General Motors Essay Example for Free

General Motors Essay A car for every purse and purpose – Alfred P Sloan Jr, Former President CEO General Motors. General Motors, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 205,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 157 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 31 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy. Company History: General Motors was founded on Wednesday, September 16, 1908, in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company for Buick by William C. Durant. Durant started acquiring many companies like Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Cartercar, Elmore, Ewing, Pontiac etc. Durant lost control of GM in 1910 to a bankers trust, due to the large amount of debt (around $1 million) taken on in its acquisitions. Durant left the firm and co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Company in 1911 with Louis Chevrolet. After a brilliant stock buy back campaign, he returned to head GM in 1916. GM surpassed Ford Motor Company in sales in the late 1920s thanks to the leadership of Alfred P. Sloan. Sloan was inventing new ways of managing a complex worldwide organization, while paying special attention to consumer demands. Car buyers no longer wanted the cheapest and most basic model; they wanted style, power, and prestige, which GM offered them. During the 1920s and 1930s, General Motors assumed control of the Yellow Coach bus company, and helped create Greyhound bus lines. They replaced intercity train transport with buses. GM needs a sense of urgency regarding revising a strategic plan that incorporates the next generation of vehicles. In today’s global economy and highly competitive auto industry GM has no time to procrastinate. As stated, GM has just too much at risk in not becoming an industry leader in alternative fuel technology. Fuel-economy legislation is sparking the race. This is a critical time in auto industry with many threats, but opportunities as well. The next several years will redefine GM. Vision Statement The GM vision is as follows: GM’s vision is to be the world leader in transportation products and related services. GM will earn our customers’ enthusiasm through continuous improvement driven by the integrity, teamwork, and innovation of GM people. The proposed new vision for GM is as follows: For GM to become the automotive industry leader in alternative fueled vehicles and providing superior quality products that global consumers call to mind when they think of quality and innovation. My vision for GM is to be the industry leader in innovation, and where all other industry competition strives to imitate. Mission Statement The current GM mission statements are as follows: Drive improvements in market share, revenue, brands, people, responsiveness, and cost effectiveness through the implementation of global common metrics and best practice sharing. The new proposed mission statement will be as follows: GM will become an industry leader, not a follower. To regain lost market share that was lost to foreign competition, and once again be the auto industry leader in sales and market share in today’s global market. Values Statement The auto industry just like the global economy is going through tremendous change, due to rising fuel prices, and environmental worries, such as global warming. GM must use these threats as opportunities, and take advantage of changing consumer buying habits. GM needs to change consumer perception of the company, from a dull, poor quality, vehicles to innovative, quality, and environmentally friendly company. To do this GM must portray an image that states that GM values what the consumer wants and what the environment needs. Listen to what consumers are saying directly and indirectly about GM’s current products, and create innovative, green, vehicles that turn consumers into customers. At the same time provide GM stakeholders pride and financial incentives to remain with GM. Environmental Analysis GM and the entire auto industry are currently challenged with the perfect storm. The auto industry is being hit by a weak US and global economy, rising fuel prices, and social and political environmental concerns and issues. In order to overcome these potential threat, GM should consider mass producing a range of alternative fueled vehicles, i. e. fuel cell, electric, and hybrid. SWOT Analysis Strengths 1. Large Market Share Although GMs market share in the US has dropped it is still very much competitive at 26 percent. They also have an increasing share in the Chinese market. With the right decisions there is no reason for GM to not become the automotive leader it once was. . Global Experience As explained above even with GMs recent decline they still have the market share and the experience to bounce back. They have been a worldwide company for nearly a century now and have established themselves as the global leader for most of them. If you recall I mentioned above that a current opportunity for GM is to expand globally and as we can see they already have the experience to do so. It is just a matter of the correct planning and proper implementation of those plans that will decided whether or not GMs goals are achieved. 3. Variety of Brand Names GM as I mentioned has been the automotive leader for the majority of the last century. A large reason for that is the wide variety of quality brand names that appeal to all target markets. The current GM brands include: Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, Saab, Daewoo, Opel, and Holden. 4. GMAC Customer Financing Program Since its establishment in 1919 it has proven to be GMs most reliable source of revenue. 