duals in the company take personal responsibility for the outcome. To encourage individuals to take the initiative, no managerial hierarchy has been allowed to develop within the company. Everyone working for W.L. Gore is referred to as an Associate. Managers, or those having responsibilities traditionally thought of as managerial, are referred to as Sponsors or Leaders. This lack of distinction among workers allows individuals the freedom to take the initiative, without having to deal with layers of bureaucracy. It also allows individuals to flow toward those aspects of the business in which they have the most interest, and for which they presumably have the most enthusiasm.
Individual responsibility is also encouraged through the implementation of an associate stock option plan. The theory here is as with any company offering stock options, that productivity and quality will be maintained at a higher level when those responsible for day to day operations feel that they have an ownership interest in the company. Coupled with W.L. Gore's philosophy of individual responsibility, this associate ownership has resulted in a remarkably high level of quality control. Major defects with products have been solved permanently in a matter of hours once associates are informed of the problem. One particularly impressive example of such action was the response to information that a GorTex arterial graft had developed an aneurysm. Because all associates who had been involved in the production of that product were involved in a meeting regarding the problem, a production process designer was able to solve the problem within hours.
Expansion through small facilities plays an important role in Gore's corporate strategy as well. With loosely defined roles throughout the company, it is essential that associates be able to work together. Small facilities allow individuals to become familiar with their co-workers and the stren...