Wl Gore and Associates

W. L. Gore & Associates

W. L. Gore & Associates: Developing Global Teams to Meet 21st Century Challenges

John McAdams

Sheila Billings

MBA 601 – Business and World Policy

Executive Summary

It goes without saying that W.L. has experienced much success in their field since their inception in 1958. W.L. Gore & Associates is an American manufacturing company that focuses on making products out of fluropolymers. The most well known product they have is the waterproof breathable fabric, which is called Gore-Tex. Founded on January 1, 1958 by the married couple of Bill and Vieve Gore in the basement of their home. The company has experienced enormous success from their humble beginnings and has expanded globally to employees over 6,000 associates in 45 offices with sales over $2.5 billion in 2009. W.L. Gore & Associates products can be found in a myriad industries including: automotive, aerospace, chemical processing, electronic, manufacturing, healthcare, military, and textile. The core of their product line includes: membrane vents, surgical products, aircraft sealant, and outerwear garments.

W.L. Gore & Associates is a unique company and its uniqueness has enabled them to experience much success since its foundation in 1958. Two reasons for their success have been their organizational structure and culture of placing importance on relationships. The corporate culture at W.L. Gore & Associates encourages a family type of atmosphere unlike their competitors. Everyone at Gore shares the same title (as an Associate) and performance is the only factor that determines your success and promotion. Being that everyone is labeled as an “associate” no one has a “boss”, it creates a very unique type of work environment. Gore aims to empower their employees to be more accountable and assume leadership within the organization more than traditional companies. They believe this is the best way to ensure that employees perform well and...