5. OnStar Satellite Technology Developed in 1996 OnStar currently has over 3 million subscribers and is standard on all GM vehicles. This technology allows the vehicles to be tracked in the event of an emergency or theft. It also allows the driver and or passengers the ability to communicate with OnStar personnel at the click of a button. Weaknesses 1. Behind on Alternative Energy Movement This is GMs biggest weakness. The alternative energy/hybrid trend has begun to take place in the automotive industry and GM has been one step behind the competition in terms of alternative energy vehicles. This has led to many problems including loss of market share and a decrease in company profit. In order for any automotive company to be successful from this point forward they must be Hybrid friendly and fuel efficient. 2. Poor Organizational Structure As we can see in exhibit 1 of the case GMs organizational structure seems to be too vertically integrated. This causes a lack of communication between employees from top to bottom and may have played a part in GM falling behind on the alternative energy movement. 3. Stagnant Profitability Looking at GMs profit we see that they are certainly struggling with respect to the size of their company. Their profit margin was about 1. 5% and the ROE has dramatically decreased over the recent years dropping to 10% in 2004. This is a situation that shareholders will not be pleased with. 4. Overly Dependent on US market GM has become too dependent on the US market and must take advantage of the opportunity to expand globally. The competition is becoming too strong to focus on just one country. 5. Overly Dependent on General Motors Acceptance Corporation(GMAC) Financing GM has become too dependent on its financing program. Granted it is a great strength for GM, however they once again cannot rely solely on financing in order to turn profit, especially if they want to compete with Honda and Toyota who are rapidly growing. 6. Poor Credit Status GMs credit status has like everything else has been steadily declining. Their current ratio is just barely above 1 and their acid test is even lower. Although, I dont see them getting denied based on their credit at this point, the seriousness of the matter is certainly apparent. Opportunities 1. Alternative Energy movement It is obvious that GM was behind its competition with regards to the research and development of hybrid vehicles. However hybrid technology is still very much new giving GM the opportunity to once again become the automotive industrys leader in innovation and technology. 2. Continuing to Expand Globally. Recently GM saw an increase in the Chinese automotive market, which proves their needs to be more emphasis put on foreign markets. If GM can infiltrate these markets and successfully grow along with their continuing focus on the US market they will be headed in a positive direction. . Low Interest Rates With the right marketing strategy the low interest rates have the potential to generate an immediate increase in sales. 4. Develop New Vehicle Styles and Models This is an opportunity that will never be satisfied, meaning that GM should always be attempting to develop the automotive worlds most popular vehicles, and as we know, what is in today will be out tomorrow. Threats 1. Rising Fuel Prices With GM being a large producer in both trucks and SUVs, sales have drastically decreased due to the lack of fuel efficiency. The rise in fuel prices has played a significant role in creating the opportunity for development of both hybrid and more fuel efficient vehicles. As you will find with most threats, an equal opportunity will usually emerge as is the case here with GMs opportunity mentioned above. 2. Growth of Competitors GM no longer has the luxury of being the known leader in the automotive industry and faces the reality that they are in serious trouble. As I mentioned earlier Toyota took the first step in the direction of hybrid echnology and has since drastically grown and become the questionable automotive frontrunner to start the 21st century. 3. Pension Payouts. Part of this threat is their own doing and the other is simply unavoidable. GM is responsible for providing generous pension benefits to its employees, which at the time seemed like a great idea, however they are now experiencing problems as more and more people begin to collect. 4. Increased Health Care Costs GM, like many large compa nies with quality employee health care benefits, is experiencing a large financial hit that only gets worse as time continues. . Rising Supply Costs, i. e. Steel Once again this threat affects the entire automotive industry and forces each company to cut manufacturing and production costs as much as possible, without taking away from the quality of the product. Core Competence The core competence of General Motors is innovation. This is the driving force behind its $190 above turnover. General Motors has been utilizing innovation in service ad technology to secure itself a dominant position in the automobile industry, since 1908. In 1911, it conceptualized, engineered and commercialized the self-starter engine for the first time. Then in 1926, its product Cadillac was the pioneer in devising a nationwide service strategy. In 1996 General Motors introduced OnStar satellite technology which allows equipped vehicles to be tracked in case of an emergency or theft and allows the passengers to communicate with OnStar personnel. Other new car concepts include minicars such as Chevy Aveo. However in the case of hybrid vehicles, General Motors was unable to keep up to the pace of the market demand.

