Development Strategy of Dupont International Management - Essay Example

Topic Global Continual Development Strategy of Dupont International Management The scope of the research topic: Dupont operates in more than 70 countries around the world offering a wide range of innovative products such as agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel for a better, safer and healthier life (DuPont, 2006). Starting out as an explosives company in 1802, focus shifted to chemicals, materials and energy within the next 100 years so that DuPont today delivers science-based solutions in the food and nutrition, health care, apparel, safety and security, construction, electronics and transportation with an annual revenue of $26.6 billion for 2005 alone, employing about 60,000 people worldwide. DuPont conducts more than 40 research and development projects and customer service laboratories in the United States, with more than 35 laboratories in 11 other countries. The company sits at Fortune 550’s 73 largest US industrial/service corporations with brands DuPont Oval, Pioneer brand seeds, Teflon fluoropolymers, films, fabric protectors, fibers, dispersions, Corian solid surfaces, Kevlar high strength material, and Tyvek protective material (DuPont, 2006). This study shall try to find out the global continual development strategy of DuPont international management in consideration of its global operations and distribution system as well as a multinational corporation. Research questions This research shall try to answer the following questions with regards to Dupont international management: What are the perceived challenges and problems faced by DuPont with regards to its continual development in global management? What are the operating and management strategies adopted by Dupont in order to maintain a continual global industry? What are the corporate responsibility, commitment, as well as ethics employed by DuPont for its international operations? How is DuPont coping with international challenges and global pressures with regards to its continual management? Objectives This study shall try to establish existing continual management problems in international management as exemplified by DuPont and will try to delineate development strategies that are adopted, employed or considered by companies such as DuPont. This will serve as basis for researches Specific Tasks and Stages Timetable for the study is as follows: 1st-3rd week 4th-6th week 7th-9th week 10th-12th week 13th-15th week Preparation of Research Proposal Finalization of Research Outline Gathering of Primary and Secondary Data Interpret and Analyze gathered Data Finalization of Complete Research Review of Related Literature Sources for this section shall include texts, actual articles, internet sources, published reports and data sets that will be significant as a basis for literature review. Journal articles, reviews or studies as well as books shall be prioritized, as well as data from reliable media such as newspapers or major dailies and their corresponding websites, data from DuPont, and other reference materials. Background of the Study DuPont is one of the oldest and most established international manufacturing companies that operate globally. Its various trademarks are found in many consumer as well as industrial products so that DuPont per se has become or has been related to household products: carpets, upholstery, containers, construction and other items used in daily basis. Already, words like durability and quality are attached to the brand name or trademark. But it does not only take quality products to make a name such as DuPont. As acknowledged in their website, DuPont has employed innovation in most aspects of its global operations emphasizing several areas such as : competing globally; sharpening its business focus; increasing productivity; committing to safety, health, and environmental excellence; empowering people, capitalizing on its strong corporate and product brand franchises; and continuing to extend its significant science and technological achievement (Berkeley, 2006). Already, focus on core competencies was acknowledged where DuPont build competitive business advantage such as a 1993 transaction that disposed DuPont’s acrylic business while acquiring ICI’s nylon business. Cost-reduction and improving productivity were also cited as DuPont’s strategic moves in the 1990s when most companies either are emerging or closing down, allowing flexibility for competitive pricing and growing market share and earning (Berkeley, 2006). 1990s also saw vigorous expansion overseas with new plants in Spain, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and China coupled with a major technical server in Japan, a move that even critics could easily detect not only as competitive but innovative. At the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a Conoco joint venture producing oil from Ardalin Field in the Russian Arctic began in 1994 beckoning the first major oil field Russian-Western partnership (Berkeley, 2006) so that DuPont has maintained its innovative ways unprecedented in most industries. Although it was pointed out by insiders and outsiders that transformations during the 1990s was “the new Dupont”, it was observed that was partially true as many things have remained the same --- basically its competency in science and technology, emphasis on personal and corporate integrity, focus on future as well as the company’s overall flexibility towards change, classically identified as DuPont culture (Berkeley, 2006). But these colourful achievements as well as established data about DuPont is not exactly un-challenged. In March, news report about DuPont’s legal liabilities as it faces lawsuits in several US areas regarding the potential health risks of Teflon’s primary ingredient receiving about hundreds of lawsuits in 2005 involving Benlate, a fungicide with alleged environmental damage and birth effects (AP, 2006). Racketeering and fraud charges were also documented in Hawaii and legal steps were in place to address these international crises beseeching DuPont. As it is, it was reported that “DuPont agreed in December to pay $10.25 million in fines and $6.25 million for environmental projects to settle allegations