W. L. Gore & Associates Founded by Bill Gore in 1958

W. L. Gore &  Associates Founded by Bill Gore in 1958
1. Introduction and Background Analysis
W. L. Gore & Associates is a privately-held multinational company founded by Bill Gore in 1958. The organization employs more than 11,500 employees committed to improving human life and transforming the industrial sector. It specializes in producing goods made from fluoropolymers and advanced materials (Forbes, 2021). The business is widely known for manufacturing waterproof and breathable fabrics. W. L. Gore is further divided into four divisions offering high-quality products for medical, textile, Information Technology, aeronautics, industrial goods, and electronics, serving clients from the military, textile industry, computers, and optical and electronics. The company has been recognized as an industry leader globally, offering highly specialized products to its target market.
Fortune-listed W. L. Gore is one of the leaders in the industry for its production of innovative products and workplace environment. The employees at Gore are highly committed and skilled. It was ranked 12th on the list of best companies to work for (Fortune, 2021). Internal hiring is the key competitive advantage because the employees are trained with the right skills and development programs. Creativity and innovation are at the core of the business, which make Gore ahead of its competitors. Technology and innovation is the crucial part of product manufacturing and development. The company focuses on continuous innovation and improvement of products keeping the business ahead of the competitors. The establishment of Gore Innovation Centre, firm's global energy transition program, advanced fuel cell technology and production of electrical automobiles are some of the business's major achievements (W.L. Gore, 2022). （Are there any market figures to be cited?)
The organizational response of Gore to its customer's needs and demands is highly efficient. Employee competence helps the business to achieve its goals and achieve competitive advantage. W. L. Gore is a learning organization focusing on innovation and technology to produce high-tech products and services with the help of a specialized and highly motivated workforce.
2. Leadership and Organizational Culture
Organizational success is mainly dependent upon leadership and corporate culture. W. L. Gore is known globally for its highly specialized collaborative leadership style. Bill Gore focused on forming a multinational firm free from bureaucracy and any power or controlling authority. It helped in fostering employee engagement and creativity. The business operations are carried out through teamwork which is the essence of GORE. Teams are formed, and every person is accountable to the group started as a response to the challenge or task, and team leaders are consequently identified (Manz, Shipper & Stewart, 2009). Employees use their utmost potential and give their best performance when given power. It also enhances their productivity and efficiency.
W. L. Gore refers to its employees as associates. The company is labelled as one of the top companies with the most patented and copyrighted products. The Gore employees are responsible for their work and management of their tasks. The leadership opportunity depends on the followership of the associates (Gore, 2022). Employees set their goals and targets, travelling to the top hierarchy where organizational forecasts are established.
2.1. Leadership style of the CEO Vs. Leadership style framework (Contingency theory)
( need to explain natural leadership, proponents of it and the principles with citation)
Bret Synder, the CEO at W. L. Gore, follows natural leadership style with no power and control system. Natural leadership is a free-style leadership without any control system. It allows shared leadership to its followers, which inspires them to demonstrate their skills and capabilities more effectively (Hamel, 2010). The proponents of natural leadership include modern, highly innovative and hyper-connected organizations. These creative organizations evolve with time by practicing natural leadership. The core principles of natural leadership include respecting varied perspectives, supporting innovation, continuous improvement and collaborative decision-making (Manz, Shipper & Stewart, 2009). The workplace culture and management style of W.L. Gore promotes employee satisfaction, retention, and high performance. The employees are encouraged and motivated toward innovation and creativity (Kelly, 2016). The organization works as a single integrated unit that evolves continuously and is managed by a self-organized team of leaders and staff. The company has no formal chain of command because it follows a corporate lattice structure, which works on a direct interaction system. Lattice structure does not follow hierarchy or leadership (Newark, 2012). The company also Gore offers each of its employees an opportunity to be a leader.
The company operates without managers, and leadership is prevalent at every organizational level, which is practiced by every employee with the capability, knowledge, and experience to respond to the recent challenges in the industry (Khan &a...