john kerry :: essays research papers

John Forbes Kerry is the candidate I would chose in the up in coming election. Some of the issues that would decide my vote are environment, the economy, homeland security, social issues, and Iraq. I would also vote for John Kerry because he has done good things for Massachusetts and I know he will do good things for this country. My last reason for voting for John Kerry is because he will bring our troops home safely. On November 2, 2004 I would vote for John Kerry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Forbes Kerry was born in Colorado on December 11, 1943 at Fitzsimons Army Hospital. John Kerry graduated from Yale University. He joined the Navy and became an officer during Vietnam. He was awarded both silver and bronze stars and 3 purple hearts for his heroic efforts. John Kerry went to law school at Boston College. He was elected lieutenant governor of Massachusetts in 1982. After he was elected senator of Massachusetts in 1984 followed by three more terms. John Kerry seems to be a perfect candidate for president. John Kerry supports the war in Iraq. John Kerry believes in having our allies join in with us. John Kerry says if elected he will boost international effort to secure peace. He also sates that he wants to improve social, economic, and political conditions in the Middle East. John Kerry believes he can restore International Policy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Kerry also believes in social issues. He supports a women’s right to an abortion. John Kerry opposes the death penalty. John Kerry will also appoint judges committed to law in the Supreme Court. Last, John Kerry will full fund the â€Å"No Child Left Behind† law. John Kerry really knows the views of the people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Kerry wants to make a better environment. John Kerry opposes oil exploration in the Artic refuge. John Kerry will push new gas requirements, hybrid cars, and the use of hydrogen fuel. John Kerry will set goals, incentives to reproduce dependence on fossil fuels. Finally, John Kerry promotes clean, renewable fuel sources. John Kerry is well concerned about the environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   John Kerry also believes in a better Homeland. John Kerry is against labeling U.S. citizens as â€Å"enemy combatants.† John Kerry also wants to the speed up immigration process. Last, John Kerry wants to reform domestic intelligence. John Kerry will make this country a better place.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Kerry says he will stop raising taxes.

Baruch Spinoza

Baruch Spinoza was born in Amsterdam and was given a Jewish traditional upbringing. He was educated at the congregation’s academy where he received all the necessary education in regard to the perceptions of the Jewish community at that time. Most of the teachings in the academy by then constituted of religious education, prophetic writings and commentaries in rabbinical.His excellence in this area however did not give him a reason to seek higher studies but rather left school to work in his family business. History has it that it was his curious and critical nature that later brought forth a conflict between him and the Jewish community.With the death of his father during the England and the France war, his mother having died earlier, he embarked on philosophy and optics and it is believed that eventually the cause of his death was a result of glass dust inhaled while tending to his optic trade (Richard, 1999, 52). The Jewish community in which he was brought up together with the businesses that he conducted gave him the opportunity of interacting with many and more diverse thoughts than those he had been accustomed to while in school and also in the family life.Important here is the contact he made with the free thinking Protestants who gave him an interest in a wide variety of theological thinking and current developments in science and philosophy. It was as history has it through colleges that were organized by these free thinkers that he was exposed to what can be referred to as Cartesian thought besides the desire to learn and understand his own traditions. His desire to learn his traditions led him to start writing for philosophical figures such as Gersonides and later to expand his intellect in which case he sought the tutelage of Franciscus Enden who was an Ex-Jesuit.His tutor turned out to be most helpful to Spinoza as he had interest in many fields such as medicine which kept him seeking for all the latest developments in sciences. According t o history, Franciscus was also well known to have an irreligious cast of mind and a passion in advocating for political ideas that reflected democracy for all. In essence, the knowledge that Spinoza attained from Enden gave him a diverse view of the society and largely contributed to his works in philosophy.In addition, the intellectual orientation that he acquired from his tutor led to an increase in his unorthodox