September 15, 2015

Mr. Cody Kaser

North Dakota State University
Minard 318
Fargo, ND 58102
Subject: Company Profiles for My Job Search
Dear Instructor Kaser:
I profiled two large companies, 3M and John Deere. I spent multiple hours researching all
aspects of the two companies. There are many similarities between the two. Both are extremely
large, billion dollar companies. They are diversified in their employees and customers, with each
company having multiple buildings and plants located worldwide. 3M and John Deere started on
one business venture and forged into the billion dollar companies that they are today. They both
are publicly owned companies, with their main source of revenue being the sales of their
products and stocks.
The differences between 3M and John Deere are eminent as well. 3M is the larger, more
profitable company of the two. 3M has products in a vast spread of industries, while John Deere
sells mainly Ag, construction and lawn care equipment. Not only are the products different, but
their core values differ as well. John Deere is a traditional company based on their core values of
integrity, quality, commitment and innovation. Integrity, John Deere has strong morals that their
company was built on. Quality, making sure their products are built to last. Commitment, John
Deere is dedicated to providing for their customers, they are committed to making sure the
products they produce will be helping the customers in a way no one else can. Innovation, John
Deere is evolving with the changing economy. They remember the most important part of
business is providing for the customers, and making sure their products will last. 3M is a
corporate like company, whose values are to prepare for the future. They are committed to
inventing products that will better the future. This, to me, shows much less importance to the
customers and more to bettering the company.
With my intense research of both John Deere and 3M, I have learned that I must apply a formal
sense of writing when creating my application materials for both companies. For 3M, I will focus
on how my skill sets will best fit their need for future product improvement and sustainability. I
will leave out most sense of emotion, state the facts and be to the point. As for John Deere, I will
tailor my application materials to show how my skill sets and core values line up with the
companys, and how I can contribute to designing long lasting, quality products that customers
will be proud to own. I will also include a brief history of my past experiences involving John
Deere equipment on the family farm, showing I can connect to the customer and apply this when
designing products.

Sincerely,

Alexandra Pauly
John Deere & Company Profile
Company Profiled: John Deere & Company
Position Applying For: Electronic Design Engineer
Company Website: http://www.deere.com/en_US/regional_home.page
Company History: John Deere was founded in 1837 by John Deere himself in Grand Detour,
IL. He started his business by inventing the Self Scouring Plow. From there John Deere &
Company only went up. John Deere relocated to Moline, IL, where he and his company started
mass manufacturing plows. Over the next 178 years, John Deere & Company invented and
produced farm machinery, construction and forestry equipment, lawn and turf care equipment
and more. They have expanded to have plants, office buildings and dealerships in over 30
countries, including multiple branches of John Deere. In 2009, Sam Allen was named CEO of
John Deere leading it to a company now worth $30 billion.
Phoenix International Corporation was founded in Fargo, ND in 1987. They found the need to
design and manufacture rugged electronics. In the early 1990s, Phoenix International started
supplying electronics to John Deere, to be used in their equipment. In 1994, Deere & Company
started to progressively own more and more of Phoenix International, until 1999 when John
Deere owned 100% of Phoenix International. Phoenix International was renamed to John Deere
Electronics Solutions (JDES). Over the past 28 years, JDES has expanded to have two buildings
and one manufacturing plant in Fargo, a plant in Mexico and a plant in India. Tom Budan is the
current general manager of JDES. Kelly Hagel is the head of the Electronic Design department.
Type of Business: John Deere is a company that designs and produces leading edge technology
in farm and Ag equipment, construction and forestry equipment, turf and lawn care machines and
more. JDES designs and produces all ruggedized electronics for many customers, including John
Deere. Some ruggedized electronics JDES designs are displays, controllers, MTGs (Modular
Telematics Gateway), and more.
Business Objective: John Deere is committed to the changing economy and providing the latest
and greatest technology for its customers. Their objectives are to provide quality equipment that
meets the needs of their vast spread of customers. The economy is always changing and
evolving. Because of this, John Deere promises to their customers that they will continually
produce products that are evolving as well.
Brief Description of Position: An Electronic Design Engineer at JDES will work with other
engineers to design electronics to be used in ruggedized machines. They will need to meet
quality, timing and cost standards. An ED engineer at JDES is responsible for developing
products starting at the design phase all the way to production phase. Requirements for this job
are to have experience with electronic design, microprocessor based embedded circuit designs,

