General Motors : An American Based Multinational Company

We as business owners, management and or in a role of authority must set, address and comply with a solid foundation of ethics. “A code of conduct is the single most important element of your ethics and compliance program. It sets the tone and direction for the entire function. Often, the code is a standalone document, ideally only a few pages in length. It introduces the concept of ethics and compliance and provides an overview of what you mean when you talk about ethical business conduct.”

I have selected the code of ethical conduct from one of America’s top restaurants and that is the Cheesecake Factory and I’m the lucky CEO of the company. Key areas of the Cheesecake Factory code of conduct that are of significant importance to the business are… General standards of conduct, Conflict of interest, Protection of the Company. These conducts I feel are most important and here’s why. General standards of conduct is very important it’s like the foundation of the code of conduct. It helps The Cheesecake Factory to encourage all employees to have a relationship of trust with the company; No matter what level the employee is on with the company.

Let's take a look to General Motors (GM) for inspiration. This company formed the foundation for it's beginnings on September 16, 1908 with William "Billy" Durant, a leading manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in Flint, MI. At its infancy, GM held only the Buick Motor Company. Throughout the years, GM would grow to acquire 20 plus companies including Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Oakland, (otherwise known as Pontiac).

General Motors (?GM? or ?the company?) has a rich history longer than a century starting with its corporate organization in 1908. Following its organization, GM acquired its first brand, Old Motor Works, which was followed in 1909 by the purchase of Cadillac for $5.5 million. Two years later, GM organized both General Motors Truck to handle sales of GM?s Rapid and Reliance products and General Motors Export Company to handle export sales out of the US. In 1918, GM purchased Chevrolet Motors. In 1926, GM entered Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Egypt, Uruguay and Argentina through the General Motors Export Company. General Motors Truck became the modern GMC in 1943 when GM acquired the assets of Yellow Truck & Coach. In 1945, GM finally established all of its historical core brands (Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac) when the Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac Assembly Division, which would be renamed the General Motors Assembly Division in 1965, was formed.

Creation, acceleration and emotion are the key components for any automobile industry to deliver its goods to the expected standards. General Motors, popularly known as GM has been a pioneer in the global autoindustry for more than 100 years. Developing from horseless carriages to the latest sports cars, innovations have always excelled at putting the world on wheels. In fact, there are a lot of exciting things to share about the company. GM’s corporation started in 1892 by R.E. Olds, with a solid financial foundation, which enabled him to produce great vehicles for customers and build a bright future for employees, partners and shareholders. GM slowly initiated its staff of experts in the factories which are located in different parts of the globe and acquired the brands like Chevrolet, Pointiac, GMC, Buick, Cadillac(General Motors Corporation, 2015). Leading the way is their tailored leadership team who set high standards for the company so that they can produce the best cars and trucks. This means that GM is committed to deliver vehicles with compelling designs, flawless quality and reliability, leading safety, fuel economy and commercial features. All are intended to create that special bond that can only happen between a driver and a vehicle. General Motors is a customer driven company and aims at earning customers

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader for 76 years. General Motors was founded 1908, in Flint, Michigan and currently employs approximately 284,000 people around the world. GM's global headquarters is the Renaissance Center located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, They currently manufacture their cars and trucks in 35 different countries. Its European headquarters are based in Zurich, Switzerland, and its Holden headquarters are located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In 2007, 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were produced globally under the following 12 brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM Daewoo, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and

Adam Hartung (a business advisor), says GM could have avoided its present dilemma. According to Hartung, Smith shouldn’t have opened a new division separate from the main firm. Instead he says Smith should have focused on making dramatic changes within the existing company’s labor structure, dealer structure, and vehicles, by imitating its competitors.

According to GM.com (2009) General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), is one of the world's largest automakers which was founded in 1908, in Detroit USA. It manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries. GM employs 252,000 people in every major region of the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries. It sells cars and trucks globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. Its largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services.

General Motors enjoys a major market share in global automotive industry. One of its major strengths is its strong branding and market position. General Motors can be considered as one of the pioneers of modern vehicles. As per data monitor, GM had a leading share in North America and South America and in Europe it held fifth position. Similarly, it holds second position in other major segments. GM bears a strong branding. A lot of prestigious brands are provided by General Motors such as Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac and Opal. Like Toyota, GM also has various production facilities in 31 different countries. This strong global presence allows GM to have access global markets way easily as compared to manufacturers with centralized structures. Thus, GM relies less on exports, manufactures its brands locally and is also involved in

Key steps that a company should take, like The Cheesecake Factory could take in order to guarantee the employees follow the code of conduct. First step is to have a customer service department that takes care of all problems and investigates code of conduct issues. Another step that The Cheesecake Factory can take to make sure the employees follow the code of conduct is to have all employees sign the code of conduct when hired and to make sure the employees have a copy they can keep and make sure to keep a copy in the employees file. Also need to make sure employee’s get a handbook on all these topics. This will make it possible for the employee to know all the code of conduct rules and regulations.

The code of conduct, referred to as the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, for Tesla Motors is broken down into 15 distinct sections. The titles of these sections are as follows: Introduction; Compliance with Laws, Rules and Regulations; Conflicts of Interest; Insider Trading; Corporate Opportunities; Competition and Fair Dealing; Discrimination and Harassment; Health and Safety; Record-Keeping; Confidentiality; Protection and Proper Use of Company Assets; Payments to Government Personnel; Waivers of the Code of Business conduct and Ethics; Reporting any Illegal or Unethical Behavior; Compliance Procedures; and Code of Ethics for CEO and Senior Financial Officers.

General Motors Company, one of the world’s largest automakers, estimated in 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, USA.GM employs 209,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in more than 120 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, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. (Elizabeth, GM, 2009). GM was the largest automaker for 77 consecutive years from 1931 through 2007. It is longer than any other company in the world. In 2008, it was surpassed by Toyota (Elizabeth, GM, 2009).

Herman Miller is an American company that was founded in 1905 in Zeeland, Michigan as the Star Furniture Co. They are the major American company of office furniture and equipment. In 1919 Dirk Jan De Pree became the president of the company and renamed the company The Michigan Star Furniture Co. Then Dirk and his father Herman Miller buy 51% of the company in 1923 and renamed Herman Miller Furniture Company, and in 1960 became Herman Miller Inc.

A code of conduct and a statement of formal statements describe and explain what an organization expects from its employees and a code of ethics generally consists of statements that serve as principles and basis for rules of conduct. Leaders and managers must be role models for organizational success. If employees see leaders and management demonstrating the organizational values then it adds to the commitment and credibility of leadership and reinforces the importance of the organization’s values which leads to employees who are more engaged and committed to the organization. Also turnover among employees tends to be lower and productivity tends to be high. On the other hand, if leadership demonstrates behavior that is inconsistent with the code of conduct then a negative message is sent to the employees. Therefore, employees may disengage and compromise company standards as seen in the

Codes of conduct are policies including rules such as maintaining honesty, attitude, and respect (Traveler, 2009) for co-workers, the organization and customers. Only by separation of personal ethical choices in the work place, will an organization succeed and flourish. It is never appropriate for any employee, management or otherwise, to conduct business for personal gain. The people who become harmed lose trust, confidence, and the expectation of themselves and of the people who chose to put their personal ethical choice before the needs of the customer and business.