Sunday, April 21, 2013

EXTERNAL ANALYSIS OF GENERAL MOTORS

Introduction
GM Motors is one of the brightest faces of US technology and development. In Automobile industries the company is a legend and known for its technologically advanced wide range of brands which ranges from light to truck vehicles. The company is doing business from more than a hundred years and since then they have developed and acclaimed a series of brands which have satisfied the customer needs and safety.

Following is a very brief detail of company’s SWOT Analysis, Porter’s Five Force Analysis and PESTEL Analysis along with a few recommendations for the company’s future strategies.


SWOT Analysis
Strengths

·         Globally acclaimed existence
·         Wide range of brands
·         Mounting business in Asia Pacific and Latin America
·         Quality and safety
·         Research and development

Weaknesses

·         Shrinking market share
·         Decline in finances
·         Product rejections
Opportunities

·         Hybrids
·         Growing markets
·         New brands
Threats

·         Competitors’ philosophy
·         Global recession and market downfall
·         Decline in demand


Strengths
General Motors is a well established and globally acclaimed name. The company has successfully completed a hundred years and it is on its foot since 1897 with an established wide range of brands all over the world. After a huge success in US, the company is flourishing its business in other corners and spreading its wings to Asia Pacific and Latin America. GM Motors philosophy of business and thrive for technological advancements and quality is their key to success. The company strongly believe in their customers’ safety and comfort and always develop new models which can satisfy the customer and assure their safety. For the same very reason of customer safety, the company has applied the technological advancements and striving to provide crash avoidance by adopting OnStar satellite technology which can forecast and notify a possible chance of crash.
Weaknesses
Japanese automobile industry has pulled a great impact on automobile industry all over the world especially to GM Motors, Ford and Chrysler’s market share which has resulted GM Motors in declining share and finances because of poor choice of investments and a couple of delayed actions in operations such as in Hybrid technology which almost led them to become a follower and reduced their market share in particular regions and also resulted as product rejections and recalls. In just 3 years 2007-2009 the company had a fall of 2.1% (GM Motors Annual Report, 2007-2009).
Opportunities
As per their agenda of innovation and technology, GM Motors should cash the hybrid technology in new emerging markets like Latin America and Asia Pacific as well as in US.
Threats
Competitors’ philosophy as compare to GM Motors stood stronger in the area of technology and they successfully evolved the idea of hybrid technology and took GM Motors a step back. Being a follower than a leader impacted brutally to the company in current global recession and has been a fierce blow on company’s profits.

Porter’s Five Forces Analysis
External environment of GM Motors as per Porter’s Five Forces Analysis is as follows.
Threat of New Entry
As per the economical slump, research and development cost, inflation with the respect to the automobile development structure, it is nearly impossible for the new entry to jump into business.
Buyer Power
As per the economical crises the dealerships and low rate products are more in and there is a little buying power in the market as compare to the past.
Supplier Power
Suppliers’ power has grown strong over the past few years and, as per the emerging markets which are inclined to the new ideas, it will stay strong in future.
Threat of Substitutes
Threat of substitutes is at its peak as per the economical depression, lack of new entries and a little buying power. GM motor’s falling share over the past few years also endorses the idea (GM Motors Annual Report, 2009)
Threat of Competitors
As per the market structure of business there are a few competitors such as Ford, Toyota, Chrysler, Nissan which are striking serious blows on GM Motor’s market share.

PESTEL Analysis
Political Factors
Environmental concerns of the government and the customers have inflicted dominance over company’s business progression and have resulted to make certain changes in operations since 1960. (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1960)
Economic Factors
Automobile industry has its vital role of US economical growth. According to a number of studies the industry has contributed a huge amount of economical development over past many years.
Social Factors
Automobile industry of US has always produced a vehicle which became a sign of reliance and esteem and buyers always enjoyed the pride to drive in utmost safety and esteem. The industry knows its perks and challenges and always stands on up to the mark.
Technological Factors
Technological advancements such as internet and social connections over web have increased. As per the study conducted by the J.D. Power and Associates in 2002 indicates that almost 60% of buyers refers to the internet to generate and finalize their car.
Environmental Factors
The automobile industry has faced a couple of challenges over the past few years on the account of environment protection as mentioned earlier according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1960.
Legal Factors
Most recent challenge in terms of legal factors and regulation is the ELV endorsement for automobile industry by the Automobile Recycling Law, July 2002 in accordance to which Japanese are now concerned and very aggressive on its compliance which is effective from 2005.

Recommendations
1. GM motors should strive harder to develop and lead new technology as per their company agenda.
2.  The company has to take bold steps to conquer new markets.
3.  When it comes to competition the company should work hard on remodelling by keeping the idea in mind of new emerging markets.
4. The company should take a more professional look on their portfolio and should drop the investments which are outdated.



