An In-Depth Analysis of 3M Technology's Culture and Recommendations

This report examines the organizational culture of 3M Technology in Singapore, focusing on the challenges faced by the company, particularly concerning the implementation of Six Sigma and employee adaptation. It delves into the company's background, highlighting its history, mission, and vision. The report utilizes two key theoretical frameworks: Hofstede's cultural dimensions and Edgar Schein's cultural model, to analyze the cultural aspects of 3M. It discusses power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculinity-femininity within the context of 3M's operations. The report also explores the application of Schein's cultural model, examining artifacts, values, and assumptions within the organization. The analysis aims to identify cultural issues and suggest potential improvements to enhance employee engagement and organizational effectiveness. The report concludes with recommendations for fostering a more adaptable and productive work environment within 3M Technology.

culture and organization
[Document subtitle]

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Contents
Introduction and the issue................................................................................................................2
Background of the identified organization......................................................................................3
Theoretical framework.....................................................................................................................6
Hofstede cultural dimension.....................................................................................................6
Power distance........................................................................................................................6
Uncertainty Avoidance...........................................................................................................7
Individualism versus collectivism.........................................................................................7
Masculinity-femininity...........................................................................................................8
Long term orientation/Confucian dynamism......................................................................8
Edgar Schein’s cultural model..................................................................................................9
Artifacts and creation............................................................................................................9
Values and beliefs...................................................................................................................9
Basic assumption..................................................................................................................10
Chosen theoretical framework.......................................................................................................11
Artefacts....................................................................................................................................11
Values........................................................................................................................................11
Assumptions..............................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

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Introduction and the issue
The report has been made to understand the issues of the organization and which can be further
resolved by applying the theoretical concepts. The organization which has been taken for the
assessment is the 3M Technology, Singapore. It has been observed that the organization has used
the six sigma in order to improve the processes of business by minimizing the probability of the
occurrence of defect or the error. The corporate journey of six sigma of 3M began when the J.
McNerney took over. The company was also using the technique of six sigma in various parts of
the organization, but the results were not that effective as they were expected to be because the
technique was not used in each department of the organization which further impacted the
overall performance of an organization. Somehow, the organization managed to completely
utilize the technique of six sigma in order to maximize profitability by identifying the probability
of a number of defects and the errors and the organization was expecting to generate more
revenues by increasing productivity. The six sigma technique was used in every part of the
organization.
But soon the things changed, the company was not able to offer productive services to the
customers according to their needs. Further, the management tried to identify the reason for the
decline in the productivity and identified that the employees were not able to adjust with the new
technique. The employees of the higher position were becoming authoritative, and the employees
were not able to show their talent and use their required skills and capabilities. The employees
were only getting orders from the higher authorities, and this is making them frustrated and
demotivated as they were not able to work according to their skills and their skills and the
capabilities were not getting utilized adequately (Daft, R. L. 2015). The organization was trying

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hard to offer adequate training to the employees, but some of the employees were not ready to
accept the change because they were more comfortable in a way in which they were working
(Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. 2002). The company tried to expand their operations more than
before in order to maximize profitability and attain sustainable competitive edge for a longer
period of time by satisfying and retaining customers through offering high quality and innovative
products and services to them.
Therefore, the six sigma technique did not go right with the organization as the employees
resisted in order to accept the change and their efficiency declined to a great extent. The
organization has the open culture, but it is becoming difficult for the employees to work more
productively by accepting the technique of six sigma. Furthermore, the report will help in
understanding the background of the organization along with the theoretical concepts which can
be used by the organization in order to improve the culture of the organization and how the
concepts will actually help the organization to work more innovatively.
Background of the identified organization
The 3M Technology is the organization which offers the services of innovative products to the
communities and the customers. The organization is committed in order to make the lives of the
customers better and easier. Further, the company offers the services in the various sectors like
retail, health care, construction, industrial, mining, chemicals and the transportation (3M Global
Gateway. 2012). The company was established 50 years ago in Singapore. Initially, the
organization had around 8 employees only, but at present, it has 1700 employees along with the
well- developed capabilities. The organization is having two plants of manufacturing in
Singapore i.e. Tuas and Woodlands. The organization is an American corporation of multi-

