General Motors Company : an analysis

Résumé du document

It is hard to imagine that General Motors, one of the leading car companies, occupying 15% of the automobile market and that in 2003 alone earned $3.8 billion on record revenue of $185.5 billion, was founded in the small town of Flint, Michigan, by an ingenious salesman and labourer, William Crapo Durants. Over the years, General Motors has come to represent more than a car brand name. It has come to represent a tradition, an American tradition, employing more than 325,000 people worldwide, and ranking third in international sales. From salesman to automobile pioneer, William Crapo Durants' business intuition led him to the successful production of two wheeled horse carriages until 1903, when Durant met a young inventor named David Dunbarr Buick, a Scottish expatriot. In this same year Durant made a quick decision to change from manufacturing carriages to cars. Buick and Durant founded the Buick Company, releasing their first charter on June 17, 1905. And so began the production of the first automobiles, which in 1908 took on the name of General Motors.

Extraits

[...] Suppliers The suppliers of General Motors have a small bargaining potential since they provide the company with the raw materials that in the case of too high prices, GM would choose to buy from other suppliers at more convenient prices. In addition the threat of a supplier trying to integrate into the Auto Industry is very low. Potential Substitutes The presence of substitute's products is not a major threat for the Auto Industry where General Motors retains its core business. The use of public transportation in European nations is much more popular than in others due to the urban contingencies and difficulties pertaining to driving vehicles. [...]

[...] These include the development of: Monthly cost-of-sales data for vheicles and components Budgets& forecast information related to the material content in vheicles& components Regular cost analysis and performance reporting Reconciliation and control of productive material inventory accounts 3. Organisational Culture Culture must start from the beginning General Motors seeks individuals with initiative and a willingness to assume a demanding workload in a challenging environment, with a strong academic background and a deep knowledge of finance, economics, accounting, engineering and operations. Successful candidates have demonstrated strong analytical and organizational abilities, as well as effective oral and written communication skills. [...]

[...] (If people are better treated, they will also work better) General Motors adopted employee benefit plans, assures good working conditions and has many events and initiatives for workers. The most interesting way of managing human resources at General Motors, though, is the training program for new employees. New hired are trained directly by the firm, and are given the specific knowledge that is useful for the activities they're about to perform. This is true for the hiring of managers as well, which improves the quality of the decision-making staff. [...]

[...] That's why, in 2000, General Motors selected OnStar technology as the source for in-vehicle communication systems. Such systems (and this is another key issue for being successful) were very innovative and carefully studied in order to satisfy the customers' needs. Drivers could make telephone calls and access their e-mails, news and other information without removing their hands from the wheel or their eyes from the road. Through the agreement with OnStar, General Motors disposes of such an external knowledge as to reduce the costs of intra-organizational training programs, thus enjoying "external economies of learning". [...]

[...] The standing committees indicated by the Board are: The AUDIT committee, which will perform a formal examination of the organization's accounts or financial situation. In the audit field of interest there might be included also the verification of compliance with applicable award terms, laws, regulations and policies. The DIRECTORS and CORPORATE GOVERNANCE committee, which takes care of the Board of Directors services and evaluate the qualification that any single member of it owns. It will also influence the determination of executive compensations. [...]