General Motors Essay Example for Free

General Motors Essay I first want to start out with the bailout in 2009 where the government gave General Motors money ($40 million) to help get them out the situation with their creditors and took over most of the company. According to reports all of the outstanding stock has been sold and now the company is out of the government’s hands. The total amount given to them was not paid in full and they do not feel like they need to repay anymore because they said that there was a risk with taking the stock and that the government would just get back what the stock sold for. I know that this is true in the stock market, as I have stocks myself and know the risks that I am taking. I still have a problem with giving them money when one of the other larger automobile companies (Ford Motor Company) took it upon themselves to restructure and is paying off their own debts little by little and is still moving along today. Along with the sale of all of the stock came a lift on the freeze of upper management wages and incentives. This is just not right. I would like to live on what some of them make, and I am sure that I could live very comfortably. Let them come and live on my income and see what they can do. I really have a problem with going overseas for production and I always will. It is probably my age and all of the trials and tribulations that I have lived through as well as what I have seen others live through. Many people were told that their jobs would be secure and since then General Motors has cut back on jobs here in the United States. I wonder just how many people outside of this country have been given jobs that could have been here at home. I know that many companies take production overseas because they say that the costs for labor are a lot  lower. Well, that may be true but has anyone seen the living conditions of those people overseas. Are we really paying them what they should be getting? Let’s take into consideration all of the recalls that General Motors has made in the last few years. Way too many in my book. Why is there faulty material being used to manufacture a product that could easily take the lives of many people. These products were made mostly overseas, I believe, and could lower wages be part of the problem of not noticing the faulty parts in the first place? By taking away incentives for prospective buyers, I believe, really hurt their business, but then I say, â€Å"Why give an incentive and not just reduce the price of the car in the first place?† I know that consumers look f or incentives but I think that they would look just as hard if the price of the cars were lower too. Let us look at the strategy that General Motors is wanting to take. The strategy that I believe that they are using is a combination of three strategies. They are as follows: Defensive Strategy in that General Motors decided to cut back the number of makes of automobiles; Cost-Leadership Strategy in that expenses needed to manufacture the cars are kept at a lower cost and maintained at that lower cost; and Differentiation Strategy in that they need to make a superior product for a vast number of people at a low cost. According to the plan General Motors is going to start making their automobiles using the same parts in the same laid out plants and using the same kind of tools throughout. They are also cutting back on the number of models from 86 to 49. When it came to the cost-leadership strategy, I put the loss of incentives to customers in this category. I still do not understand why there are incentives when they could just reduce the price of the automobile or truck. I think that people would look more if the price were lower. The differentiation strategy they have cut back on the workforce but are still making the superior produc t for a vast audience. I realize that they need to watch their competitors closely, especially those overseas but they also need to take care of the people right here in the United States. General Motors has a vision to reduce costs and increase revenue through global sales growth to a net profit of 10%. I think that they are asking for a lot out of the economy, as it is today As the plan states, Ford is farther ahead of General Motors and they made more of a profit per vehicle sold than General Motors. This was all done because of  going globally. The culture needs to change too and get away from focusing on selling the most cars and take care of the customers that they currently have and possibly will have in the future. Yes, sales are important, but they will come if their customer focus is there first. I think that the 10% increase in profits is a little out the park when you are just restructuring and trying to maintain your status. You will need to take smaller increases in profit for a few years and then the profits will increase as the years go by. When looking at SMART goals I find that General Motors set their goal of making more than $10 billion per year. This is a very challenging goal for a company that is just coming back from restructuring. This goal is very specific but I do not believe that it is attainable with the economy that we have today. I know that they look at achieving this goal globally but they really need to concentrate right here in the United States. To be results-oriented they needed to decrease the number of types of cars they produce, reduce the number in their global workforce, (which they did), reduce the number of union workers here in the United States (which they did) and close down plants that were not up to par (which they did). Was this the right decision to make? Who knows for sure? The only thing that I can see is that they put a lot of people out of work. In looking at the Planning/Control Cycle, I see that General Motors followed it by making the plan, carrying out the plan, they looked at the results of the plan and they controlled the direction of the plan by making any corrections as they went along with the plan. Planning is very important in everything that you do. You must always follow through too and watch as the plan is being carried out and always have control of what is going on and make sure that you make any corrections as the plan goes on. If need be, go back to the beginning and start all over again if the plan goes off track too far or if you have to make too many corrections. According to Mr. Akerson when asked about being back on top and the world’s largest auto maker his response was: â€Å"General Motors needs to focus on profits and margins and not necessarily try to post nu mbers on the board.† Maybe they need to go back and re-think their plan again and make sure they are staying on track as they proceed. In conclusion, I just want to add that I read two reports that just came out on CNN today. â€Å"One concerned a former manager for General Motors, Bill McAleer, who was in charge of the Global delivery system from 1988 to 1998 which was  used to access the quality of cars before they were sent to various dealers. He said that the culture of General Motors was the main problem of the company where if there was a problem and you said anything that you could be fired and then on the other hand if you did not say anything, you still could be fired.† What kind of culture is that? It is kind of twisted, if I must say. He said that he had sent a letter to the upper management about all of the defects that he had found and that they just ignored it. He also said that he never received a response in any way about the letter. He mentioned that in 1997 the focus for the company really changed and internally and that there were to be NO problems admitted to. How ridiculous is that. There is never a time during the day that a company does not have some kind of problem. He went on to say; â€Å"That’s what happened with the ignition switch, people knew that there was a problem but problems were not acceptable. They just ignored it.† Mr. McAleer was laid off in 2004 and filed suit agains t the company under the Whistleblower Law but he lost his suit. And what happened yesterday, June 27, 2014? General Motors recalled another 430,000 2013 and 2014 vehicles for various defects from windshield wiper assemblies on Caprice Police Cars, to transmission software, to rear shock absorbers, and to air bag problems. What is with this company? The article stated that since January, General Motors has recalled more than 20 million vehicles worldwide. If they knew about the ignition switch more than a decade ago and did nothing until this year, why are they still in business? Where are most of these defective parts coming from? I would imagine that you can see why I cannot be happy about this company. I have lived many years and have worked in various occupations and have seen the defective merchandise come from out of the country and would just sit there and shake my head. Working in retail for over 20 years, I just would not put merchandise on the floor for customers to purchase if I found it to be defective. Did I get into trouble for it? Absolutely not! We cared about our customers, why doesn’t General Motors. Seems like all they are interested in is the almighty dollar. Ref: CNN.com Article by Patrick Sheridan, June 28, 2014 @ 12:24 pm ET Article by Patrick Sheridan, June 27, 2014 @ 6:564 pm ET

