Observable Artifacts Of The Financial Downfall Of Chrysler

I - Introduction………..………...………………………………………….….….p 3 II - What are the internal and external factors that contributed to GM’s decline and eventual bankruptcy protection application?……………….....….p 4

General Motors (GM) was one of the premier automakers of the world. Firmly planted as the leader of the big three automakers, GM, Ford, and Chrysler, years of success grounded GM as an economic and cultural icon of American business. As the Japanese auto market grew and became more efficient, turning out improved vehicles that the public wanted, GM was becoming a lumbering behemoth of inefficiency and corporate gluttony. Many circumstances contribute to GM’s road to bankruptcy including high legacy costs in union owned contracts, largely poor design, inferior quality, and low productivity.

There was a dilemma regarding sustainable economic development in my company, Spectrum Sunglass Company. Due to the request of “green” from Bigmart, which was the largest retail customer, my company should have decided whether its strategy plan needed to be adjusted. I was the Director of Product Innovation within the R&D unit, in addition to being a resolute advocate for reducing the company’s dependence on petrochemical raw materials. However, much resistance took place. I had 96 weeks to persuade my superiors and colleagues.

The Great Recession in 2007-2008 really hurt some companies and Chrysler was one of them. In order to return to profitability rather than breaking even Mr. Sergio Marchionne the Chief Executive for Chrysler Group LLC felt that there need to be a culture change after his analysis of the company, thus he did just that.

“His boss gave him the go-ahead, scheduled a date for the presentation and invited all company engineers and key production planning personnel. When time came for the meeting, a grand total of two people showed up —Lou Tubben and his boss.” (Dowers, para 9). As a result, to the above mentioned atmosphere at Ford, the consumer was left with purchasing an affordable car that was poorly built. “According to Ford's estimates, the unsafe tanks would cause 180 burn deaths, 180 serious burn injuries, and 2,100 burned vehicles each year.”

“For the past seven months the 57 year old italian-born Canadian has been working to shake up Chrysler and move the company away from the old ways that forced it into bankruptcy. The physical back end stories about the company are the dress code, and rituals within a company”. (Chrysler Group, LLC. (n.d.). The observable artifacts the old way of thinking was to place a rebate on the cars that were sold and double

The American automotive industry has led the American economy for many years. This industry has shaped our development, and influenced American culture and social mores. Now, ensnared by globalization and other dominant factors, it faces a difficult reality. The American automotive industry significantly impacted the lives of Americans. Detroit’s “Big Three” had the most significant roles in this. Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors were American symbols. They are credited for a significant percentage of all American jobs; they put numerous blue-collar families into the middle class, and helped America cultivate into the giant of the twentieth century. Unfortunately, the fabled automotive firms are not what they once were and are traveling

In a present day of global warming, environmental issues, labor unions, and other impacts, the automobile industry is in an era of instability and change. Ford Motor Company has been traditionally considered one of the "Big Three" in the auto industry, but they are not adapting as well as hoped to the changing industry, and will have to strategize to survive in a struggling industry.

Yet now, some say that the past is what troubles the automotive giant. In an interview with a former General Motors executive, GM 's sheer size as well as the sense of complacency developed after years of success was cited as the chief challenges GM would have to overcome (Interview, 2004). In a sense GM has been derailed, the strengths that once made it successful are the same forces that have led to its current flaws. (McCall, 1998) Thus, Wagoner is proposing to go against GM 's years of tradition and "Challenge the process." This is not the only step in the CIEME model that Wagoner has acted on. (Kouzes & Posner, 1995) He has already "Modeled the way" by cutting GM inefficiencies so that the company now competes directly against the streamlined Japanese automotives. Part of this streamlining includes Enabling the correct management to act. Furthermore, our interviewee attested to the fact that all GM employees were Inspired to share a number of Wagoner 's visions for the company. The remaining question is whether or not Wagoner will be able to Encourage the heart of General Motors.

Ford Motor Company has been in business since the 19th century and it has enjoyed a rather successful run as one of the top automobile industries in the United States. Ford Motor Company is a prosperous business because of strategic changes that it was willing to develop and implement. Successful corporations have to adapt to the constantly changing environment or the company will be doomed to failure. In other words, customer shopping habits change as new products are introduced to the market or when other factors beyond Ford Motor Company’s control affect which vehicles are sold. For example, there is an increased demand for fuel efficient cars when the price per gallon of gasoline increases. In its long history, Ford Motor Company has demonstrated the willingness to cut its losses and try innovative techniques in order to maximize profit and maintain customer satisfaction and sustainability. Although the company no longer resembles the same corporation that Henry Ford built, it remains an example of how successful businesses should adapt to their changing environment by being receptive to different strategies.

Achieving world class business performance is a major challenge in today’s society. Manufacturing companies continue to face increased competition and globalization from its competitors. (1, p. 148). The automotive industry is one of the most volatile manufacturing industries that we have, which was evident in the 2008 – 2010 automotive industry crisis. (2) This global financial downturn served notice to the American automotive manufactures to raise the bar, in order to achieve word class business performance. General Motors, one of the country’s largest automotive manufactures, had to receive a government bailout to survive. During this time many with the corporation asked themselves, if we were a world class business, would we be facing

This particular case discusses whether General Electric fulfilled its Corporate Social Responsibility under the leadership of Jack Welsh or if it just met basic obligations. It also displays the evolving idea of social responsibility in a corporation by contrasting the corporation’s actions during Welsh’s leadership and after Welsh retired. It is shown that Welsh had a classical economic view of social responsibility. General Electric followed a traditional business model while Welsh was working and a progressive business model after he retired. He used a cutthroat ranking system based off of social Darwinism in order to sort out the “best” of his employees. Lastly, it displays that norms and principles are always

This research paper will focus on how Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) lost focus on the production of their mid-size sedans and instead began to focus solely on the Jeep brand and SUV’s. This systematically caused the Chrysler 200 which begins with a selling price of $21,995 with 4 models to choose from and a closing price of $27,570 to lose its place as a highly profitable vehicle for the company. This in turn led to the closing down of the plant in Sterling Heights which caused a large number of Michiganders to be in chaos concerning the future of their employment.

In 2009, Chrysler and General Motors has filed for bankruptcy protection. As part of the reconstruction process the automobile company Fiat merged with Chrysler. Because of the restructuring proceeding, almost 800 dealerships had to be closed, employees’ wages were slashed and pensions for new hires were cut. The reorganization of the two failing companies resulted in lowered variable and fixed costs at a disadvantage to its creditors, employees, dealers, and management. The new management set out to improve the culture of

Organizations face many pressures in their attempt to navigate daily operations, while conducting business in such a way that their stakeholders are satisfied. This organization must meet stakeholder satisfaction with regard to profit margins, stock prices, and personal and organizational beliefs. The belief structure of the organization, as a whole, as well as concerned individuals holds special emphasis, as it directs how operations influence the organization’s image. As the global conscience advances through the 21st century, the environmental effect of operational planning and execution take center stage in the efforts to curb and reduce the ecological footprint of a company. Southwest Airlines must remain cognizant of their