastic passion
for their products and their riders. Their actual persona is similar to their public persona
in that they are passionate about their products and want to get you (potential
customers) involved.
Communication Styles: The communication style of Polaris seems to be more informal
while maintaining a sense of professionalism. The primary medium of communication,
like most other companies, is emailing.

Social Life: Polaris Industries has a very active social life. They often pair up with
different organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America, Special Olympics Minnesota,
Minnesota Wild, or Minnesota Football and sponsor drawings and giveaways where
people can win tickets or other fun prizes like a product of Polaris. On Facebook they
have various pictures and videos of their products and of these events. Polaris has a few
different Twitter accounts, one for each of their main departments, snowmobiles, offroad vehicles, the Polaris RZR, and the Polaris Slingshot. Each account has many
postings of their products and also many pictures of people at competitions of these
products. The social media associated with Polaris gives off a very friendly aura that
shows Polaris is very proud of their products and cares about their riders.
Benefits/Incentives: Polaris non-union workforce is compensated based on the
companys performance. They offer generous profit-sharing and stock-option plans. It
should be noted that all Polaris employees own stock in Polaris. Being that Polaris keeps
their creed to heart, they also offer different programs that allow you to try out a Polaris
machine for a period of up to 2 years, then either buy it at a heavily discounted price, or
return it. They also offer a 401K plan where they match up to 5%.

Emerson Electric Co. Profile

Company Profiled: Emerson Electric Co.
Position Applying For: Senior Mechanical Engineer
Company Website: http://www.emerson.com/en-us
Type of Business: Emerson is a global manufacturing company that brings technology
and engineering together to provide innovative solutions to customers.
Business Objective: Create long-term value for their shareholders, customers, and
employees. Achieve success by developing industry leading technology and solutions,
and expand and invest globally.
Brief Description of Position: A senior mechanical engineer is someone who has worked
as a mechanical engineer for a while and has enough experience to be the head of the
team, or lead, on projects and be responsible for managing other engineers. Some
companies require a masters degree or PhD for this position.
Introductory Narrative: My love for problem solving, experience as a mechanical
engineer, and history of working on teams to overcome problems, provided me with the
skills necessary to be a Senior Mechanical Engineer.
Demographics: Emerson Electric Co. currently employs around 135,000 people
worldwide, conducting business in over 150 countries. It has 235 manufacturing
locations worldwide. The headquarters is located in St. Louis, Missouri.
Sources of Revenue: Emerson Electric Co. gains its revenue from process management,
industrial automation, network power, climate technologies, and commercial and
residential solutions. Its net sales between 2013 and 2014 declined in comparison to
the sales from 2012 to 2013.

Whos Who:
Corporate:
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: David N. Farr. Joining Emerson in 1981 in a
corporate staff position, he became CEO of Emerson in 200 and Chairman in
2004. Since he joined Emerson, it has transformed from a products based U.S.
manufacturing company to an international engineering company. He is
committed to giving back to the community, receiving various awards including
the Semper Fidelis Award from the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation and he
was named St. Louis Citizen of the Year in 2011. He also serves on the executive
boards of the Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis and the Greater St. Louis
Area Council, Boy Scouts of America.
President: Edward L. Monser. Like David Farr, Edward Monser joined Emerson in
1981 as a senior engineer, but climbed the ladder of responsibility, becoming the
president of Emerson Electric Co. in 2010. Like David Farr, he serves on the
board of directors for various educational and charitable organizations in the
community including Ranken Technical College, St. Louis Language Immersion
Schools, and Midwest China Hub Commission.
Core Values: Emerson is committed to being a well managed, results-oriented, and
engineering-driven organization. The employees have a passion for progress and a
commitment to excellence. They strive to be more customer-focused than any
competitors. In sum, Emerson Electric Co. demonstrates a commitment to high
standards both of products and employees while reflecting the importance of personal
and corporate ethics and dedication to its shareholders and customers worldwide.
Public vs. Actual Persona: Emerson Electric Co. public persona portrays a professional
atmosphere focused on producing high quality work, maintaining high standards, and
being customer-focused. Their actual persona is quite the same. They are proud of their
work and proud to be a part of Emerson Electric Co.
Communication Styles: Like Polaris and most other companies, especially ones as big as
Emerson, their primary medium of communication is email. According to an employee
of Emerson, they mostly keep their emails formal, especially if the email is to someone
outside of their department.

Social Life: Many companies have various social networking sites where they can post
pictures of events they hold or keep people up to date with what product they are
currently working on. Emerson uses LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to get out news of
recruiting opportunities for colleges, job openings and random trivia, but most
prominently they us it to promote STEM (Science Technology Engineering and
Mathematics). On Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn they have numerous posts about
how important STEM is to them and to the world.
Benefits/Incentives: Emerson offers the usual benefits such as vacation time, sick days,
pension and 401K plans, a mobile phone discount, and various insurances including:
health, dental, vision, life, disability. Although there has been some discussion as to
whether or not these benefits are actually beneficial. Many former employees argue
that the allotted vacation time and sick days are too few and that it takes too long to
acquire more days. Employees just starting have 10 days of paid leave and 2 weeks of
vacation. The insurance has also changed in the last few years to where if you actually
use it, you pay a large out of pocket sum. As for their 401K plan, they will match up to
6% and provide Roth IRA options.

Bibliography
Bloomberg.com
Emerson.com
Facebook.com
Glassdoor.com
Polaris.com
Twitter.com