As described in the chapter, the challenge facing DuPont in the early twentieth century was how to manage the diverse set of businesses operating under the control of the DuPont management team.

This diversity still exists today. In its 2008 annual report, DuPont notes that its strategic business units (operating segments) are organized by product line. For purposes of financial reporting, these have been aggregated into seven reportable segments: Agriculture & Nutrition, Coatings & Color Technologies, Electronic & Communication Technologies, Performance Materials, Safety & Protection, Pharmaceuticals, and Other.

Summary segment results for 2008 for five of these seven segments are as follows (dollars in millions):

1. Which segment has the highest return on investment? The lowest?
2. How could the segment with the lowest return on investment improve its financialperformance?

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Electronic & Communication Performance Coatings & Color Agriculture Safety & & Nutrition Technologies $6,551 326 Materials Technologies $3,867 436 Protection $5,631 829 Total revenue S7,952 $6,386 128 1,087 Pre-tax operating income 5,972 3,598 2,518 3,619 3,560 Segment net assets