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national conglomerate which is based in Minnesota and was established in 1902. Further, the
company was shifted to Duluth in the year 1905 in order to focus on the products of the
sandpaper. After the years of hard work and the struggle, the company managed to master in the
supply chain and the production. Further, the investors were fascinated to the organization, and
in 1910 the company was moved to St. Paul. Initially, the organization was succeeding through
marketing and the technical innovations. The organization developed the sandpaper in order to
reduce the dust of airborne during the manufacturing of automation in the year 1920. Further, in
the year 1925, the tape of masking was invented by the young assistants of the lab, and it was a
great step of innovation taken by the organization.
Moreover, in the year 1940, the company was diversified to the various materials of defense
which included various ventures like the sheets of reflection for the markings of the highway, the
magnetic tape of recording, filament tape, etc. Further, the company started involving in the arts
of graphics along with the offset plates of the printing. Also, in the year 1950, the organization
came up with the various new products of electro-mechanical in order to diversify in various
fields and maximize profitability by offering high-quality innovative products. Furthermore, the
dry microfilm was created by the organization in the year 1960 with the products of
photography, papers without carbon, overhead systems of projection and also growing business
in the health care by offering innovative products of dental and medical. At the end of 1980, the
3M was already established in the areas of radiology, pharmaceuticals and the energy and the
organization changed the behavior of the organization to attain sustainable competitive edge in
the marketplace. Further, in the year 1990, the organization continued to create an array of the
high-quality products which included the pharmaceuticals modifier, films for the enhancement of
brightness and the circuits which will be used in the printers of inkjet, and various other devices.

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In the year 2004, the organization faced expected the rise in the sales of the products for the very
first time. The advances in the communication are merging into the community with the great
values. The organization has faced various uncertainties due to the change in the climate and the
availability of the energy along with the various resources. The organization has also faced
issues in making the lives safer and easier for the customers by satisfying their requirements to a
great extent. Moreover, the organization has established the various products which focused on
the sustainability which included various films for the efficiency, solutions for developing air-
barrier, the information system of health along with the saving of energy. The 3M invested
highly in the prevention program of pollution in order to reduce the emissions of the greenhouse
gas. Also, the organization is making continuous efforts in order to restore and protect the
ecosystems across the globe. The organization also work for the purpose of charity to some
extent only, and this helped the organization to attract more customers. The 3M has acted in
relation to the values demonstrated by the U.N.G. Compact. The company formalizes on the
basis of various principles like labor, human rights, laws of the environment, etc. The company
is also facing issues in operating the business activities and making the decisions for the long
term period and further in the way of collaboration. The culture of the organization is not that
effective, and this is further impacting the productivity of the organization to a great extent, and
it is becoming difficult for the organization to implement the new techniques according to the
changes in the technology. The organization is having the around 89,000 employees in order to
develop a great future along with the sustainability.
Further, the mission statement of the organization is to improve the lives of people by offering
innovation in community, education and the environment. The vision statement of the
organization i.e. 3M is to advancing the operational activities of each company by offering the

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innovative products, enhancing homes of the customers by their products and providing great
innovation in order to improve the lives of the customers to every possible extent. Moreover, the
organization has operations in around 63 countries which also includes 28 international
organizations along with the operations of manufacturing and 32 organizations and laboratories.
The products of the organization are available in order to purchase through online, retailers and
the distributors. Despite the success, the organization is facing issues in managing the culture of
the organization which is slowly and gradually impacting the operations of the business along
with the sales negatively.
Theoretical framework
According to the researchers (Chhokar, J. S., Brodbeck, F. C., & House, R. J. 2013), there are
various theories in relation to the culture of the organization which helps in improving the
culture of the organization and improving efficiency and the effectiveness of the organization to
attain sustainable competitive edge for a longer period of time. Further, the theories have been
chosen for this organization i.e. Hofstede cultural dimensions and the cultural model of Edgar
Schein (Cadle, J., Paul, D. & Turner, P. 2010). Moreover, the theories will be discussed in order
to identify the suitable model for the assessment of the culture of the organization i.e. 3M.
Hofstede cultural dimension
Power distance
Singapore has a great score on this cultural dimension. The organizations in the Singapore uses
the dominant approach in order to maximize the productivity. The relationships among the
employees of the organization are not on the equal level, and they rely on the complementary

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and the mutual obligations. The managers have the complete authority and they depend on their
boss in order to take any decision, and same is applied to the employees as they rely on the
managers. The communication flows formally in the organization, and the flow is selective in
nature (Grout, J. & Fisher, L. 2011). The employees who are less powerful are being dominated
by the ones who are more powerful. The organizations who accepts this dimension of culture
follows the hierarchical structure.
Uncertainty Avoidance
In the country like Singapore, people follows various rules due to the high PDI. The country
scores less in this dimension of the culture. The organizations want to be predictable about their
future, and because of this, they take various decisions which impact the organization adversely
(Burke, W. W., & Noumair, D. A. 2015). The organization has to be careful enough while
making strategies for the long term period in order to maximize profitability and attain
sustainable competitive edge for a longer period of time by satisfying the customers by offering
high-quality products (McSweeney, B. 2002). The organizations conduct various training
programs for their employees in order to barrel with anxiety and to avoid uncertainty to a great
extent.
Individualism versus collectivism
It has been observed that Singapore believes in collectivism and people belongs to the group as
they do not think about their own self- image rather they focus on the overall result of the group
and the organization. The employees of the organization believe in harmony, and they think
about their organization first rather than the individual goals. Further, most of the organizations
of Singapore follows this dimension of culture in order to generate sales and revenues to a great

