General Motors' Policy on Diversity - Case Study Example

Corporate Profile Module 1 Introduction General Motors is among the top auto-makers of the world and one of the most well-known MNCs in America. General Motors is known for its innovation and creativity in designing, engineering and technology. Disciplined action, power of ideas and technology driven focus has helped the automaker into one of the greatest name in automobile industry (Newbold, 2002). The headquarters of the company is located in Detroit, Michigan. The company is involved in designing, manufacturing, marketing and distribute vehicle and vehicle parts and selling of financial services. The company has its manufacturing bases in 37 countries and has eleven brands under its name. As on September 2013, the overall sale and revenue of the company is 152.84 billion dollars (Yahoo Finance, 2013). The company has its operations all round the world. It is engaged in the manufacturing of electric, mini cars and big vehicles such as trucks. The company also performs servicing functions. Thus, the consumers of General Motors ranges from upper-middle class segment, luxury and premium segment, consumers with agriculture and supply chain business and logistics service providers. So generally the company transfers most of its successful brand to different countries for everyone to avail them. GM has very good human resource policies and it employed about 3,000,000 people around the world. The major brands of General Motors include Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Wuling, Opel and Holden. The company does heavy investment on its technology for producing innovative cars. The management team of the company is centralized and strong. This ensures that the operational functions of the company were standardized in most of its departments. However, the operations of GM in all its offices around the world are not standardized and the market share of the company is not uniform in all the countries. This means that the company has adequate market share in European and African markets, but in the other countries other than these GM’s market share is moderate. As said earlier the company has very strong leaders and well laid policies for employees, so the operational functions are running smoothly due to which the company found its place among the top three automakers of America. History Founded in the year 1908, William C. Durant was the first controller of the company. At first Durant was into manufacturing of horse driven vehicles, before entering into the automobile industry. Within few years the company went on to acquire many companies such as Cadillac, Oldsmobile etc. After the creation stage, came the acceleration stage. During this time Vauxhall, Opel and Chevrolet brands were introduced which took innovation to a new level. GM vehicles became aspirations and statements and changed the image of vehicles way beyond just transportation. During this time GM also expanded its plants to other states. Globalization of General Motors started during 1980 and 1990s. Majority of joint project and new establishments took place during this time. However, challenges started occurring during 2008, as a result of the global recession and economic downturn. The company had to take loan from US treasury and major restructuring had to be done in the strategy and planning. After filing for bankruptcy in 2009, GM emerged as leaner and more competitive organization (General Motors, 2013a). Mission Vision and Values The objective of the company is to be the most successful automaker in a span of 5 years and also ensure that the marketing strategies such as e-commerce technologies are utilized for the overall growth of the organization. The vision of the company is to build, design and sell best vehicles of the world. The company also aims to become the most respected automakers of the world. General Motors has indeed succeeded in moving towards its goals. The company has a unique and comprehensive mission statement which sums up the overall long term and short term goals and objectives of the company. General Motors Mission Statement is as follows; "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" (Excellence in manufacturing consortium, 2011). Quality and safety are the two value systems on which the company runs. Since it is an automobile manufacturing company, the overall objective is to design and manufacture automobiles which are consumer friendly, safe and are of highest quality. Through the promise of safety and quality, the organizations aims to build long term relationship and bonding with its customers. Making a positive difference and delivering long term value through investments support the overall value system of the organization. Analysis of GM’S mission statement Mission statement is critical for the company as it communicates and established the core purpose of the company’s business. They have a critical influence in transforming the business operations and they are the heart of every strategic plan made by the company. General Motor’s mission statement can be evaluated as comprehensive and long, but it also entails most of the company’s long term and short term goals. The mission statement has clearly helped the goals by providing direction, aligning the key players and motivating employees in order to achieve a common and distinct purpose. Corporate Profile Module 2 Corporate and business ethics In broad terms corporate ethics can be described as moral guidelines with the objective of governing good behavior among employees. These include issues such as insider trading, corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, discrimination, fiduciary responsibilities and bribery (Tran, 2010). In order to gets acceptance from the government as well as the bodies controlling policies and laws, organizations have to accept and follow certain rules and regulations and maintain certain standards in the work process. A collaborative study of these regulations, laws and issues can be termed as corporate ethics. Every business or organization expects to be in the good books of the government as well as regulatory bodies. Decisions in an organization are taken by higher management but these decisions are always influenced by the culture of the company as well as the external environment in which the company operates (Robertson & Athanassiou, 2009). Involving in business ethics process might seem difficult and lead to cutting down of short-term profits, but it is very essential for a successful and sustainable long term growth of the organization (Chang, 2011). Companies can significantly benefit from positive corporate social responsibility and ethical behavior in businesses Corporate ethics in General Motors GM is one of the well recognized conglomerates worldwide. It is imperative that the organization maintains a record of all its transactions and business acts. In this regards, proper maintenance of ethical behavior in the organization is critically important. Quality and ethics are the benchmark for the sustainability of the organization. Corporate ethics of General Motors are represented in its code of business conducts and winning through integrity is the major ethical standard followed by the company (General Motors, 2013b). To summarize; General Motors