General Motors' Asian Alliances
General Motors, an American-based automotive manufacturer with a large global presence, has long held a large share of the worldwide automotive market. Despite its market position and reputation for quality, the company has recently begun to struggle with new competitors in the Asian Pacific region, which has pushed their needs to develop new manufacturing technologies, as well as to better control costs and quality in its American manufacturing facilities.
Beginning in the 1970s, several nations of the Asian Pacific region, most notably Japan and South Korea, emerged as economic powerhouses. As their manufacturing bases matured, they entered the automotive industry and began to present new challenges as well as new opportunities for General Motors. GM would need to find a successful formula for doing business in this region, as well as develop and adopt innovations that would help it improve its manufacturing operations elsewhere.
In this Case Study, we will examine the facts, the problems, identify the core problems in how General Motors has managed its business alliances in with Asian partner companies, and offer our recommendations how General Motors can best master the challenges of doing business in the East and fully benefit from its joint ventures.
I. THE FACTS
Toyota and NUMMI: In Japan, Toyota was the heavyweight of the automotive industry, controlling over fifty percent of the entire Japanese auto market, and eight percent of the total world market, making it the world’s third largest automotive manufacturer, behind only Ford and General Motors. Toyota presided over a tight confederation of companies, known as a keiretsu where a major manufacturer, such as Toyota, presides over a “pyramid” with the primary manufacturer on top, and several tiers of suppliers below. Unlike General Motors, who held seventy percent vertical integration with its global network of partnerships, alliances, and joint ventures, Toyota only had thirty percent vertical integration in its affiliations, but still managed to have many long-lasting and stable partnerships with its suppliers.
Keiretsus were vast and closely-allied corporate partnerships which evolved from the pre-World War II zaibatsus, giant industrial conglomerates that dominated the nation’s pre-war economy and politics, but were broken up during by the post-war United States-run Occupation authority. These networks were bound by complex and long-lasting arrangements, often minority equity ownership by the company at the top of the keiretsu.
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreThe Aztec Empire was the most powerful Mesoamerican kingdom of all time. They dominated the valley of Mexico in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Aztecs were an advanced and successful civilization that built beautiful, sophisticated cities, temples, and pyramids. They also created a culture full of creativity with mythological and religious traditions. Aztecs lead a structured and evocative life that let their society to become a very superior civilization. The Aztec’s communication skills were very well developed for their time; through religious beliefs, government involvement, and family life they lived a full and productive life. Until in 1519 when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in Mexico, and defeated the Aztecs.
After gaining strategic alliances and victories over smaller Aztec communities, Cortes was able to make a large military assault on a major Aztec city. Cholula is an example of the ferocity and violent methods used by the Conquistador, which created the myth of the Spanish conquistador in the minds of modern day Mexicans. The conquistador would often result to large-scale massacres and the setting of fire to cities as a method of completely annihilation of resistance to the Spanish military. During this military campaign, Cortes has recruited nearly one thousand Tlaxcalteca soldiers to attack the city. The image of the conquistador as a ruthless colonizer is somewhat validated in the brutal methods that Cortes used in destroying the city, but only within the context of making an example of the power of the Spanish government:
Thesis: Even though there is a lot of skepticism towards Chinese car companies making a foothold in the American car market, with the right marketing and not rushing into the market, there is a good chance that the Chinese car companies will follow the Japanese car companies and carve a spot in the American market.
In 1519, the Spaniards conquered the great Aztec city Tenochtitlan, which resulted in changes and alterations that affected the Aztecs drastically. These changes, such as a new hierarchy, terror and plunder, and a new culture and religion left a mark on Mesoamerican history. If the Spanish conquistadors did not decide to conquer
GM should continue to use its technological advantages to create innovative automobiles, but do so cautiously. GM should follow the direction of today’s environmentally conscious consumers who want less expensive, economical automobiles. GM should primarily utilize a cooperative game-theory approach in its sales and marketing strategies in order to stay in sync with the current automotive industry needs.
Currently, the major competitors within the industry are Ford, DaimlerChrylser, General Motors (GM), Honda, Toyota, and Volkswagen. A few United States (US) manufacturers produce 23% of the world’s vehicles while Japan is responsible for 21%. The tendency for the industry is to be a global producer of automobiles; parts can be made throughout the world and assembled in many different places. The trend of consolidation has continued throughout today. Presently, this is evident in the recent acquisition of Chrysler by Daimler-Benz in late 1998, thus forming DaimlerChrylser. These consolidations have proved beneficial to consumers since companies have been able to reduce costs and pass those savings on to the customers. Some of the other major examples of consolidation are Nissan selling off a controlling 37% interest to Renault; General Motor’s 49% ownership of Isuzu; and Ford’s 33% majority of Mazda. Other efforts to become more competitive have translated into the European Union dropping trade barriers and European carmakers employing cost reducing efforts. American manufacturers have seen 2-3% growth over the last few years. Some current trends are the explosion in popularity of the Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and big luxury vehicles.
The Aztec Empire was the largest civilization of the Americas in the early 16th century until Spanish conquistadors arrived in the New World. A motley crew of men from Spain, they were led by Hernan Cortes who intended to expand lands for the Spanish monarch and through many factors he was able to do just that. The three main factors that contributed to the fall of Tenochtitlan by the hands of Spanish conquistadors were significance of native allies, difference in battle tactics among the natives and conquistadors, and widespread disease. Another chapter in the Spanish colonization of the Americas, this one stands out in particular due to its unorthodox sequence of events that led a small group of men to defeating an entire empire in a few short years.