by the Environmental Protection Agency that the company kept information about PFOA from government regulators,” (AP, 2006) associating unsavoury image and perception towards the company. These issues shall be used in the research in order to establish a continual development strategy of Dupont in its international management. Data collection/Survey Methodology Quantitative and qualitative survey and analysis shall to gather primary data with regards to actual perception of global brand DuPont by consumers through electronic mail survey using random sampling. Likewise, this research will also try to find out first-hand information from DuPont with regards to continual development strategies. Potential difficulties and barriers that may occur when carrying out this research include gathering of voluntary respondents, the demographics of respondents, as well as in conquering bureaucratic challenges in getting first-hand information from DuPont. In instances where it will be difficult to get at least 200 respondents for the survey, a minimum of 100 respondents shall be targeted. As with a direct interview with a DuPont representative, this researcher shall try to establish connection through their website contact point as well as through formal mail in order to obtain relevant data that pertains to the continual development strategies of DuPont in their internal management Quantitative research shall be useful for the primary data in order to establish the most forceful and prevalent reason why global consumers prefer to use DuPont. Qualitative research involves an in-depth understanding of human behaviour. Qualitative research relies on reasons behind various aspects such as individual’s desires, beliefs, the way of thinking and his descriptions. A qualitative researcher also looks for deficiency as well as existence, where are and what are the gaps, the differentiation as well as comparison and consistencies and contradictions of all the aspects of the subject. It is a detective research that investigates the why and how of decision making and also asking what for and why (Becker, 2006). Random Sampling In random sampling, this researcher will try to gather data from a certain age group of a population, which at this instance targets online consumers aged 16-35, from both genders. This will establish what this community online use or support DuPont products for. The researcher should be able to evaluate the population as a whole, and if the population is large the outcome of the research will be more justified. The population may prove so large that researcher must sample only a part of the population and make conclusions based on the sample (ABS, 2004). Gathering representative’s samples is really time consuming and tiresome in survey research. In drawing the participants of a survey respondent one by one to build the sample, the proportion of each item in a population has an equal chance of inclusion in the sample survey. It ensures that bias is not implemented regarding whom is included in the random survey (Davis, 1997). The advantages of the chosen method will be an actual establishment of global perception of DuPont products, delivery and management as a whole. The limitations of the chosen method for random sampling survey is that it cannot gauge a general or most dominant management factor within DuPont itself as this may not be very apparent among consumers. Only perceive and obvious factors shall be delineated which may include product quality, service delivery, product reliability, among others. Behind the operations and management, DuPont shall be something like a known global name or brand, but is limited as a material, although whatever may be the come out of the research shall prove relevant for this research. A list of at least 500 e-mail addresses of voluntary global respondents shall be picked or requested from a private group that supplies such lists. These prospective respondents shall be sent an e-mail with a cover page explaining the survey, purpose, as well as a little academic background or information about researcher. The cover letter shall include an instruction that clarifications may be obtained from the researcher, of which an e-mail address shall also be provided. Since global continual development strategies in international management are the topic, questionnaire shall be limited to related information necessary to answer research questions. The questionnaire shall be attached or included in the e-mail. This researcher shall expect that not all prospective respondents shall answer, or provide data needed. But in order to maximize participants, another set of e-mailed questionnaires shall be sent a few days after the first batch in order to accumulate at least a hundred actual respondents. As for the interview, a research question that will be gathering perceived general information shall be sent to the corporate communication, public or media relations department of DuPont. This research shall not expect extensive data as companies of that extent also protect trade or company secrets. Nevertheless, secondary data that shall include critic reviews, as well as other business strategy-related topics for companies such as DuPont or its competitors shall also serve as a guide in order to substantiate primary data collected. These will be both used in the presentation of data and analysis. Reference: Associated Press (AP)/ Randall Chase. (2006) “DuPont prepares new legal strategy.” International Herald Tribune, March 22, 2006 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2004). “Sampling Method”. Commonwealth of Australia. August 27, 2004, from: http://www.abs.gov.au/ Berkeley Education. (2006). “Strategy for the 1990s and Beyond.” Accessed November from http://best.me.berkeley.edu/~pps/pps/dupont_strategy.html Becker, Howard. (1996). The epistemology of qualitative research. University of Chicago Press, 1996. 53-71. [from Ethnography and human development : context and meaning in social inquiry / edited by Richard Jessor, Anne Colby, and Richard A. Shweder] Davis, John.(1997). “Survey Research Methods”. July 17, 1997, from: http://clem.mscd.edu/ DuPont. (2006). “Learn More About DuPont.” Accessed November from http://www2.dupont.com/Our_Company/en_US/ Read More