Continuous Casting Investments at USX Corporation Essays

Continuous Casting Investments at USX Corporation Essays Continuous Casting Investments at USX Corporation Paper Continuous Casting Investments at USX Corporation Paper Do you think Kappmeyer should sign the proposal, and why? What pushed USS to stay with conventional technology? My recommendation based on analysis of the case and understanding the basic nature of disruptive technologies, and their impact on the general industry is that Kappmeyer should not sign the proposal. The main reason for that is USS is tying itself to an existing, but dying business model and technology. While this plan may make sense in the short-term, it does not have long-term sustainability. The market has already indicated that it is changing, adapting to minimills, and this trend would likely continue. As minimill technology becomes more sophisticated, their quality and other disadvantages would reduce and they would start competing with integrated manufacturing even in the high-end markets. Unfortunately for USS, there is no silver bullet. Since USS is already invested in the market, they will have to go through a difficult, and expensive, change, or they will end up perishing as the industry changes around them. USS current decided to stay with conventional continuous casting technology simply because they were looking at the shorter-term future, and was not willing to take the financial hit and risk associated with a new disruptive technology. Additionally, they were tying themselves to the requirements of the current customers, and ignoring potentially new users for the future. Did the USS team get the right answer to the wrong question? What if, rather than asking whether USS should install CSP in Mon Valley, Kappermeyer has asked whether USS should invest in or participate in this technology? Would you have answered that question differently than you did when the problem was framed as a Mon Valley issue? My recommendation was that USS should not sign this proposal, and that remains the same whether the issue is addressed with respect to Mon Valley or independently. The main reason for disagreeing with investing in the proven conventional continuous casting process is that it would only commit USS to an older technology going extinct. While it may sense in the short-term foreseeable future, for long term survival USS would need to embrace the disruptive technology. Looking at CSP technology only from the Mon Valley perspective is a mistake – the current plant puts a lot of restrictions on the project. If the technology and market is looked at independently from Mon Valley, then my recommendation would be more concretely recommend investing in a new greenfield plant based on the minimills model. It may also be practical for USS to house the disruptive technology as an independent entity. As the market and industry changes, minimills and CSP would mature to improve quality, and further widen the gap between themselves and integrated producers such as USS. Sooner or later, USS would have to modify its production and business models to survive the industry. If it does not do that right now, there is a good possibility that it will be too late. What are other decision alternatives? What are the reasons of choosing each alternative? What will these reasons look like in five years? The company should follow a combination of the following options to maintain long-term competitiveness: Close Mon Valley: USS already has close to 25% of unused capacity. Currently (1990) they have approximately 14. 4 million tons of capacity. The Mon Valley plant would add another 3MM in capacity which is not necessarily needed. Maybe there is an opportunity to shift some (or most) of the orders from this plant to another plan, and even close this facility. In the worst case scenario, USS would loose $26. 3MM (%75,000 * 3,500 workers) for laying-off unionized workers. This number may be reduced if some of the workers could be relocated to an existing or a new Greenfield plant. Since USS is committed to invest in a continuous casting capacity at Mon Valley, this may be the only way to save $800MM investment, unless USS can renegotiate with the union. This plan would give USS some time and money to invest in one of the other options for CSP technologies. CSP at Mon Valley: USS had investigated the possibility of adding 3MM tons of capacity in CSP at Mon Valley through three or four caster strands. While difficult, maybe more investigation can make this process feasible. CSP technology would bring USS closer to Nucor’s projected low costs, but not all the way there. This would still be a short-term strategy if USS decided to increase capacity, as there are other cost advantages that Nucor’s minimill production model still has. NEW CSP greenfield project: Invest in new greenfield plant operating on similar models as the minimills. While this may not be very financially viable in the short run – given the success already enjoyed by minimills, it is necessary for USS to start shifting its assets in that direction for long term survival in the market. Through research and analysis conclude there may be the possibility to conclude that there will be ample demand and orders to pay back for this investment in conventional casting technology in approximately 10 years. Then they can consider signing this proposal, but keeping in mind that the disruptive technology would be improving at a faster rate. So as long as the disruptive technology does not catch up in 10 years, this may still be feasible. This may be hard unless USS can get customers to commit to long-term orders, and through more technical research conclude that Nucor’s lower product quality would prevent it from competing with USS’s products in the high end markets. oWhile this strategy may seem financially viable, it is not a long term strategy and should only be executed if USS can also follow one of the short-term strategies to pursue CSP technology. The question facing Kappmeyer at the end of the case is, What should USS’s next technological move be? Should USS take another â€Å"long shot† to leapfrog ahead of Nucor? Or should it â€Å"get on the ground† neck-to-neck with Nucor, employing a viable commercial technology as soon as possible incrementally improving CSP? USS would probably need to employ a combination of a long-term and a short-term technology strategy to remain competitive and survive the changing market. Ideally, USS should invest in research to take a leapfrog ahead of Nucor in order to redefine the market with its disruptive technology and set the new standard in its favor. But given the time that may require, it may not be possible. Competing neck-to-neck with Nucor employing a commercial technology may not be the best idea considering the rate of improvement of the disruptive technology is far higher than the rate of improvement of the proven technology. In fact, that’s exactly what the conventional continuous casting technology would have been. It would have given a short term incremental advantage to USS at best for the high end markets, but it would not be sustainable.

