Basic Information about GM:

General Motors Mission Statement:

"G.M. is a multinational corporation engaged in socially responsible operations, worldwide. It is dedicated to provide products and services of such quality that our customers will receive superior value while our employees and business partners will share in our success and our stock-holders will receive a sustained superior return on their investment."

General Motors Vision Statement:

"Over the past 100 years, GM has been a leader in the global automotive industry. And the next 100 years will be no different. GM is committed to leading the industry in alternative fuel propulsion."

                             "GM’s vision is to be the world leader in transportation products and related services. We will earn our customers’ enthusiasm through continuous improvement driven by the integrity, teamwork, and innovation
of GM people."

"Over the past 100 years, GM has been a leader in the global automotive industry. And the next 100 years will be no different. GM is committed to leading the industry in alternative fuel propulsion."

General Motors Manufacturing Plants

North American Manufacturing is regarded according to

• Small Car Group Manufacturing
• Midsize and Luxury Car Group Manufacturing
• Truck Group Manufacturing
• Power Train Manufacturing
• Metal Fabrication Division
• New United Motors Manufacturing

Small Car Group Manufacturing:

GM’s small car group is represented with

• 4 main assembly operations
• 2 special operations within the Lansing Craft Center and
• a workforce of totally 20,199 people

Plant	Products	built	2004 output	hourly	salary	total work- force
Lansing Grand River Assembly	CTS 57,211 STS 9,484 SRX 30,019	1897	94,000	1600	200	1800
Wilmington Assembly Plant	Chevrolet Malibu Saturn L-series	1947	98.817	2.090	216	2.306
Lordstown Car Assembly	Cavaliers/Sunfires 201,473 Cobalts 28,569	1966	230,042	3,408	273	3,681
Oklahoma City	Oldsmobil Cutlass, Chevrolet Malibu	1979	174.632	3.500	290	3.790
GENASYS Lansing Craft Center	Chevrolet Convertibles, Pontiac Sunfire Convertibles	1995	16.001	319	35	354
EV1 Lansing Craft Center	EV1	1996	638	42	16	58

Midsize and Luxury Car Group Manufacturing:

General Motors Midsize and Luxury Car Group is represented with

• 5 plants, 2 of them in Ontario, Canada
• a production of 935,500 cars in 1997 and
• a workforce of almost 15,000 people

Plant	Products	State	built	1997 output	hourly	salary	total woke- force
Bowling Green Assembly Plant	Chevrolett Corvette	KY	1981	24.673	900	100	1.000
Doraville Assembly Plant	Chevrolet Venture, Oldsmobile Silhouette, Pontiac Trans Sport, Opel Sintra, Vauxhall Sintra	GA	1947	252.673	3.900	260	4.160
Fairfax Assembly Plant	Pontiac Grand Prix, Oldsmobile Intrigue	KS	1987	238.966	3.500	250	3.750
Oshawa #1 Assembly Plant	Chevrolet Lumina, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Buick Regal, Buick Century	Canada	1955	243.274	5.500	500	6.000
Oshawa #2 Assembly Plant				175.942
Total				935.528	13.800	1.110	14.910

Truck Group Manufacturing

GM’s Truck Group is represented with

• 13 assembly plants, 1 out of them in Canada and 2 in Mexico
• A total workforce of 48,800 members and
• A production of 2,155,170 (1996) trucks

Plant	Products	State
Arlington	Buick Roadmaster, Cadillac Fleetwood & Fleetwood Brougham, Chevrolet Caprice, Chevrolet Impala SS	TX
Baltimore	Chevro Astro, GMC Safari	MD
Detroit	Chassis mfg	MI
Flint	Chevrolet C/K, GMC Sierra	MI
Ford Wayne	Chevrolet C/K, GMC Sierra	IN
Janesville	Chevrolet Tahoe, Surburban / GMC Yukon, Surburban, Chevrolet / GMCC-Series, Chevrolet/GMC/Isuzu T-Series	WIS
Moraine	Chevrolet Blazer / GMC Jimmy / Oldsmobile Bravada	OH
Oshawa	Chevrolet C/K, GMC Sierra	Canada
Pontiac	Chevrolet C/K, GMC Sierra	MI
Shreveport	Chevrolet S-Series / GMC Sonoma / Isuzu Hombre	LA
Wentzville	Chevrolet Express & Chevy Van / GMC Savana, Chassis mfg	MO
Silao	Chevrolet Tahoe & Suburban	Mexico
Toluca	Chevrolet C-Series	Mexico