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extent by satisfying the customers according to their requirements (Cummings, T. G., & Worley,
C. G. 2014). The employees take the feedback seriously and work accordingly in order to
improve their performance so that the organization can get adequate advantages in order to grow.
Masculinity-femininity
The organizations in the Singapore believes in masculinity as the society is competitive and it
lacks modesty, cooperation, etc. The organization is more oriented towards consensus. Further,
the system of the organization relies on the value in order to attain sustainable competitive edge
for a longer period of time (Ruiz-Palomino, P., & Martínez-Cañas, R. 2014). The country has a
low score in femininity because of the dominant values. Also, the conflicts are being avoided by
the organizations in order to offer productive results and services to the customers by satisfying
them to a great extent.
Long term orientation/Confucian dynamism
Singapore has a high score in this dimension of the culture. The organizations make long term
goals by considering the past and the present so that they get the expected results in future and
remain competitive enough in order to attain sustainable competitive edge for a longer period of
time along with the maximization of profitability (Johnson, B. 2014). Further, the organizations
use the approach of pragmatic as they encourage the efforts made by the employees but to some
extent only. The aim of the organizations is to use the resources to a great extent by avoiding the
wastage of available resources (Leong, F. T., Huang, J. L., & Mak, S. 2014).

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Edgar Schein’s cultural model
Artifacts and creation
The creation and the artifacts are the first levels of the cultural model of Schein. Further, the
level demonstrates the various attributes of the organization which is the part of the culture of the
organization which can be easily felt and viewed as well (Schein, E.H. 2008). The model focuses
on the various aspects of the employees like how they interact with other employees and how
they handle the facilities which are available. Moreover, the aspects can be clearly viewed, and
the culture of the organization can be easily understood. Also, the organization works by
following various norms as the regulations and the rules which help in defining the culture as
well. Further, the artifacts and the creation includes the way of communication which is being
followed within an organization (CN Wee, J., & YK Chua, A. 2013). These are the significant
attributes of the organization which further helps in shaping the culture of the organization and
this can be done at any step.
Values and beliefs
The values and the beliefs are being used as another level of the cultural model. Further, the
values which are being present in the employees are used as the important aspect in guiding the
creation of the specific form of the culture of the organization. It also includes the overall
behavior of the employees as it further impacts the culture of the organization. Furthermore, the
values are being defined as the intrinsic to the employees who are working in the organization as
they are told to do so formally (Yeo, S. L., & Pang, A. 2016). The values and the beliefs like
honesty, trust and the orientation in order to make an effort which is being embedded within the
employees. The model focuses on the right hiring of the employees in order to maximize the

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productivity of the organization along with the maximization of profitability (Schein, E.H. 2010).
Further, the artifacts which are discussed above can be easily changed at any step, but the values
and the beliefs cannot be changed as they are being inbuilt within the employees. The beliefs and
the values are rooted in the persons depending on the upbringing and the background. Also, it
has been observed that the employees follow the values more as compared to the faith as there is
restricted rationale in relation with it and it further makes it challenging in order to change.
Basic assumption
The assumptions are being considered as the final stage of the cultural model. Further, the
assumptions are the values which are not accessed in the organization rather they indirectly
affect the organization’s functioning. For example, it has been observed that the society of
Singapore is male dominating and the women are given fewer opportunities in order to grow and
show their talent, and this means that the women are less capable of doing the work as compared
to men (Bhasin, B., & Ng, L. K. 2016). This cultural model demonstrates the inner aspects of the
culture of the organization. Further, this level of the model helps in developing the capability in
order to compete with the competitors to attain the sustainable competitive edge for a longer
period of time and even it helps in maximizing the profitability to a great extent by offering
innovative products to the customers (Tierney, W. G., & Lanford, M. 2015). It has been observed
that some employees find difficult to imitate the culture of the organization and the employees
demonstrate the orientation of automation towards the various actions.

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Chosen theoretical framework
The chosen theoretical framework is the Edgar Schein model of culture in order to improve the
culture of the 3M Technology (Bailey, B. M., & Bruner, M. W. 2015).
Artefacts
This will help the organization to retain the employees as they will be given adequate benefits in
order to work more productively for the organization and also work in the same culture which
the management of the organization wants (Azar, O.H & Brock, D.M 2010). Further, the
organization will be able to encourage the employees to completely accept the changes done
within the organization and work accordingly (Hogan, S. J., & Coote, L. V. 2014).
Values
The model will help the 3M to develop and promote the system of belief among the employees
in order to interact more, and this will encourage the employees to accept the changes done in the
organization (Hsu, S. H. 2014). Also, the organization will also have the open culture and will
not feel authoritative by the managers, and they will feel free to show their talent and capabilities
(Kong, L. 2016).
Assumptions
The organization can rely on the orientation of the employees and the management towards the
customers in order to maximize productivity and satisfying the customers and the employees to a
great extent. Further, the employees will be given authority in order to take the decisions and this