views and reluctance in observing the laws of the community a thing that eventually threatened to strain his relationship with the Jewish community. In the year 1656, tensions with the elders of the community had grown to an extent that they sought to excommunicate him accusing him of abominable heresies and extending to him a series of curses (Richard, 1999, 47). The excommunication given to him also prohibited him from communicating with others in the community.It also prohibited the community members from participating in business with him, coming into close proximity with him under all circumstances or studying anything written by him. This rendered him to be an outcast in the community despite the fact that he was by birth a Jew. All this events did not hinder his association with his tutor as opposed to his business. In contrast, he continued with his studies and even took various trips to the university to study the Cartesian philosophy.He was later to settle in Leiden in the same period and also embarked on his literary career. His first work is recorded in Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect. In this work he attempted to offer a method that would allow the mind to form philosophical ideas that are distinct and clear and which would allow for perfection. The work also contained an extended treatment of definition, an analysis of the causes and nature of doubt and a reflection on the various forms of knowledge.This work was however left unfinished and was later followed by the Short Treatise on God, Man and His Well Being and it was this work that reflected his interest in ethics. Though much of his work was based on the ideas of Descartes, Spinoza never acknowledged all the conclusions of him largely because he did not wish to be seen as a Cartesian. In his later work and with the help of the geometric method used by Descartes in philosophy, he sought to fully integrate geometric methods in presenting his own thoughts. This method forms the basis of most of his works thereafter the year 1665.By then, his work which was later to be known as Ethics was being circulated amongst and by his friends back at home despite the fact that is was only inform of a draft. In this context, the religious and political environment of that time did not allow him to complete the Ethics but rather he sought to embark on other works which would prepare the audience for the Ethics. Later in his work known as the Theological- Political Treatise, he sought to argue the freedom of thought enhanced the security and the stability of the society rather than undermining it in the long run.It was in this work that Spinoza sought to demonstrate that the threat to the freedom of thought came largely from the clergy accusing the later of using the superstitions and fears of the people in an effort to maintain power. He thus argued that the sovereign should exercise the authority of ruling the people as opposed to the clergy and that it was the sovereign that was supposed to extend liberty to the people, giving them the right to adhere to the minimal creed that was neutral in regard to the various sects and their meanings in the lives of the people.This was largely aimed at enabling the philosophers of the time to exercise their freedoms free from any constraints from sectarianism. This work ignited a lot of criticism from the opponents of philosophical ideas and the authorities who accused Spinoza of having nefarious intentions while writing it. Some of his friends were also uncomfortable with his latest work and togeth er with the other opponents accused Spinoza of atheism a thing that he greatly resented himself. In the end, he was forced to move out to Hague where he spent all the rest of his life.His exile life did not hinder him from undertaking further writings but rather he pressed on though none of his work thereon was to be published until after his death. Even after his death, his work now published in Holland experienced a lot of criticism and at some point was abolished in the country. Perhaps it would be right to say that it was Ethics that saw the popularity and the expertise of Spinoza grow in the field of philosophy. The Ethics was encompassed in five books with the first concentrating on God and the meaning of substance.The second of these books deals largely on the knowledge and the mind whereas the third, fourth and the fifth books deals mostly with ethical discussions including the enslavement of the humans by their emotions, the human freedom and passion. In this regard, his wo rk on the treatise dealt mostly on the human freedom realization through the analysis of passion and knowledge and the conflict between the two. To him and evident in many of his works, any knowledge theory, psychology of the nature of the humans and any metaphysics could be compared to an ethic that sought to explain the purpose of human life (Jonathan, 1999, 89).In Ethics, Spinoza makes the use of a basic presumption which can be seen as rational and which states that