...General Motors Bankruptcy 2009 “After years of losses, the troubled automaker is forced into bankruptcy. GM is set to close a dozen facilities and cut more than 20,000 jobs” (Isidore, 2009, para. 1). After the Second World War, General Motors (GM) conquered the American automotive market capturing 50.7% of its market niche in 1962 (Holstein, 2009). Whether GM was late introducing a new feature or design was irrelevant, Bob Lutz (cited in Holstein, 2009) was quoted as saying "we had such enormous power that we could always steamroller everybody else." In 2009 GM’s stock dropped below that of the minimum price required to trade in the New York stock market and closed at its lowest in 76 years at 37 cents (Sandler, Green & Ramsey, 2009). GM therefore was obligated to file for bankruptcy protection. The aim therefore of this paper is to do the following: * Review the General Motors bankruptcy that occurred during 2009. * Identify the type of bankruptcy and the decisions which went into the bankruptcy declaration. * Review how the creditors of GM and workers and related businesses at GM fared in the bankruptcy process and the positives and negatives of this bankruptcy making use of examples and * Discussing whether there is a moral hazard in allowing companies that make bad decisions to survive bankruptcy. Brief Review of GM’s Bankruptcy According to Business Week in 2005, the Chief Executive of GM G. Richard Wagoner Jr. decided to publish an internal...
Words: 1416 - Pages: 6
...| | | Chrysler and General Motors | | Chrysler and GM Chrysler is a car manufacture created by Walter Chrysler during June 6, 1925 when the Maxwell Motor Company was re-organized into the Chrysler Corporation. It happened because in the early 1920s the Maxwell Chalmers Company were having troubled with their operation which made the company to end in 1923 and one year later Chrysler had launched the eponymous automobile which was referred as the 70’s. This vehicle was a 6-cylinder, designed to provide customers with an advanced, which was also a well-engineered vehicle, at a more affordable price than they thought. In the summer of 2009 Chrysler has filled for bankruptcies. In 2011 Chrysler has a 10.5% in the market. It is in the fourth position while GM is first, Ford is Second, and Toyota is third. This company is doing badly because their new products are not to the customer satisfaction. (Chrysler) GM is another car manufacturer which was located at Flint, Michigan. It was created on September 16, 1908 by William C. Durant and the GM's co-founder Charles Stewart Mott but it was originally owned by Buick as a holding company. During 1909, Durant had brought Cadillac, Elmore, Oakland and several others vehicles cooperation. In 1910 Durant had lost control of his company GM to a banker trust because of all the large debt he had due to the collapse of the new vehicles sales. GM in 2009 had filled for Bankruptcies but since their stock has increased and...
Words: 1046 - Pages: 5
...Introduction Since 1908, General Motors (GM) is primarily engaged in automotive production and marketing and financing and insurance operations. GM designs, manufactures, and markets vehicles worldwide, having its largest operating presence in North America. By 2008, GM became vulnerable to the auto industry crisis, which they were not able to meet obligations. Over the years, GM was a dominating force in the auto industry. However, rising labor costs, concessions made to the unions, higher gas prices and a recession, GM was heavily burdened and could not provide the sufficient marketing funds for any one of its product lines. The U.S. government agreed to lend $13 billion in order to buy time to develop a restructuring plan (DePamphilis, 2012, p.648). The restructure plan impacted employees and operations in U.S. and Canada. With mergers and acquisition activities, the intent is to preserve and provide jobs to the community. However, this was not the case with GM. Was it justified to reduce the workforce? Therefore, the review of the bankruptcy steps taken by GM will determine if the restructure was successful. Pension Plan General Motors pension fund obligations and health care obligations appear to threaten the future of the company. Majority of General Motors’ U.S. employees are members of the United Auto Worker (UAW) Union, which ensures health insurance for its members by entering into contractual agreements with employers. In the 1990’s the UAWs’ officers...
Words: 1149 - Pages: 5
...How General Motors Poor Enterprise Risk Management & Managerial Decisions in the 21st Century has Effected Where They Stand Today Brittany M. Mendez North Greenville University Abstract This paper discusses the rise and fall of General Motors during the 21st century and documents many different managerial decisions that led to where the company is today. It also analyzes the enterprise risk management plan that General Motors was famous for. They were known for being a company that successfully implemented an ERM that was linked to its success after many failures. I will examine how an ERM was the framework to coming up with a plan of action to identify and mitigate risks, but ultimately it was up to supervisors to make the managerial decisions that now General Motors must face the consequences for. Keywords: General Motors, Enterprise Risk Management How General Motors Poor Enterprise Risk Management & Managerial Decisions in the 21st Century has Effected Where They Stand Today General Motors was once regarded as one of the best managed and most successful firms in the world, but between 1980 and 2009 its share of the U.S. market fell from 62.6% to 19.8%, and in 2009 the firm went bankrupt (Helper & Henderson, 2014). In this paper I will examine the decisions that General Motors made in regards to their Enterprise Risk Management Plan and how management decisions determined the fate of where General Motors is today. We all know General Motors has...
