Pros
3M has a culture that allows innovation without punishment for failure. Lean six sigma is one of the main reasons for 3M's success in keeping costs down and hiring outstanding people. Communication from the middle management down is good so I assume communication down the chain of command to all levels is the same. Compensation and benefits are in line with the industry standard although there have been some changes. We'll have to see what the industry does. Morale is high considering the economy and the tough decision from St. Paul. Management shows a great deal of respect to the employees.
Cons
The culture of "that is the way we have always done it" is alive and well within all ranks. This is starting to change in the production area but is slow to be adopted in other areas. One of the downsides is some of the plants are in small towns. This is not always a downside but if you want a good meal you may have to drive for it as well as going shopping. This also limits the potential employee pool and makes it difficult to get an outstanding engineer or manager into your plant due to the location.