to the intellect, the nature of the world is transparent in the sense that the dependence amongst the states and events in nature can be seen as reflections of the dependence amongst the various ideas held by the human. His argument was that each and everything existing in nature or the universe in other words represents only one reality or what can be referred to as substance and that the rules governing the reality surrounding the human life and which he is a part of as a whole are encompassed in only one set.He vi ewed nature and God as representing only one reality or substance and that it is this substance that forms the basis of the universe (Francks, 2003, 99) Spinoza further argued that all entities in this substance are only modifications and that it is nature itself that determine the existence of all other things and their causality to other things. In this regard, he asserts that for one to understand the complex chain of causes and effects one must first strive to understand the various parts that constitute it as a whole.In arguing for a single substance he says the substance is not dependent on anything else for its existence and that it is impossible for two substances to share the same attributes or nature. He argued that since substance can be conceived as being self dependent, then God can simply be seen as the only necessary being who despite this, is not distinct from the world. In this context, he sees God as the only existing substance with all other substances owing their existence to Him.On the other hand, God is immanent to the world and any existing individual things are as a result of modifications done by Him (Thomas, 1999, 58). In the same work, he extends his monism to the mind and matter arguing that each of them represented a characteristic of appreciating an eternal reality that was the same. He asserts that the universal substance consists of mind and body with no difference between the two. This argument was later to form a significant solution to the problem of mind and body commonly referred to as neutral monism.He argued that the disclosure of the very essential nature of things could be attributed to intellect as opposed to senses. To him, an adequate and complete idea in regard to God reveals two attributes about Him. In this context, God can be conceived through thinking or through extension. As opposed to other philosophical and theological works that gives God the aspect of infinity, the methods explained by Spinoza explains that each of the above named ways of conceiving God helps in disclosing the attributes of his presence (Cohn-Sherbok, 1997, 68).According to him, humans should endeavor to increase their knowledge about God or the one reality and this can be done by discovering ways in which He or it in case of the reality constitutes a reality that is complete and self sufficiently unified and in which all the happenings that take place are necessary. He further argues that thinking forms a consciousness of the body and that the same mode should be conceived both under the attributes of thought and extension. In this regard, the body and the mind are seen as casually unrelated but rather as parallel expressions of only one reality.He argues further that in the system thought as dominated by God, error and evil requires explanations and in this context, he identify each with privation. In essence, he defines error as the lack of sufficient ideas and evils as the absence that express no essence. Spinoza in his work also sought to show that human senses provides modifications of the body as opposed to knowledge and that it is only through seeing them as true that we can be able to understand them (Samuelson, 1998, 48).Further, Spinoza seeks to explain human freedom or free will through the concept of time in which he contends that freedom encompasses the capacity of the humans to conceive the world in terms of eternity and free from the bondage of desires and emotions. He argues the free will result from the realization by the humans of their appetites on one hand and their failure to understand and conceptualize the reasons behind their needs and actions.Emotions and desires to Spinoza are just results of the ignorance of those causes that determine the human race (Cohn-Sherbok, 1997, 57). Further more, he argues that adequate cognition results into agency and activity. For one therefore to acquire adequacy, he first have to understand his emotions. In this context, he attempted to provide a geometry for emotions to demonstrate that humans are mostly driven by the unknown only to improve and gain control over them once they understand their motivations.In conclusion, he argues that religion, science and philosophy consists an intellectual love for God thus are identical (Schwartz, 2002, 105). In his writings on politics, Spinoza borrows much from the experience he gained from the political system of the time which he used as a basis for his theory on government. He argued that it was the business of the state to avoid