Religion in Russia

Religion in Russia Russia has experienced a revival of religion since the start of the new millennium. Over 70% of Russians consider themselves to be Orthodox Christians, and the number is growing. There are also 25 million Muslims, around 1.5 million Buddhists, and over 179,000 Jewish people. The Russian Orthodox Church has been particularly active in attracting new followers due to its image as the true Russian religion. But Christianity wasnt the first religion that Russians followed. Here are some main historical periods in the evolution of religion in Russia. Key Takeaways: Religion in Russia Over 70% of Russians consider themselves to be Russian Orthodox Christians.Russia was pagan until the tenth century, when it adopted Christianity as a way to have a united religion.Pagan beliefs have survived alongside Christianity.In Soviet Russia, all religion was banned.Since the 1990s, many Russians have rediscovered religion, including Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Slavic Paganism.The 1997 law on religion has made it more difficult for less established religious groups in Russia to register, worship, or exercise the freedom of religious belief.The Russian Orthodox Church has a privileged position and gets to decide which other religions can be officially registered. Early Paganism Early Slavs were pagans and had a multitude of deities. Most of the information about the Slavic religion comes from the records made by Christians who brought Christianity to Russia, as well as from Russian folklore, but there is still a lot that we dont know about the early Slav paganism. Slavic gods often had several heads or faces. Perun was the most important deity and represented thunder, while Mother Earth was revered as the mother of all things. Veles, or Volos, was the god of abundance, since he was responsible for the cattle. Mokosh was a female deity and was associated with weaving. Early Slavs performed their rituals in the open nature, worshiping trees, rivers, stones, and everything around them. They saw the forest as a border between this world and the Underworld, which is reflected in many folktales where the hero has to cross the forest in order to achieve their goal. Establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church In the tenth century, Prince Vladimir The Great, the ruler of Kievan Rus, decided to unite his people and create an image of Kievan Rus as a strong, civilized country. Vladimir himself was an ardent pagan who erected wooden statues of deities, had five wives and around 800 concubines, and had a reputation of a bloodthirsty warrior. He also disliked Christianity because of his rival brother Yaropolk. However, Vladimir could see that uniting the country with one clear religion would be beneficial. The choice was between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, and within it, Catholicism or Eastern Orthodox Church. Vladimir rejected Islam as he thought that it would pose too many restrictions on the freedom-loving Russian soul. Judaism was rejected because he believed that he could not adopt a religion that had not helped the Jewish people hold on to their own land. Catholicism was deemed too stern, and so Vladimir settled on Eastern Orthodox Christianity. In 988, during a military campaign in Byzantine, Vladimir demanded to marry Anna, sister of Byzantine emperors. They agreed, providing that he is baptized beforehand, which he agreed to. Anna and Vladimir married in a Christian ceremony, and upon his return to Kiev, Vladimir ordered the demolition of any pagan deity statues and a country-wide baptism of his citizens. The statues were chopped and burned or thrown into the river. With the advent of Christianity, paganism became an underground religion. There were several pagan uprisings, all violently squashed. The North-Eastern parts of the country, centered around Rostov, were particularly hostile to the new religion. The dislike of the clergy among the peasants can be seen in Russian folktales and mythology (byliny). Ultimately, most of the country continued with dual allegiance to both Christianity and, in everyday life, to paganism. This is reflected even now in the highly superstitious, ritual-loving Russian character. Religion in Communist Russia As soon as the Communist era began in 1917, the Soviet government made it its job to eradicate religion in the Soviet Union. Churches were demolished or turned into social clubs, the clergy was shot or sent to camps, and it became forbidden to teach religion to ones own children. The main target of the anti-religion campaign was the Russian Orthodox Church, as it had the most followers. During WWII, the Church experienced a short revival as Stalin looked for ways to increase the patriotic mood, but that quickly ended after the war. Russian Christmas, celebrated on the night of January 6, was no longer a public holiday, and many of its rituals and traditions moved to the New Years Eve, which even now remains the most loved and celebrated Russian holiday. While most main religions were not outlawed in the Soviet Union, the state promoted its policy of state atheism, which was taught at school and encouraged in academic writing. Islam was at first treated slightly better than Christianity, due to Bolsheviks view of it as a center of the reaction. However, that ended around 1929, and Islam experienced similar treatment as other religions, with mosques shut down or turned into warehouses. Judaism had a similar fate as Christianity in the Soviet Union, with the added persecution and discrimination, especially during Stalin. Hebrew was only taught in schools for diplomats, and most synagogues were closed under Stalin and then Khrushchev. Thousands of Buddhist monks were killed during the Soviet Union, too. In the late 1980s and in the 1990s, the more open environment of the Perestroika encouraged the opening of many Sunday schools and a general resurgence of interest in Orthodox Christianity. Religion in Russia Today The 1990s marked the beginning of a revival in religion in Russia. Christian cartoons were being shown on main TV channels, and new churches were built or old ones restored. However, it is on the cusp of the millennium that many Russians began associating the Russian Orthodox Church with the true Russian spirit. Paganism has also become popular again, after centuries of repression. Russians see in it an opportunity to connect with their Slavic roots and rebuild an identity different from the West. In 1997, a new law On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Associations was passed, which acknowledged Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism as traditional religions in Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church, which nowadays acts as a privileged religion of Russia, has the power to decide which other religions can be registered as official religions. This has meant that some religions, for example, Jehovahs Witnesses, are banned in Russia, while others, such as some Protestant churches or the Catholic Church, have considerable problems with registration, or limitations on their rights within the country. There have also been more restrictive laws adopted in some Russian regions, which means that the situation with the freedom of religious expression varies across Russia. Overall, any religions or religious organizations that are considered non-traditional according to the federal law, have experienced issues such as being unable to build or own places of worship, harassment from the authorities, violence, and denial of access to media time. Ultimately, the number of Russians who consider themselves to be Orthodox Christians is currently at over 70% of the population. At the same time, over a third of Orthodox Christian Russians do not believe in the existence of God. Only around 5% actually attend church regularly and follow the church calendar. Religion is a matter of national identity rather than faith for the majority of contemporary Russians.