References:

 

GM Motors Strategy Report, 2009

United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1960
J.D. Power and Associates Report, 2002
GM Motors Annual Report, 2009

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

Moral and Ethical Issues in Management

Moral and Ethical Issues in Management
Companies operate and sustain through their fair practicing policies, bringing in discipline, honesty, integrity, loyalty and open communication, are a few examples. Managers, on the other hand, are hired to ensure that everything goes as planned. Managers, to practice corporate policies, face moral and ethical issues on daily bases. Businesses face serious consequences when managers fail to incorporate these practices.  There are a number of organizations which have been audited and turned in cases such as corporate embezzlement, price fixing, quality cuttings, annual reports falsification, infringements and piracy which namely are RadioShack, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Marsh & McLnnan, WorldCom and the list goes on, only because managers were not competent enough to incorporate ethical practices.(Stephen P. Robbins, Management, 9e)

Moral and Ethical Issues Faced By Managers
What is a moral obligation of a manager? What ethical issues are needed to be resolved? These questions are in everyday practice of a manager which they learn to understand first and incorporate afterwards. Managers are the role models. Whether it is related to the workplace environment, employee rewards or society itself, their role is vital to perform and strongly bound up with moral and ethical responsibilities on daily bases. A few issues are as under:
Discipline
Most crucial of all is discipline and it is not only about the time to enter and leave the premises but also about conducting the routine business activities religiously.
Integrity
A manager can only be a good example and evoke subordinates for same if he discourages mischievous and fraudulent activities. Decisions on merit, no personal use of office property and secrecy on corporate issues are a few practical examples.
Open Communication
In management, one of the key successful elements is open communication. Manager who encourages it gets the top performance from their teams.

Relationship between Social Issues and Ethically Responsible Management Practices

At large, there are two management views, classic and socioeconomic. Classic view is purely economic and focuses to maximize profits only, whereas, socioeconomic view differs by putting social responsibility as an integral part of management responsibilities, Responsibilities, which are indeed the focus of a new age business.
Business earns profit by performing efficiently only when employees perform in high spirits, which cannot be done without a moral boost not just by a better salary but also with a healthy work environment and culture. An ethically enriched culture, which dictates principles of honesty, integrity, discipline, open communication and team work, can only provide the motivation and a sense of social responsibility and consequently reduces the chances of misconducts.


Work Place Example
Big or small, every business organization faces the ethical issues on daily bases. Organizations were saved if they handled such issues in appropriate manner or otherwise. But still there are a number of companies, namely tobacco and armament industry, existence of which is still debatable. Then there is another publically known issue of piracy.
It is not just about the multinational organizations but even if we move down on to a managerial level of any other industry, such as chemical, bottling, shipping, printing, rubber or food, they all face the same ethical dilemma in terms of pollution, toxic waste and global warming. Hence they face the legalities in shape of penalties and in some cases complete operations’ seizure.

Conclusion

Moral and ethics standards are hardly global. A cigarette bud, a plastic bag and bottle, a smoking hot bullet case and piracy are more likely to find in third world countries than the developed countries. Interestingly, the operating companies are the franchises of international brands who actively participate in social causes. Is it only about a new market venture or just the lesser value of life in third world countries which attracts the socially challenged businesses? It is a burning question which still stands tall.




REFERENCES
Stephen P. Robins and Mary Coulter. (2012). Management. Eleventh Edition. Pearson Education, Inc.
Stephen P. Robins and Timothy A. Judge. (2012). Essentials of Organizational Behaviors. Eleventh Edition. Pearson Education, Inc.
Businessballs.com. (2012, 11, Friday). Ethical Leadership, Decision Making and Organizations. (2012, 11, Friday).

Top 5 Password Hacking Places for Workplace Passwords

It has been proven right that workplaces and public computers are more likely to be a reason of password hacking than personal computers. How you may get hacked is what we will talk about here and how can you prevent your account from getting hacked. Configure firewalls, make sure the physical security is right up and running, do not crash onto pop ups but still you get hacked. That might have the result of, very basic but, followings:

Index Finger Typing
Yes it is true that many of us when they type they use only their index fingers and the thumb. This in reality does not just reduce your typing speed but also make you very predictable every time you type any word. Especially when you type your password make sure that you type in right fashion by using more than just index fingers. There are different typing practices and speed building exercises over the web you can also take some help through those exercises to improve your typing.

Alphanumeric
Always use long and complex password which contain more than eleven letters or characters. Alphanumeric is the best type to make a strong password. Never use your birthday or phone numbers and make it as vague as possible.

Hide Your Keyboard
Another easiest way to hack password at your workplace is simply just hover a head a little and see your keyboard while you are typing. Yes it works and it works perfectly. To avoid this always make sure that you hide your hand and the keyboard properly before typing the password. You can easily do that by moving a little over to the top of your keyboard or laptop but this easy practice can save you billion.

Change Passwords Often
When using a workplace computer make sure that you do not try to open personal web accounts and if you do change the passwords and the secret questions often. When, you change your password or the secret question, do not use your birthday or phone number because that is the cliché for getting hacked. Instead change it with something unpredictable and change it often. Easiest way to it is change it weekly. Make different passwords for your personal accounts than your workplace accounts because it becomes very easy to place your password right at your workplace and to hack if you type and keep the same password repeatedly.

Firefox Settings Precaution
Many of us still do not know the password security for windows explorers and especially how it works for the famous Firefox. As you may know that Firefox has the feature of saving the passwords for every time you try to login and it makes a list of passwords in plain words which can be seen easily. To avoid it you can simply click Options then click Security and uncheck the box where it says remembers passwords for sites.


Picture Courtesy: www.bbb.org