General Motors Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

General Motors Case Study Solution

Introduction

General Motors is one of the leading automotive companies which was founded in 1908 and grew over passage of time. It currently operates under several sectors including GM North America, GM Europe, GM International Operations, GM South America, and Corporate. General Motors is involved in the production of both cars and trucks and are recently trying to create a hybrid revolving around the two. The company initially focused manufacturing, designing and selling on its own production of cars but that have changed over the period with several acquisitions and mergers.

Currently, the company is operating under the banner of General Motors.It comprises of several notable names of 21st Century including Cadillac, Chevrolet, Opel, Vauxhall, On Star, Holden, Maven and FAW. General Motors company was incorporated in 2009 as the company had expanded its presence throughout the world from Canada to Australia. It created individual companies for managing its diversified operations including the opening of customer care center. (General Motors Co (GM.N))

General Motors’ mission is to focus on enhancing quality of its operations to improve their goods and services while taking into account the external impact on all kind of stakeholders like customers, shareholders, business partners, subsidiaries and environmentalists. However, what’s new is the change in vision statement of the company which is now focusing on bringing the automotive to run on alternative fuel force and reduce the impact on the atmosphere of gas emissions from vehicles. (TO EARN CUSTOMERSFOR LIFE)

The team involved in General Motors’ production process is diversified from including not only the manual workers but also engaged technologists, environmentalist and engineers including collaboration with NASA engineers. This means that they are taking advices and exploring all aspects of their product before its launch. (Santoso, 2008)

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

1)         Brand name- General Motors can make extensive use of its goodwill which had been developed over a period extended more than a century. The names of Cadillac and Buick, the initial cars launched by GM have now become a brand which appeals to people. Further the market segment for these cars have also transformed into a niche market with more interest shown by upper class population of the world. (Essays, 2015)

2)         World-wide presence: Presence and expansion of General Motors to more than five continents and several countries including fast rising economies of India and China with a market already expanded in Brazil. (Essays, 2015)

3)         Vast Market Share: Even though the market value of GM had fallen in recent times it still commands a huge market presence by accounting for around 25% of the automotive industry with a further rise expected in future with expansion in previously untapped markets of rising economies like China and India. (General Motors SWOT)

4)         Continuous production process: General Motors have an advantage when it comes to having knowledge of car manufacturing by gathering more than a century old data regarding car manufacturing and selling. With passage of time they also went into designing.

5)         Usage of Satellite Technology: General Motors have incorporated technology really well into its operations by equipping its cars with tracking devices that can invoke satellite transmission in case of theft. (Santoso, 2008)

6)         Diversified Products: General Motors offers a wide variety of cars including Cadillac, Chevrolet, Opel, Vauxhall, OnStar, Holden, Maven and FAW. This means that their consumer base is quite huge and can be further expanded with more development of these cars.

7)         Collaboration with NASA: General Motors have a partnership type relation with NASA where the automotive company focuses on providing materials for development of sensor systems and humanoid robots. On the other hand, GM uses various software developed by NASA to update its vehicles into smart cars. This includes usage of satellite system by the automotive company in its cars for tracking purposes. (Britannica, 2017)

8)         Rise in demand for Trucks: The global demand of trucks has risen on the back of rise in economic activities taking place around the world. The automotive company can also take advantage of this situation to expand into new markets.

9)         Consumer Satisfaction: Having a century to develop has created an advantage for the company in terms of maintaining customer relations. GM brands like Cadillac and Buick are still revered by consumers enabling them to be named in the top five products empowering consumer satisfaction. (General Motors SWOT)

Weaknesses

1)         Fluctuation in Liquidity: Fall in relation with suppliers and halt in dealership network has affected the company’s liquidity negatively.

2)         Vast Network of Operations: Having lots of subsidies have resulted in diversification from main focus of the company. This can lead to loss in some sectors of the company. This also results in strain on relationship between employees and management. (General Motors SWOT)

3)         Employment of Various Professionals: Many professionals gathering in a work place means that there will be a rise in conflict of interest. Many professionals will get into tussle over minor issues which may slow the production process.

4)         Late adoption of alternative fuel: using substitute energy was the new norm of the automotive industry after it was discovered that the world’s trend is flowing towards preservation of environment. The cars produced by the company were based on fuel. While other companies were trying to search for alternative methods GM was still depending upon the traditional fuel. (Essays, 2015)

5)         Fall in Credit Ratings: General Motors have seen a fall in credit conditions of the company. Given its level of profitability, GM does not look likely to lose its credit facilities, but if the situation continues then it will be problematic for the automotive company in the future. (Essays, 2015)

6)         Using Out-dated Technology: The world has shifted rapidly and initially it looked like GM would be unable to cope with it. However, with passage of time it adopted new tech but until then it was too late. GM also used traditional business model, while the upcoming companies were all based on modern researches.

7)         Failure of Marketing Strategies: GM’s marketing strategies have failed since the turn of the century. The company is gradually losing its status as a global dominator in the automotive industry

.General Motors Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

Competitors have exposed General Motors’ weaknesses when it comes to quality. It is not that GM did not provide quality products, it is just that the competition raised the benchmark of quality products. (Britannica, 2017)...........................

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