promote hires, pays and trains individuals on the basis of experience and merit and aims to create a work environment where teamwork and productivity is encouraged and differences are tolerated. The company endeavors protection of safety and health of every employee by creating and implementing an injury free and healthy environment. All General Motor employees are obliged to protect its assets, information and ensure proper use of them. Ensure clear communication with the public to keep Company’s integrity intact. Corporate Social Responsibility The concept of corporate social responsibility was first penned by Adam Smith, who was one of the renowned Scottish economist and philosopher in the late of 18th century. It is simply defined as the responsibility of a business towards the society and environment. It is however a form of corporate self-regulation incorporated into the business model of the company. The CSR policies of a company are generally custom-built by a company and are a self regulating mechanism. With the increasing awareness of environmental preservation and societal development among the customers, companies have been compelled to take decisions that promote betterment of the environment and society. A number of instances can be found where the company, has been strongly benefitted by undertaking CSR activities. Their reputations in the market have increased dramatically and stakeholders of the company also remain satisfied. Moreover, the company also holds the ability to convert general customers into loyal customers thereby ensuring the chances of repeat purchase. Hence, the discussion made it evident that CSR plays a critical role in the long term profitability of a company. Corporate stakeholders are all those individuals who influence the business decisions and can be influences by the actions of a company. Effective governance of a corporate is only possible when the company ensures that the interests of a wide range of constituencies and communities involved in the business are taken care (General Motors, 2013c). Stakeholders are generally categorized as primary and secondary. Primary stakeholders include the customers, employees and owners of the company. Secondary stakeholders are generally those who are associated either directly or indirectly with the business. These include government, suppliers, communities, trade unions, creditors and investors. The current chairman and CEO of General Motors is Daniel Akerson. Aged 64, the veteran became CEO of GM in the year 2010 and took over as chairman in the year 2011. He holds a masters degree from London School of Economics. Daniel has been presented with many prestigious awards during his lifetime such as International Executive of the Year Award and Detroit Free Press Automotive Leadership award (General Motors, 2013d). In order to fulfill its stakeholder’s responsibilities, the company aims to make good sense in business. In order to improve the quality of customer’s life the auto maker provides free lessons to the teachers for better education. In order to conserve energy and decrease its impact on the environment, the firm is engaged in implementing solar panel installations. Apart from that, the company is also engaged in charities and donations in order to maintain balance in the society. Workforce diversity An organization is a platform shared by individuals and teams who perform in a united way with the objective of earning profits for the company as well as livelihood for them. The working style of each organization is unique and this often ends up contributing to the diversity. A workplace is influenced by the industry peculiarities or occupations associated with the organization as well as the official or national culture of the region. The beliefs, principles, values and ideologies of an organization constitute its diversity (University of California, n.d). Workforce diversity is a broad field of study which focuses on the behaviors and values of an organization as well as people working there, in order to establish a unique psychological and social environment which is compatible with the organization as well as employees working there. Diversity in workplace essentially consists of experiences, expectations, values and philosophies ingrained in it and the fundamental brinks which hold an organization together. A workplace culture controls employee behavior within and outside the organization. Diversity initiative throughout GM is defined by establishing and maintaining a natural environment enabling the employees, suppliers, dealers and communities contribute to customer enthusiasm and interest protection. Since diversity is a collective mixture of differences and similarities, the company has recognized that management of diversity includes broader dimensions like family status, age, physical abilities, level of education, gender, language etc. In order to increase diverse workforce and effectively manage them, the company has implemented various strategies (CNS, 2008). Employee resource groups comprises of the most diverse group of individuals forming a team and making recommendations for workplace diversity in various parts of the world. Affinity groups are another group of individuals who are responsible for a formal and important link between diverse management of the firm and different employee constituencies. Apart from the above the company is also engaged in diversity training, increasing supplier, dealer and market place diversity. Thus, it can be said that through various diversity management programs, the auto maker has been able to maintain vast workforce diversity. References Chang, C.H. (2011). The influence of corporate environmental ethics on competitive advantage: the mediation role of green innovation Emerald Management Reviews, 104(3), 361-370. CNS. (2008). General motors' policy on diversity. Retrieved from http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/general-motors-policy-diversity Excellence in manufacturing consortium. (2011). Vision and mission statements. Retrieved from http://www.emccanada.org/blogs/plantmaintenance/visionandmissionstatements General Motors. (2013a). Company: history & heritage. Retrieved from http://www.gm.com/company/historyAndHeritage/rebirth.html General Motors. (2013b). Quality and safety. Retrieved from http://www.gm.com/vision/quality_safety.html General Motors. (2013c). GM Sustainability. Retrieved from http://www.gm.com/company/aboutGM/gm_sustainability.html General Motors. (2013d). Corporate officers. Retrieved from http://www.gm.com/company/aboutGM/GM_Corporate_Officers/daniel_f_akerson.html Newbold, T. (2002). Making networks work. Journal of Communication Management, 4(3), 294 – 304. Robertson, C.J. & Athanassiou, N. (2009). Exploring business ethics research in the context of international business. Management Research News, 32(12), 1130 – 1146. Tran, B. (2010). International business ethics. Journal of International Trade Law and Policy, 9(3), 236 – 255. University of California. (n.d). Managing diversity in the workplace. Retrieved from http://ucsfhr.ucsf.edu/index.php/pubs/hrguidearticle/chapter-12-managing-diversity-in-the-workplace/ Yahoo Finance. (2013). Key statistics. Retrieved from http://in.finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=GM Read More