 G.M. Innovation Sacrificed to Profits:

               Assume for a moment that it is 1974 and you are a member of the General Motors board of directors. Your primary markets, North America and Europe, are still adjusting to the first "oil shock" and you notice that selected Japanese and European automobile makers are expanding their global sales, improving quality, and gaining share in the trendsetter market of California. The board has already approved such defensive moves as "downsizing" GM's full-sized cars and introducing a GM-Australia designed car, the Chevette. Still, you wonder how these much smaller competitors intend to challenge GM's dominance.

                  After informal conversations with board members and company executives, you find that others have similar concerns. So at the next board meeting you sponsor a motion to create a "shadow strategy task force," the purpose of which is to identify strategies competitors might follow to undermine GM's dominance and cut its North American market share from nearly one-half to one-third. Though some executives scoff at the assignment and its premise as absurd, the motion carries and you await the report from the shadow task force. Now consider the reality faced by GM during the last five years: By the early 1990s, after more than a decade and a half of difficult, frustrating years, General Motors Corporation effectively matched Japanese automakers in product quality. Consumer surveys and independent observers rated the initial reliability among many segments of GM's line to be virtually equal to that of Japan's vaunted products. Objectively measured, overall GM quality had never been higher; in fact, it exceeded the quality levels of Japanese imports of just a few years earlier. During the 1980s and early 1990s, however, GM's market share fell from 46 to 35 percent. Executives spoke optimistically of "getting the message out" and of using GM's huge marketing budget to correct the "image problem." The downslide continued, though, with GM's market share falling to 32.2 percent by the middle of the 1993 model year, and moving up slightly since then. Along the way, Japanese brands captured 27 percent of the U.S. auto market. And in the trendsetting state of California, where 12 percent of all American cars are sold, Japanese producers now hold nearly a 40 percent market share, even with the expensive yen of the mid-1990s.

Comparison between Toyota and General Motors:

General Motors

Toyota

GM has diversified and lay off                  34,000 employees during 2006 to 2008, and planning for another 5,500 layoffs. They are asking American Government for a Bailout. GM problem is not only with their cash flows but their troubled, outdated, low quality, wasteful production system..

During the same period of time Toyota lay off no employee. Toyota is experiencing the same slow down as GM, even they have halted production at its Indiana and Texas plats for the past three months. But their 4,500 employees have not been laid off. Toyota has a special culture, deep rooted values, and respect for their workforce.  Toyota’s tradition is to not lay off employees during hard time. They have respect for their personnel and want build long term relationship between employee and employer. By Doing this they will get more skillful and devoted workforce of North America The estimate this costing $ 50 millions plus lose of revenues to Toyota. Why Toyota is costing so much because Toyota believes that its people are its greatest asset and investment. So when plants return to full production Toyota will have well trained employees on the front line. They will be motivated to work because Toyota is willing to go to the mat for their people.

                                 

References:

JEFEREY, K.L (2004).The Toyota’s Way: 14 Management principles from the world’s greatest manufacturer. USA: McGraw Hill Publisher.

LEWIS,K.P.(2003).Henery Ford and the automobile Indusry.New York:The Rosen Publishing.

MICHEAL,W.R.(1999).General Motors:A Photographic History.Chicago:Arcadia Publishing.

WILLIAM, P. (2006).Billy Alfred, and General Motors: The story of two Unique Man. USA:AMACOM.