Words: 5435 - Pages: 22
...BAILING OUT A GENERAL [pic] The General Motors bailout was the most important bailout of the free ride that the government issued during these times of economic recession and turmoil. Allowing GM to fail was simply not an option. The reasoning is simple. GM has ties to corporation and employers that are far reaching. The sheer number of Americans that would lose their jobs in the event that GM closed its doors is staggering. One area that is not often thought of by the public is that of parts manufacturers. Companies like Delphi rely on contracts by the automotive industry. It is their bread and butter. They filed for bankruptcy and are receiving their own bailout to the tune of 6.2 billion dollars from The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. who took on the pension liabilities from the company. (The bankruptcy Case Number is 05-44481 (RDD) with the Jointly Administered United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York.) The impact is has also affected several other automotive parts suppliers have recently filed for bankruptcy-court protection Lear Corp., a major auto-seat maker, and American Axle and Manufactruing Holdings Inc. Other companies that rely on General Motors so heavily that a few weeks of no business would force them into bankruptcy. Aside from manufacturers, automotive dealers are tied directly to GM. Many have already been forced to close their doors as they have been handed “pink slips” by the car maker. More than one thousand of these...
Words: 1042 - Pages: 5
...U.S. Takes On the Insular G.M. Culture DETROIT — Fiat will set a new direction at Chrysler, which finished its tour through bankruptcy court Wednesday, completing its deal to join forces with the Italian automaker. Skip to next paragraph [pic] William Thomas Cain/Getty Images A General Motors shareholders’ meeting in June 2008 in Wilmington, Del. History shows that outsiders have repeatedly failed to get the Detroit car company to make major changes. Related Adviser Defends U.S. Role in Aiding Automakers (June 11, 2009) Times Topics: Automotive Industry Crisis | General Motors Corporation | Chrysler LLC | Fiat S.p.A. [pic] Left: Associated Press; Right: Craig Ruttle/Bloomberg News Ross Perot, left, and Jerome York, an adviser to the billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, tried to force change at G.M. [pic] Left: Jay Mallin/Bloomberg News; Right: John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times Steven Rattner, left, the White House’s lead auto adviser, and Fritz Henderson, the chief executive of General Motors. At Ford, a chief executive brought in from the aircraft industry is helping to shake up the company. But it will be up to the federal government, which will own a majority of General Motors when it emerges from bankruptcy, to tackle what is perhaps the most difficult challenge in Detroit: transforming G.M.’s insular culture — at times as bureaucratic as the government’s — to make the company more competitive. If the effort fails, the Treasury may never recoup the...
Words: 1152 - Pages: 5
...University | General Motors Report | Joel Adu | | P11260353 | Word Count: 4303 | [Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document. Type the abstract of the document here. The abstract is typically a short summary of the contents of the document.] | Contents Executive Summary – Page 3 Introduction – Page 4 – 5 Critical Literature Review – Page 6 – 7 Methodology – Page 8 – 9 Data Analysis – Page 10 – 11 Conclusion – Page 11 Bibliography – Page 12 Appendices – Page 13 - 13 Executive Summary The aim of this report is to discover whether General Motors have improved since their bankruptcy in June 2009 and how? With the aid of primary research appearing in the form of questionnaires and secondary research deriving from articles and other various published documents which discuss the topic of General Motors and their bankruptcy. The result of the research finds us with the findings that General Motors have not only upheld their infamous reputation which they once possessed but they also have increased it by recording their highest profits in their history three years after filing for bankruptcy. Overall this led to the conclusion that it was the transformation of management which assisted General Motors on their route back to the glory days of the company – ‘As late as the 1990s, it was the leading company in the US light vehicle market’ (Maction, 2013) Introduction General Motors, commonly...
