3M Optical Systems: Managing Corporate Entrepreneurship Case

Case Study: "3M Optical Systems: Managing Corporate Entrepreneurship"

The 3M Corporation is known for placing a strong emphasis on innovation. As described in this week's case study, 3M Optical Systems: Managing Corporate Entrepreneurship, the company's goal was to have had at least 30% of its available products developed in the previous four years. 3M was attempting to develop a new non-glare, privacy screen for computers. The first two attempts had been failures and now the manager must make the decision whether or not to fund an additional attempt-and where the funding would come from.

After reading the case study, consider the following:

What are the most critical factors that the manager needs to consider in his decision making?

Based on the information given, what would be your recommendation if you were the manager?

What do you see as the greatest risks?

How does the need for funding of future projects affect your thinking?

What effects do the different solutions have on the quality of the product?

How does the morale of the development teams affect the quality of the product?