Assignment task:
NuCor
Reading:
Nucor, the largest steel producer in the U.S., has never had a layoff. Nucor's stated philosophy is, "We work together to ensure a safe, positive and engaging environment for each other, while delivering the highest quality products and service for our customers" (Nucor.com, 2020). As former CEO Ken Iverson put it, "We built Nucor under the assumption that most of the 'genius' in the organization would be found among the people doing the work. From the outset, we shaped our business to let employees show management the way to reach goals that once seemed unreachable."
Here's an example of how that works: Early one March afternoon, three electricians who worked for Nucor Corporation got bad news. In Hickman, Arkansas, the company's steel mill was dead in the water because its electric grid had failed. All three employees dropped what they were doing to head for Arkansas. One drove from Indiana, arriving at 9 PM that night. The other two flew from North Carolina to Memphis, then drove two more hours, arriving after midnight. All three camped out at the plant and worked twenty-hour shifts with local staff to get the grid back up.
The electricians volunteered - they didn't need a boss to tell them that Nucor had to get the mill back on line. Their Herculean effort was a big help to the company, but brought them no immediate financial reward, even though their initiative helped Hickman post a quarterly record for tons of steel shipped. (Byrnes and Arndt, 2006)
At Nucor, this story is not particularly unusual. Nucor has nurtured one of the most dynamic and engaged workforces around. Its nonunion employees don't see themselves as worker bees waiting for instructions from above. Nucor's flattened hierarchy and emphasis on pushing power to the front line have given its employees the mindset of owner-operators. It's a profitable formula: Nucor's 387% return to shareholders over the past five years soundly bests almost all other companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. (Byrnes and Arndt, 2006, p. 58)
Using terms you have learned from the text:
a) With reference to the appropriate frame(s), explain why Nucor has never unionized.
b) Do you think Nucor hires workers with the right "fit" or do they manage in such a way that forms a super-positive culture for workers? Explain in detail.