Introduction
Marketing is the process of communicating the value of products and services to customers. Diversification is a risk management technique that mixes a wide variety of investments within a portfolio. The two are keys to survival in foreign markets. The Auto-Industry is great mechanism that uses both terms for its success. General Motors rich history was recently tested with the economic downturn.
General Motors was founded by William “Billy” Durant on September 16, 1908. Durant had become a leading manufacturer of horse-drawn vehicles in Flint, MI before making his foray into the automobile industry. At its inception GM held only the Buick Motor Company, but in a matter of years would acquire more than 20 companies including Oldsmobile, Cadillac, and Oakland, today known as Pontiac.
The milestone 1927 Cadillac LaSalle, with curves rather than sharp corners and a long, low stance, made people see cars as far more than just a mode of transport. Designed by Harley Earl, the LaSalle was a world apart from the high and boxy Ford Model T, marking the beginning of true automotive design. Earl would head GM’s design studio until his retirement in 1959.
Create a scenario when it would not make sense for the company to diversify or expand into a foreign market. Provide support for your rationale.
Economic globalization is viewed by some as the best hope for world stability, by others as the greatest threat. But almost everyone accepts that businesses of all types must embrace it. Even smaller enterprises—urged on by the financial markets, by investment bankers and consultants, by the media, and by the moves they see rivals making—feel the strategic imperative to go global in one form or another. Although the current financial crisis is putting a damper on such activity, the pressure on companies to globalize is likely to persist.
Indeed, we believe that