putting limits on the exercise of reasons by humans but rather it should attempt to provide the necessary conditions in which reason and its exercise can flourish.Thus to him, constitutional democracy is a necessary and sufficient condition for the provision of a forum of freedom of opinion and reason within the law framework. In essence, he shares the assumptions of Hobbes in regard to the social contract in his political writings. This assumpt ion can be states that a contract is only binding if it is for the advantage of one and that right is derived from power. The basis of his political power is mostly organized around the notion of freedom more so the freedom of enquiry (Julian, 2006, 121).Spinoza’s works has been greatly translated all over the world in the modern times and he is considered to be one of the most influential figures in philosophy. In addition, his works have influenced other fields besides philosophy such as the field of science and literature. The outstanding influence of his works however remains in philosophy with modern philosophers adopting them in teaching and in formulating their own works. Despite the earlier ban of his work in Holland shortly after his death and publication of most of it, his work has greatly being adapted in many areas today.In his works, he sought to explain and bring into the light many concepts which he believed would help in understanding the substance concept and the concept of human freedom on the other hand. Though borrowing much from the works of the earlier philosophers notably Descartes and Hobbes, he always retained his position in making or reaching conclusions. At times he rejected their conclusions and offered his own warning the reader that those conclusions were not necessarily right.Benedict de Spinoza died in a rented room in Hague where he had gone to spend the rest of his life after conflicts with the authorities in Holland and it is believed that he died of a respiratory problem caused by the glass dust inhaled during his optic grinding (Francks, 2003, 98). Work Cited Cohn-Sherbok Dan. Fifty Key Jewish Thinkers. London, Routledge, 1997, pp. 57, 68 Francks Richard. Modern Philosophy: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. London, Routledge, 2003, pp. 98, 99 Jonathan Israel. Dutch Jewry: Its History and Secular Culture (1500-2000). London, Brill, 2002, pp. 89Julian Wolfreys. Modern Criticism and Theory: A Critical Guide. Ne w York, Edinburgh University Press, 2006, pp. 121 Richard H. The Columbia History of Western Philosophy. Columbia, Columbia University Press, 1999, pp. 47, 52 Samuelson Norbert. An Introduction to Modern Jewish Philosophy. New York, State University of New York Press, 1998, pp. 48 Schwartz Dov. Faith at the Crossroads: A Theological Profile of Religious Zionism. London, Brill, 2002, pp. 105 Thomas Edmund. Writers and Philosophers: A Sourcebook of Philosophical Influences on Literature. London, Greenwood Press, 1999, p

Price Reduction And Unethical Purchasing Behaviour

After the research finds out that price is a factor to cause the gap, it will continue to investigate more on to what extend the price offers convinced customer to unethically purchase and abandon their ethical intention. As shown on figure 4.4.2, the mean scores tend to increase along with the increasing in the degree of price reduction of unethical products for both Thais and UK charts. This means that both nations tend to accept unethical garment if it offer a price reduction. Also, on every degrees of price saving, Thai have more tendency to buy unethically made cloth than UK. To clarify, both of the chart from Thailand and UK show a linear distribution and have a positive relationship between price reduction and unethical purchasing behaviour. This is another evidence to suggest that the rival of ethical product price is a factor that makes people neglect their ethical goals. Also, it suggests that price sensitivity of customers are a factor that widen the gap. The result is cor responding with Jà ¤gel et al. (2012), and Creyer and Ross (1997) as they suggested that without price reduction on ethical product people will find a cheaper alternative and emphasize more on price than ethical issues. As the scale are ranged between 1 to 7, the mean score of price saving of 10% are pretty closed to the scale of 1 which is extremely unlikely for both of the Thai and UK chart with the mean score of 2.63 for Thais and 3.04 for UK. On the opposite side, it also show the mean scoresShow MoreRelatedThe Expansion Of Multinational Corporations ( Mncs ) Essay900 Words   |  4 Pagesgeographies of retail connecting production, distribution and consumption. MNCs growth has led to greater purchasing power of companies as they expand. Purchasing power can be used to impact upon the geographies of retail production through processes of restructuring, merges and divestment (Alexander and Quinn, 2002). Large retailers use their power to transform the market. 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