A Place to Go - Original Writing :: Papers

A Place to Go - Original Writing Night after night I had passed the strange location. I began to recognize it and became aware of every detail. I found the building light in the same way. My eyes became attracted, addicted to this place, every eve it beckoned me to return. Simply gazing on it seemed to provide a relaxation, it warmed me. My body became accustomed to its feeling and presence; I found it, almost difficult to leave it. Despite this I had to carry on, they where close behind me now. This was not the first time that I had passed the building and approached it with curiosity. I had wandered here before. This building seemed of some overwhelming significance, when near I felt pathetic and feeble, this building, mansion or 'castle' seemed to posses some great inhuman power far beyond my conceivable imagination. As previously I waited and rested near to the building, my back lay vertical against the huge wall, again this unbelievable feeling of nostalgia, anomalous refreshment and suspicion passed through the very material of my being. It happened suddenly. I was unrepentant, almost unaware of this 'attack' I was about to undergo. I felt a hard thud to my right, this failed to affect me, and I was dazed and confused by the sheer marvel of this magic place. The second warning was more obvious and harder to ignore. A hand was placed on my shoulder. The way in which it touched me was indescribable, there was no feeling or emotion in this being I was now contemplating. I pondered its nature for a while, until the hand did seem to posses a feeling, an emotion; the hand now gripped my shoulder with intensity, a feeling of urgency and aggression showered over me. I was now left with now choice but to confront this creature. I slowly turned my head. I could see, in the corner of my eye a man. A tall man. A big man. An old man and an interesting man. This aggression and urgency flourished and eventually disappeared,