Everyday we experience anxiety. Normally, it’s the feeling you get right before a test, recital, or an interview, but sometimes and for some people it can be a whole lot worse. It can even result in terrible panic attacks that affect the way they live. Anxiety is defined as a general term for several disorders that cause nervousness, worrying,, and fear. Severe anxiety is the most common mental illness and affects 40 million people in the U.S. That’s about 18% of our population. We all get mild anxiety from time to time, but there are more severe cases, types, and forms to this illness. I will tell you about the type of anxiety that could be harmful to your everyday life. Today I will tell you about the types of anxiety, the different treatment options you have, and how these disorders could affect your everyday life.
If you have ever been tense before an exam, a date, or a job interview, you have some idea of what anxiety feels like. Increased heart rate, sweating, rapid breathing, a dry mouth, and a sense of dread are common components of anxiety. But episodes of modern anxiety are a normal part of the life for most people. But what anxiety is so intense and long lasting that it impairs a person’s daily functioning is called an anxiety disorder. It is a general term for several disorders that cause apprehension, nervousness, fear, and worrying. These disorders affect how we feel and behave, and they can manifest real physical symptoms. Mild anxiety is vague and unsettling, while severe anxiety can be extremely debilitating, having a serious impact on daily life.
Anxiety is a normal reaction to a threatening situation and results from an increase in the amount of adrenaline from the sympathetic nervous system. This increased adrenaline speeds the heart and respiration rate, raises blood pressure, and diverts blood flow to the muscles. These physical reactions are appropriate for escaping from danger but when they cause anxiety in many situations throughout the day, they may be detrimental to a normal lifestyle. An anxiety disorder is a disorder where feelings of fear, apprehension, or anxiety are disruptive or cause distortions in behavior, (Coon, 526); they are psychiatric illnesses that are not useful for normal functioning. At times, an underlying illness or disease can cause persistent anxiety. Treatment of the illness or disease will stop the anxiety. Anxiety illnesses affect more than 23 million Americans with about 10 million Americans suffering from the most common, general anxiety disorder . (Harvard, 1). Common anxiety disorders are panic attacks (panic disorder), phobias, and general anxiety disorder (GAD). Panic attacks Panic attacks can begin with a feeling of intense terror followed by physical symptoms of anxiety. A panic attack is characterized by unpredictable attacks of severe anxiety with symptoms not related to any particular situation. (Hale, 1886). The person experiencing the attack may not be aware of the cause. Symptoms include four or more of the following: pounding heart, difficulty breathing, dizziness, chest pain, shaking, sweating, choking, nausea, depersonalization, numbness, fear of dying, flushes, fear of going crazy. Heredity, metabolic factors, hyperventilation, and psychological factors may contribute to anxiety causing panic attacks.
According to the legend, the Aztecs, who referred to themselves as the Mexica, spent years wandering through central Mexico in search of a homeland. In AD 1325, the Aztecs founded their new capital Tenochtitlan (Moctezuma, 9). Years later, the Aztecs started to build their renowned empire. The Aztec Empire was made up of the Triple Alliance: Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan (Moctezuma, 55). Agriculture was the basis of the Aztec’s economy, but conquest and warfare lead to economic expansion and the accumulation of tributes from conquered towns (Moctezuma, 21). War was vital, for it maintained and expanded the economic and religious basis (Moctezuma, 55). The Aztec warriors were the driving force of much of the Aztec empires success because of their training, weaponry, wardress, sacrificing, and combat.
“GM’s focus on efficiency improvements for conventional powertrain technologies is complemented by our leadership in alternative fuel systems and advanced technologies.” GM expanded their electric vehicles portfolio by investing in advanced technologies in order to develop and introduce more efficient and more affordable electric vehicles. GM reduced hundreds of pounds on their best-selling models and announced a breakthrough in resistance spot-welding technology that allows us to weld aluminum to steel.
General Motors is the second largest automobile manufacturing company in the world. They have many divisions as mentioned before throughout the world that go back and forth with designs and parts for each other. By working globally, GM is able to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors by saving on design teams. Part of GM growth strategy is foreign investment and outsourcing jobs in China. After recovering from filing chapter 11 General Motors has gone above and beyond to keep their heads above the water.
Capital punishment is a custom in which prisoners are executed in accordance with judicial practice when they are convicted of committing a “capital crime.” Capital crimes are crimes considered so atrocious that they should be punishable by death. This may be done as an act of retribution, to ensure that the individual cannot commit future crimes, and/or as a deterrent for potential criminals. The practice is regarded as extremely controversial and is intensely debated around the world. Supporters may argue that a serious crime deserves an equally serious punishment, while opponents say that this is revenge rather than punishment. The judicial decree that someone be punished in this manner is a death sentence, while the actual process of killing the person is an execution. Crimes whose outcome is the death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. In the past, many countries have practiced capital punishment. According to Amnesty International, over two-thirds of the countries in the world – 139 – have now abolished the death penalty in law or practice. 58 nations continue to practice it while eight have eradicated it for ordinary crimes, only maintaining it for special circumstances. The death penalty...
The American Automotive Industry, popularly known as the U.S. Automotive Industry is one of the most rapidly evolving industries in North America. It is generally oligopolistic with a few players who in the past have been known to avoid price competition among themselves. The industry consists of industries manufacturing vehicles, car parts, replaceable parts and those engaged in assembling parts into complete models. However, the most dominant players in this industry are the vehicle manufacturers. The players design various models, produce the various parts that each model needs and assemble them into a finished product before availing them to the market. General Motors, Chlysler and Ford motors, dominate the U.S. Automotive mobile. They are popularly referred to as “The Big Three”.