component selection and standard engineering processes. They will also need to have strong
team work skills.
Introductory Narrative: I would like to apply for this job for many reasons. One, I already
work at JDES as a part-time student and I would like to continue my career as an engineer with
John Deere. I think John Deere is a growing company with a promising future. Electronic design
is the field of engineering I find most interest in. Since I was young I have wanted to design
electronics for Ag equipment. I come from a big farming family, so I have experienced the
customer side of the business as well. I have seen firsthand, John Deeres impact on technology
evolving and making the process of farming easier and more efficient for the farmers.
Demographics: JDES has approximately 1000 employees, most of which are located at the three
Fargo, ND locations. JDES is a diverse company, since having locations in three countries, this
brings multiple cultures and ethnicities.
Sources of Revenue: JDESs main source of revenue is selling ruggedized electronics to
multiple customers. John Deere is also a publicly owned company with many investors who have
bought stock in the company.
Public/Private Persona: John Deere depicts a formal, professional public face. They present
themselves as a large corporate company, maybe not so personable. However, their private
persona depicts a traditional, family oriented sense of business. They tend to hire candidates who
have a past experiences with handling and operating John Deere equipment. John Deeres private
face is oriented heavily on their Core Values.
Core Values: John Deere is based on a few core values. Integrity, John Deere has strong morals
that their company was built on. Quality, making sure their products are built to last.
Commitment, John Deere is dedicated to providing for their customers, they are committed to
making sure the products they produce will be helping the customers in a way no one else can.
Innovation, John Deere is evolving with the changing economy. They are continually coming up
with state of the art technology to keep up with new problems that arise is todays world.
Who is Important: Contrary to the popular thought that the HR does all hiring and interviewing,
at JDES the engineers and engineering supervisors are those who hire new prospects to the
company. The HR department sets up the job description and posting, but engineering team leads
take over from there. For my part-time student interview at JDES, Wyatt Johnson, a software
team lead, interviewed me. For full time positions such as this job, the hiring and interview
process is very similar, in a way that the engineers themselves do the hiring.
Company Value: $30 billion

3M Profile
Company Profiled: 3M
Position Applying For: Control Systems Intern
Company Website: http://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/
Company History: 3M started as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co in 1902, in Two
Harbors, MN. It was a company that started to harvest corundum from Crystal Bay. 3M didnt
succeed in finding much corundum, but turned to other products to build their sales up slowly.
3Ms first breakthrough product was the waterproof sandpaper. Now, 3M has expanded
exponentially, having business locations in over 100 countries. 3M is known for producing
approximately 60,000 different products sold worldwide, from the post-it note to scotch tape.
Inge G Thulin is the Chairman, President and CEO. 3Ms headquarters are located in
Maplewood, MN.
Type of Business: 3M has built itself an empire of products from many different industries;
automotive, communications, electronics, health care, transportation and more. Their products
range from adhesives, car care, construction materials, health care materials etc..
Business Objective: 3M is committed to applying their knowledge of science to improve
businesses, the planet and our everyday lives. 3M has an abundant amount of products. A world
without 3Ms innovations would be ridiculous and hard to see. Which is why 3M is committed to
continuously invent new and improved products that better our everyday lives.
Brief Description of Position: A control systems intern would be responsible for engineering
projects, working with teams on large projects and taking the lead on small projects. They will
also provide support for control solutions on automated process equipment. They will also
partake in learning the design process of new products and implementing them in the production
line.
Introductory Narrative: 3M would be a great opportunity to get experience with Electrical
Engineering in a different industry. 3M is a high Fortune 500 company that is stable, secure and
provides a future to many employees. I see this job not only as a job opportunity but as a career
with a great company. I see this opportunity as a way to give back to the world by combining my
knowledge with 3Ms to make the world a better place.
Demographics: 3M is a fully diverse company, with business and factories in over 100
countries. Like John Deere, 3M has employees from many ethnicities and cultures.
Sources of Revenue: 3Ms source of revenue comes from their thousands of products they sell
all over the world and from the shareholders investing in their stock.
Core Values: 3M doesnt have many core values. They mainly are based on preparing for the
future. In a sense, they are committed to inventing products that will better our future, and the
future of all their customers. This also means that they are innovating products that will help us
with future issues that may arise.

Who is Important: Similarly to John Deere, at 3M the managers or team leads are heavily
involved with the resume review, interviewing and hiring processes.
Company Value: $105.1 billion