Rise of Totalitarianism

At the end of World War I, totalitarianism began to rise. To keep the countries at peace they created The League Of Nations. It did not execute its duties well, and failed to enforce treaties, and prevent invasions. At the end of the war France designed the Treaty of Versailles to punish Germany, and it caused many problems in Germany. The rise of totalitarianism could have been stopped if, the Treaty of Versailles was not as severe, the League of Nations was more effective, and had their not been an economic downfall.The Treaty of Versailles had some harsh regulations. This treaty stated Germany had to pay high reparations, take the blame for the war, have land taken from them, have their military reduced, and League of Nations taking over seas colonies. If it was not for this treaty Germany would not have had the rise of Nazism. The main goal of Nazism was to reunite the German speaking people and they could not do that if all the German speaking countries were spilt up. Alsace Lor raine was taken from Germany and given back to France.Other countries were stripped from Germany and were given to Poland, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, and some made independent countries showing self-determination. All this did was anger the German people, because they blame the signing of the treaty on the people known as the â€Å"November Criminals†. The Weimar Republic did not know who to blame for the defeat and faced many problems similar to that. Revolts let out and so did street gangs. Horrible inflation happened due to the high reparations in the 1920s. This caused many German citizens to have very little hope in the government.Hitler came into power by gaining control of the Nazi Party and got support for finding blame for the war. Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany’s loss in World War I and the economic downfall. In the 1930s Hitler started to use communism uprising as a threat to gain power. He went against the other political parties and set up a fas cist totalitarian state in Germany based on the ideas of Stalin and Mussolini. Each regulation of this treaty led to each event in Germany causing the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. The League of Nations came along after World War I.The point of the League  was to make sure a war was never to break out again, and keep world peace stabilized. All the countries counted on the League to bring stability into the world. They did not want another disaster to happen, and to avoid this they created an international body whose sole purpose was to maintain world peace. One major problem was this was created when the United States was in isolationism; this meant that the US was not a part of the League. As America was the one of the world’s most powerful country this was a major weakness in the League of Nations. Germany was also not in the League due to the Treaty of Versailles.One of their punishments was not being considered a part of the international community. In 1917 Russia was not allowed to join the League also. Mainly due to the communist government in Russia. This league was lacking powerful countries and that was a big deal if they wanted international peace. The League of Nations did not have an army, therefore, how are they supposed to reinforce the Treaty of Versailles and the peace between countries. The League of Nations would have worked if it was more organized. It also could have prevented the rise of Hitler when everything went bad in Germany.Hitler refused to pay the reparations when he came into power and the League of Nations could not have done anything about it because they had no army. If the League was more organized it could have stop the rise of totalitarianism. Germany was unable to pay was reparations. They had terrible inflation, and their currency became worthless. France was aware of the high reparation costs putting Germany into a great depression. Things got better in Germany for a little until the stock market crashes in 1929 known as Black Tuesday and put Germany back into an economic crisis.This all lead to the overthrow of the government starting with the Freikorps. In 1920 the Freikorps attempted to overthrow the Weimar Republic and tried to blame the communist for it. Germany was in horrible shape with its economy and they would try anything to get out of it. Hitler actually had his reason for this economic crisis it was blaming the Jews. Any sort of way out the German people went along with because they were desperate for help. Hitler banned strikes, placed strict controls on wages and prices to end unemployment and try to improve the economy.He violated the treaty by increasing the military to help unemployment. The League had nothing to stop this so had to let it go by. Germany going into the great depression due to these high reparations is what caused the German people to become desperate and look toward anyone for help. They choose Hitler to listen to and he turns Germany into a fascist totalitarian state. Some countries in Europe during the 1920s were falling apart, and need help desperately. Totalitarian leaders are what these countries came to with Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, and Mao.The League of Nations was created to stabilize the world and bring peace. But the League had nothing to back it up except for their own word. These European countries economies were crashing, and Germany was in an economic crisis. The German people had to turn to a totalitarian leader to get out of it. Hitler got those jobs and helped the unemployment rate. Totalitarianism could have been stop if the Treaty of Versailles was not as harsh, the League of Nations was put together better, and if the economy had not turn terribly.

A Study On Rome s Location - 1986 Words

Eric To World History AP 9/8/2014 Chapter 5 1. Rome’s location was a large contributor to why it was so successful. Italy is a land of hills and the Apennine Mountains run along the center of it. The Mediterranean had an extremely good climate for crops to survive. Though 75 percent of the land in Italy is hilly, there are many coastal regions and river valleys that were perfect for sustaining an urbanized society. 2. According to legend, Rome was founded by two brother, Romulus and Remus. They were cast along the Tiber River and raised by a she-wolf. Rome was occupied as early as 1000 BCE and the merging of several hilltop communities to form a nucleus. Latin speech and cultural patterns originate from the people who inhabited Rome long ago. The Roman Republic wasn’t a democracy but rather, was a sovereign power which resided in sever assemblies. The real center of power in the Roman Republic however, was all in the Senate. They were basically an advisory council which made policies and governed the people. Complex ties of obligations that were in Roman families were a patron/client relationship where the oldest living male was the person leading the household. 3. The Roman Republic was not so much a success when they became too large to govern and they were eventually destroyed in the third and second century BCE and most farmers were out on military service, so when they were absent from their farms, investors were able to seize up most of their land throughShow MoreRelatedThe Great Dynasties, Empires, Civilizations, And Nations987 Words   |  4 Pagesliterature or research that exists for people to study. The same is said for the figures and/or leaders that lived and help to shape the world and environment that is study or functioning still to this day. It would seem that at times history is studied based upon popularity or where the most documentation exists to study. 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