Because of Nissan’s general shift to high-road and lean manufacturing, it has seen a significant increase in profits and general increase in safety and efficiency in their factories. Firstly, high-road manufacturing is defined as using higher quality goods and safer conditions even though you may lose some profits in the short term. The most recent changes are seen in the Smyrna, TN and Canton, MS plants, however, there are a few differences that affect the profits of the company and the safety of the workers. Additionally, Nissan has begun to move workers from manufacturing line positions to data analyst positions, which shows how the company tends to the well-being of its workers. Today, companies are shifting their mindset from a single bottom line (profit) to a triple bottom line (profit, people, planet) and that explains Nissan’s shift to a high road …show more content…
A shift to a high road means safer working conditions, more reliable and top-tier parts, an eco-friendly mindset, and a focus on long-term profits. This shift is largely seen through outsourcing car computer software to IBM, environmental friendly cars such as the leaf, and the new, innovative luxury car line, Infiniti. I argue that for Nissan, compared to low-road manufacturing, high-road manufacturing has been a beneficial strategy to maximizing efficiency and profit, while focusing on the triple bottom line. In the past decade, Nissan has seen a significant increase in their efficiency of making more cars and creating more skilled labor, specifically in their US plants in Canton, MS and Smyrna, TN. Suppliers have begun to move closer to their respective plants in an attempt to create more skilled labor. For Smyrna, Nissan has invested $160 million dollars to build a new “supplier park” that will create more than 1,000 supplier jobs (Area Development, 2015). Because the
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.
Gulfstream Aerospace is one of leading corporate jet manufacturers in the world. They have been building jets since the late 50’s and continue to create top of the line aircraft which have become the status symbol of success. With their success comes an extensive company infrastructure and supply chain. First, we will discuss how Gulfstream uses the location to maximize the effectiveness of its supply chain. Then we will look at the business case for Gulfstream’s approach to its supply chain, and in particular, does it make sense to have a car follow supplies while it is on the rail system. Finally, we will look at Gulfstream’s to the “just in time” manufacturing and its strategic approach to choosing locations.
This was noted as a bold endeavor with a substantial amount of risk. Tom Folliard, the CEO of CarMax used innovation to redirect the current trend of standard practices, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). Through expansion, CarMax provided a wide variety of automotive brands to their customers, not limiting their sales to only a few makes and models, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). CarMax also eliminated the past practices of pressure sales by establishing fixed prices. The Team agreed that CarMax had gained a competitive edge in the market by catering to the consumer through a variety of products with set prices and no sales pressure. AutoNation CEO, Wayne Huizenga was noted as quite the entrepreneur with an initial focus on Waste Management and Block Buster Videos, an example of fragmented industry, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). This diversity definitely has its advantages, but can lead to misdirection regarding sustainability in one industry. The team noted similarities between the CEO’s regarding their creativity and defiance of industry rules. As the team compared the different strategies of CarMax and AutoNation, we noticed two different methods of application, each were effective yet differed in application. In a bold move, AutoNation, under new CEO Mike Jackson, followed the CarMax strategy of implementing set prices and eliminating high-pressure sales, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). Through creative thinking, AutoNation improved upon their practices by implementing Smart Choice software, which enhanced customer satisfaction by reducing transaction times, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). AutoNation captured the competitive edge over CarMax by catering to the automotive manufactures with a focus on brand versus variety, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). The
Increasing environmental awareness, coupled with a responsible American government and improved technology, have all contributed to the comeback of low-and zero-emissions vehicles in the US. It remains to be seen whether the automakers and oil companies will once again work to halt this progress, or embrace it as the technology of a more responsible future.
It seems almost as if the cars themselves are not mere statistics on a paper but instead the workers take great pride in identifying themselves in each of them. This speaks volumes about the respect invested into their work, which makes them accept and own responsibility of a product from the many numbers that they produced. The motivation to continuously improve their surroundings as well as the process ensures that there is zero error in their products which also leads to a lot of care invested into their work. Also a result of this positive motivation was observed in the decrease of
Nissan was the first company to introduce a 100 percent electric car that produces zero emission and they had great hopes for this vehicle (“Nissan Product Information”). According to Michael Strong, the company believed that this car would be the future of transportation and that it would soon be responsible for 10 percent of all new vehicle sales. However, after 3 years on the market, Nissan’s CEO Ghosn admitted that the Nissan Leaf is only accountable for 4...