Words: 4945 - Pages: 20
...THE CHANGE PROCESS IN GENERAL MOTORS AND FORD This brief analysis reflects on the change management processes employed by the two motor companies; Ford and General Motors. The references discussed in this paper were a source of information that provided knowledge into the 2 major corporations and the transformational changes that they underwent in an effort to ensure their profitability and viability. Both GM and Ford underwent major decline and loss in stock some few years back and even as one filed for bankruptcy (GM) the other hard not to, and succeeded. Both companies needed to make some changes in an effort to recover. In an article by Terry Corbell, as he points out the 7 lessons that other businesses could learn from the Ford motor Company, he infers that If a business is performing in a mediocre fashion, chances are the company needs an overhaul. A culture change, if you will. And for a positive case study in change-management, Ford Motor Company qualifies (Corbell, 2013). Ford has had similar endorsements; ever since after being hired, CEO Mr. Mulally managed to notably install a competitive, sustainable business model that pulled Ford from the brink. Durbin and Krisher seem to agree with this assessment even as they also voice some doubts. Mulally has transformed the company into a simpler, nimbler organization that's ready to react to change more quickly, but experts are not so sure the change will last. Management experts say it's easy to talk about a willingness...
Words: 1366 - Pages: 6
...affair for cars to develop across the nation, and ownership became woven into the fabric of the “American Dream”. The invention of the assembly line in the 1910s made automobiles relatively inexpensive, and by 1929 it is estimated that American car companies were producing 5.3 million cars per year (Miller-Wilson, n.d.). The automotive industry surely had its share of ups and downs during the 1900’s, with two World Wars, the Great Depression, an oil crisis in the 1970’s, amongst many other challenges. Despite such trying events, it wasn’t until late in the twentieth century that signs of trouble began to show within the “Big Three” United States based automakers: General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford Motors. Soon after the turn of the 21st century, it became apparent that two of the automakers, General Motors and Chrysler, were in extreme economic peril. Despite...
Words: 3848 - Pages: 16
...rebirth of GM in 2009 and subsequent successful years since. | Recently in the news there has been an alarming fact about General Motors automobile products that have caused a loss of property and more importantly loss of lives, while most admit a simple design flaw could’ve been repaired with a $0.57 switch (foxnews.com, 2014, 1 Apr). This paper will touch on the history of GM dating back to 1899 with a history of a boom and bust cycle all the way up to the collapse, the rebirth of GM in 2009 and subsequent successful years since. The History of General Motors Corporation, the one-time “largest automaker in the world” had its start in 1899. At that time over one thousand companies attempted to improve the “horse drawn carriage” to that of an automobile and failed. William Crapo Durant was in the horse carriage business in Flint Michigan since 1886, selling over 75,000 in 1895. In 1904 Durant bought into the Buick Motor company where many other auto makers had operations in Flint, MI; Chrysler, Buick, Nash to name a few. The economic downturn of 1907 bankrupted many of the smaller auto manufacturers and to protect the company, Durant sought out Henry Ford and Ransom Olds to discuss a possible merger. Both declined due to Durant’s lack of capital (Durant, 2004, p 71-73). Durant, instead of a merger, bought several smaller companies and founded General Motors on 16 September, 1908. By 1910 the company owned 20% of the American auto industry by purchasing smaller competitors while...
Words: 1149 - Pages: 5
...Recent financial events have led to a shaky and uncertain economy. Numerous financial institutions had collapsed, housing markets plummeted, and many corporations filed for bankruptcy. The auto industry suffered many hardships, enough that the government stepped in to offer bailout financing in order to keep operations and employment continuing. While the Ford Motor Company choose to restructure its own operations without accepting government assistance, General Motors Company had accepted the government funded bailout. This bailout encompassed numerous stipulations including changes in financial structure of operation and management. The end goal to stabilize the company, return from bankruptcy and back to providing affordable and dependable vehicles to its consumers. Reviewing past reports from various financial institutions, union employees and GMC’s annual reports I will discuss the change strategies since filing of bankruptcy and the government bailout. The second corporation I would like to research, for personal as well as scholastic purposes, is KIA Motors. During the time just prior to GMC’s financial crisis, KIA also had a change of management. This was working towards expansion, increase in profits, sales and producing award winning vehicles for the market. With the restructure of GMC and the difficulty of market finance, KIA had the opportunity to take market shares in America and further boost its standing as a solid competitor in the automotive market...
Words: 403 - Pages: 2
...Boiled Frog Phenomenon Irma E. Jimenez American Intercontinental University MGT 680 – Strategic Management August 30, 2013 Abstract The “boiled frog” phenomenon will be explained and how it relates to strategic management. An example of a business or businesses undergoing a similar situation will also be given and how could they have avoided the effects of the “boiled frog” phenomenon. Boiled Frog Phenomenon The purpose of this paper is to elaborate about the term "boiled frog" phenomenon which is a story about a live frog placed in a large pot filled with cold water. The experiment done with the live frog is also meant to compare it and how this story relates to strategic management in the business environment. An example in regards to a firm that has undergone a similar situation will be given as well and, how that business could have avoided the effects of the “boiled frog” phenomenon. A few questions will follow to explain the process. What is the "boiled frog" phenomenon? According to the article by Polynice, when a frog is placed inside a pot of boiling water, on top of a stove, the frog will react very fast and will jump out of the water immediately. But, if the same frog is placed inside a large pot filled with cold water and then put on top of the stove and it is turned on to be heated up slowly, the frog will not notice the change of temperature (Polynice, 2007). Eventually, the frog felt unconscious...
