Final Project

Nucor Corporation is the largest producer of steel in the United States with the capacity to produce 27 tons of steel if needed and the largest steel producer in North America's largest recycler as well. Nucor has 200 operating facilities and 90 businesses that operate separately, but compete collectively and are the sole owners of Harris Steel, The David J. Joseph Company, and Skyline Steel, yet they only have 100 people working in their corporate office with a few layers of management between the CEO and the Frontline.

Impressive as these numbers are the real reason that I chose to write about this company as they are a great example of a company that applies the five practices of exemplary leadership and this application of these practices are largely the reason this company has been so successful.

In 1905, Ransom Olds, who created the Oldsmobile had a disagreement with stockholders and ultimately left his company Olds Motor Works. Later he formed REO Motor Company, which became the Nuclear Corporation and eventually Nucor. REO was successful until the end of the Korean War, when REO assets were merged with Nuclear Consultants and thus the formation of the Nuclear Corporation of America.

With this merger Nuclear made two moves that changed the company and the steel industry. The first was acquiring a company named Vulcraft and the second hiring Ken Iverson. Iverson begins by selling of division that was not efficient and moving the corporate headquarters from Phoenix, Arizona to Charlotte, North Carolina and he suggested that Nuclear enter into the steel business.

The first mini mill went into production in 1969 and it was started to provide Vulcraft with a cheap and reliable steel to make construction joist. However, as wor...

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...ilies to a place of their choosing within the United States that was paid for by Nucor. This would encourage friendly competition between teams and encourage innovation throughout the company.

Conclusion

Nucor stands out as the best example of a company that practices the five practices of exemplary leadership as they model the way for their employees by doing away with the hierarchy and allowing the worker to share in the success of the company. They inspire a shared vision by engaging the workers in creating new ideas to improve their processes, and challenge the process by trying the ideas instead of ignoring suggestion or coming up with excuses as to why they will not work. This culture enables the workers to act on their own and thus build collaboration and respect and encourages the workers to soar to heights that most companies only read about in articles.