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, U.S.A. (TMM) is deviating from the standard assembly line principle of jidoka in an attempt to avoid expenses incurred from stopping the production line for seat quality defects. This deviation has contributed to the inability to identify the root cause of the problem, which has led to decreased run ratios on the line and an excess of defective automobiles in the overflow lot for multiple days. If this problem isn’t fixed quickly, an increased amount of waste will continue to be incurred and customer value will be threatened.
safety is maintained in the workplace will not jeopardize the company’s bottom line because of how large their profit margins are. As a multinational corporation, fulfilling these duties will shine a positive light on their company’s reputation for reducing the amount of workplace injuries and deaths that occur and also delivering a wage that demonstrates human dignity to abolish exploitation.
The majority of people, especially in America, cannot go about their daily lives without a car. Automobiles have instilled themselves in peoples’ lives and shown their usefulness since their debut in 1769. Since then, humans have redesigned and refined the automobile thousands of times, each time making the vehicle more efficient and economical than before. Now as the world approaches an ethical decision to dwarf all others, many people look toward automotives for yet another change. The emergence of the hypercar due to ecological turmoil exemplifies the change the world has demanded. Hypercars alter everything people know about automotives, modern ecology, and fuel efficiency. Not only do hypercars offer a solution to many ecological problems humans are faced with now, they also represent the only logical area for the automotive industry, and by some stretch American society, to expand.
The automotive industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy for every country in the world. It involves a large number of corporations and institutions engaged in the manufacturing process of motor vehicles including designing, developing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling. It contributes to the global economic growth by generating a significant return and creating a ripple effect on supporting the supply chain as well as providing job opportunities for the skilled workers (ACEA, 2016).
Ford’s production plants rely on very high-tech computers and automated assembly. It takes a significant financial investment and time to reconfigure a production plant after a vehicle model is setup for assembly. Ford has made this mistake in the past and surprisingly hasn’t learned the valuable lesson as evidence from the hybrid revolution their missing out on today. Between 1927 and 1928, Ford set in motion their “1928 Plan” of establishing worldwide operations. Unfortunately, the strategic plan didn’t account for economic factors in Europe driving the demand for smaller vehicles. Henry Ford established plants in Europe for the larger North American model A. Their market share in 1929 was 5.7% in England and 7.2% in France (Dassbach, 1988). Economic changes can wreak havoc on a corporation’s bottom line and profitability as well as their brand.
Outsourcing labor and materials in a global market can significantly stretch the supply chain structure. This can have both positive and negative effects. Looking to different countries provides the opportunity to access different markets and find the lowest possible manufacturing costs. Many companies also embraced the Toyota Motor Corp. model of just-in-time inventory and other lean manufacturing techniques that emphasized speed and cost reduction (Bosman, 2006...
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”.
The automotive industry has also established itself as a partner in sustainability. Technological advances which have brought real time solutions, driving down harmful emissions from industry products and production sites. Manufacturers have spearheaded significant enhancements in vehicle safety and clinched social responsibility goals.
Competition for good things like public health, making the earth safe to live are positive aspects of competition, but global competition can also have a downside concerning the environment. This is true for the production of vehicles, as companies are coming with designs and new models with improved engines, but fuel consumption and the pollution of the air remains the same. In addition to the concerns about car manufacturing and driving, we should also consider the impact of construction areas where new houses are being built, with many truck with loads going across the country. This is an important contribution to pollution, which creates both air and noise pollution. Japan and Europe auto manufacturing based in US has recently involved activities to improve fuel efficiency of their vehicles. The European car makers planned to design a new engine and at same time to develop long distance vehicles. The autos made in Europe, for example Daimler Chrysler, recently came out with a new product which is a vehicle with 3 liters per hour, and also a diesel engine, which consumes 3.4 liters of fuel per 100