Question: DO NOT Study THIS CASE More. In the year 1908, Mr. William Durant established General Motors. He soon ran the company into severe debt and
DO NOT Study THIS CASE More.
In the year 1908, Mr. William Durant established General Motors. He soon ran the company into severe debt and was fired by his creditors in his eagerness to establish a prominent car manufacturing plant to contend with Ford. Alfred Sloan, a new CEO, took control in 1923. His meticulous attention to detail, as an inventor, contributed to the revolutionization of the automobile industry. He was in charge until 1946. Create five distinct brands with five pricing points for five different categories of consumers, he said, urging market segmentation: a car for every purse and purpose. Buick, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac were GM's signature models, outperforming Ford's less expensive, smaller vehicles. Sloan popularised the idea of automotive repairs on a regular basis, instilling in buyers the practise of purchasing and repairing automobiles every few years. From 1931 to 2007, GM dominated global car sales for 77 years. Sloan's leadership style, on the other hand, began to fade as GM's dominance in the market waned. Internal fiefdoms, immense inefficiencies, and a competitive, dysfunctional society between departments and with the Worker's Unions had resulted from his management. Employee expenses were nearly crippling GM's formally robust budget at one stage, when labour rates were nearly twice what Toyota charged their employees, and when combined with unsustainable insurance and retirement packages, employee costs were nearly crippling the company's formally robust budget. For 67 days, a 400 000-strong workers' strike shut down the plants. However, senior management was unresponsive to concerns and suggestions. They worked behind closed doors, with no knowledge of the interests of their staff or clients. The unions were paying off, and everyone who was laid off received up to 95% of their daily wages. GM's inability (or unwillingness) to recognise and adapt to global forces for change, especially after WWII, was a product of this classical management style. Global oil prices started to increase in the late 1970s. Heavy, gas-guzzling automobiles were being phased out across the world in favour of lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles. BMX and Lexus are now synonymous with money, privilege, and class. GM discovered they had lost their magic touch in their attempts to answer with lighter, more sleek, and fuel-efficient vehicles. By 2001, GM's revenues were on the decline. Toyota was leading the way with cars that were elegant, powerful, and cost competitive, while GM was experiencing rising debt levels and was on the verge of bankruptcy amid major government loan initiatives. GM has a debt of $30.9 billion at its height. By 2003, when GM was on the verge of bankruptcy, a new CEO, Rick Wagoner, was chosen to run the company. Wagoner, a reserved guy, spent the next six years collaborating closely alongside his executive team to manage the company's drastic improvements. He didn't give orders; instead, he used persuasion and advice to bring up problems, pose concerns, and find answers. To back up his claims, he insisted on truth and common sense. He took a collaborative rather than a commanding style. His demeanour has been characterised as cool, as he considers all points of view before making sound decisions. In his management style, he characterised himself as "collaborative and accessible," and he still "tried to listen to and talk to everybody at any stage." He understood the value of education, which contributed to his incessant questions while finding solutions. He will only keep posing questions before agreement was found, or a different solution emerged, his coworkers said. Wagoner started by replacing the car product commission, which had been shown to stifle decision-making at the very top of the corporate ladder. This set the stage for a change in the company's culture. GM's management system was gradually restructured, culminating in a more lateral management model and fewer top-down authority and higher employee happiness. His staff focused on improving workforce efficiency and holding agencies accountable for their effectiveness and expenditures. This involved selling off less common vehicle lines and refocusing on the company's flagships, which will now recognise and satisfy consumer demands. Negotiations with unions were part of the reforms that resulted, and the population was eventually limited to fewer than half of what it had been. GM steadily narrowed the holes in production, fuel efficiency, and productivity standards in terms of car quality and competitiveness. In China, GM created a highly lucrative subsidiary, which they saw as a possible insatiable small-car segment. The atmosphere at GM started to shift as improvements to organisational systems and workflow efficiencies became scrutinised. Operating expenses had been cut by $15 billion by 2009, and revenue had increased. The enormous debts accrued as a result of government loans were eventually repaid, and GM started to reclaim its prestigious spot in the global automobile manufacturing industry.
1) Understand the situation. Describe and determine what was wrong with the organisation using change management terms. (Please explain in detail, for further understanding)
- Examine what type of Change management ideas are used By Rick Wagoner
- Please elaborate on the flaws on the organisation
2) (Please explain in detail, for further understanding)
Identify the drivers for change and provide an argument for the use of three perspectives that were or could have been used by management to effectively analyse and then tackle the Firms problems. (500 words)
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