Words: 938 - Pages: 4
...Our unyielding mission to earn customers for life has led to a healthy balance sheet and world-class products that are winning in the marketplace (General Motors, 2015) General Motors was founded by William “Billy” Durant on September 16, 1908. GM was basically formed as a holding company for Buick. Although GM owned aircraft in the 1930’s; their main focus was on motorized vehicles. Later, GM became one of the largest automobile manufactures in the US, “With the headquarters located at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan; GM employed over 212,000 employees worldwide according to General motors” (General motors). However, around 2005, GM began to fail which hurt employees and their benefits as well as crippling Detroit’s economy. Help was on the way, according to Chris Woodyard in his article written in USA Today called, GM Bailout Played Over 5 Years. He stated Dec. 19, 2008 “The Bush Administration announces plans to bail out Detroit's auto industry, notably General Motors and Chrysler Group” (Woodyard, 2013). Despite the Bush and the Obama’s administrations help, GM filed for bankruptcy on June 1 2009. General Motors is now showing signs of recovery, according to James R Healey in his recent article published on the US Today website called GM to Buy Back $5 billion in Shares by End of 2016. He stated, that “General Motors said this morning that it will repurchase $5 billion in GM shares by the end of 2016. The buyback begins immediately” (healey, 2015). Although,...
Words: 1773 - Pages: 8
...Introduction The automotive manufacturing industry began in the late 1800’s and has undoubtedly changed mankind forever. General Motors Corporation is one of the leading automotive manufacturers in the world. GM is a corporation that designs, builds, and sells cars and trucks. GM owns 18 brands some of which include Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick. The company operates in 160 countries, employs roughly 207,000 people, and is one of the world’s largest vehicle manufacturers (IBIS World, 2015). The automotive industry in the United States is worth $123 billion and has $5.2 billion in annual profit (IBIS World, 2015). It is spread across 3 main competitors. Toyota Motor Corporation, which holds 17.5% of the market share, General Motors Corporation, which holds 16.3% and Ford Motor Company, holds 11.3% of the market share in this industry (Mergent Online, 2015). Over the last 5 to 10 years the automotive industry in the United States has continuously fluctuated. As a result of the economic downturn, GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June of 2009 and was bailed out by the U.S. government. During the Chapter 11 bankruptcy, GM eliminated about one-third of its plant assets and workforce and reduced its debt from nearly $95 billion to $17 billion. GM has bounced back tremendously, by releasing brands such as Saturn and Hummer in an effort to cut costs, and in 2014 the company made $152 billion in revenue (Mergent Online). Other automotive companies have struggled...
Words: 2381 - Pages: 10
...MGX 9660 - International Business Theory and Practice Case n°10: The Collapse of General Motors PHAM Trang (23283300) REBOURG Malcolm (23625678) YAO Aileen (20460996) 1 Table of Contents I - Introduction………..………...………………………………………….….….p 3 II - What are the internal and external factors that contributed to GM’s decline and eventual bankruptcy protection application?……………….....….p 4 Internal Factors...………….……..…………………………...……….……….…p 4 Extenal Factors……….…..…………………………..……….………………….p 5 III - Discuss the latest stage of the new (smaller) GM……………….………...p 6 What are the characterisics of the new GM?..………………………………...…p 6 Some encouraging signs of recovery………………………………………....….p 9 Threats regarding GM’s trials to regain its golden past………………………….p 11 Summary and Observations……………………………………………………...p 13 IV - With a majority government ownership, what operational and management challenges might GM’s management confront when trying to regain its golden past?…….………………………………….………..p 14 Operational Challenges..………………………………………………………….p 14 Management Challenges………………………………………………………….p 15 Summary and Observations………………………………………………………p 16 V - Critically Analyse Whether it was GM’s Failure or its Competitors’ enormous success in cost savings and innovation that brought about GM’s demise…………………………..…...….……………………..…….….….p 17 Cost Savings - a poorly designed cost structure……...………………………….p 17 Innovation Processes…………….…………..…………………………………..p 18...
Words: 7403 - Pages: 30
