Nucor Corporation Case Study

Nucor Corporation is a company that operates within the steel manufacturing industry in the United States. Steel is a commodity, which then signifies that Nucor must come up with a strategy which allows for them to appeal to buyers but at the same remain profitable. By creating a strategy and implementing a corresponding control system Nucor has the ability to lead the industry.

Nucor's strategy is to stick to only producing steel products however producing products that are of both high and low end products. Being within a large industry, Nucor believes in committing to producing high-quality steel and steel products at competitive prices" (pg 21). Nucor also adopts a strategy in which requires their debt to total capital ratio to stay below 30 percent (pg 21). By striving to maintain this ratio it allows for Nucor to control their financial strength. In order to achieve the end result, Nucor must create a control system that allows the company to see the result.

An effective management control system works when human resource management, culture and an organizations structure all work among each other to achieve the end goal. In Nucor's case what allows them to be so successful is based around their control system. Nucor's system allows for effective communication and planning through out their corporation however with opportunity for all employees to provide ideas and insight on how to grow and improve the company. How Nucor manages control is mainly through trust that senior management provides to its general management team of each factory. Nucor's structures themselves as a decentralized system, this enforces the notion of individuality. By maintaining a decentralized structure, this allows for general managers of a factory to operate in their management style and to make their own decisions. Each factory operates in many different locations around the United States and within each factory they produce different