...legal leaders. The first issue is the consumers right to know. In the United States, laws have passed that state the consumer doesn't have the right to know if the food they eat, or the product they use has been modified. The reason for such laws, as stated by the people who support it, is, that when a product is labeled a GMO it will sell less. That seems to be fair, because that is the case in other countries were such a label is mandated. While a products selling potential, and a companies right to make a profit seems to be a good enough reason to pass such a law, a part of me feels, as a consumer that I have the right to know if the medium rare hamburger that I'm biting into was born and raised naturally or in a lab. This science is in its infancy however, and as GMO's become more prevalent, and their technology becomes readily available its legality will continue to be questioned and thus politicians will be forced to bring this issue to the forefront. The consumers right to know, this is pretty straight forward. What do we as consumers have the right to know. The most troubling, or another way to put it is, the area where the most questions are ask is with in the food industry. Much of the food we eat has some form of modified organisms in them. But, as a consumer we, with in this country do not have the right know about them. With health consciences become more prevalent with the the United States of America, people want to know what they are eating. The reason for this...
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...Again – A Falling Giant’s Tale General Motors Corporation (GM) was once a king in the auto industry. Founded in 1897, the small company grew from the fledgling Buick Motor Company to a huge corporation with over twenty different major brands of automobiles to include Chevrolet, Pontiac, GMC, Opel, and Cadillac to name a few. The main factory and office is headquartered in the United States and based out of Detroit, MI. The automobile manufacturing company is broken down into four different segments: GM North America, GM South America, GM Europe, and GM International Operations. Life was good being a part of the GM team and the company flourished into a giant in the auto industry. In 2009, GM faced several growing problems that they could not overcome. As a result, the corporation became involved in one of the country’s biggest and most controversial bankruptcies. GM was facing total shutdown if help was not received. In a move to prevent the loss of thousands of jobs and a very serious blow to the United States already declining economy, the United States Department of Treasury bailed GM out of bankruptcy and acquired all GM assets and liabilities. The freshly formed company emerged as the new General Motors Company (vice General Motors Corporation) and was kept in business. A new head was appointed to the board of directors who, in turn, closed one third of GM’s dealerships in the United States, dropped/shut down over half of its domestic automobile brands,...
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...is going to outline several things about General Motors (GM) as one of unionized companies in the United States (US) and United Auto Workers (UAW) as the labor union that represents workers for GM Corporation. This paper will also discuss the effects of the union on the GM Motors such as organization’s benefit by joining a union, the unionization process, the process of Union bargain and the effects the union bargaining have in the organization. General Motors Company, commonly known as GM was founded in September of 1908. It’s an American multinational automotive corporation with global headquarter in Detroit, Michigan (General Motors, 2011). General Motors produces cars and trucks in 31 countries, sells and services these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling and is nominated as the world’s second largest automaker, after Toyota (World Ranking of Manufacturers, 2010). This company’s largest national market is in China, followed by US, Brazil, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Russia. GM employs 209,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in more than 120 countries (General Motors, 2011). History of United Auto Workers (UAW) in relation to General Motors UAW is a labor union which represents workers in US, Puerto Rico and Canada that ranges from multinational corporations, small manufacturers, state and local governments to college and local universities...
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... Company Overview General Motors (GM) is an American global car manufacturer headquartered in Detroit Michigan. Employing 202,000 people, GM produces automobiles in 31 out of the 157 countries in which it conducts business. In 2011, GM succeeded in surpassing Toyota and Volkswagen with the largest number of sales worldwide, 9.03 million vehicles1. At the heart of General Motor’s charge is customer satisfaction: “At the new General Motors, we are passionate about designing, building and selling the world’s best vehicles. This vision unites us as a team each and every day and is the hallmark of our customer-driven culture.”2 Background Information As the world emerged into the 20th century, automobiles were viewed as new, cutting edge technology. Little did the world know how dependent economies would become on this “carriage with no horses.” In order to meet the growing public demand for automobiles, new companies emerged on a widespread scale. Among the first on the scene was General Motors founder, William “Billy” Durant who founded the company on September 16, 19083. Throughout the first few decades after the company’s creation, General Motors only held possession of Buick Motor Company, but as the years progressed General Motors acquired an additional twenty car manufacturers including Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Oakland, also known as Pontiac. After the world recovered 1 http://www.freep.com/article/20120119/BUSINESS0101/120119015/GM-again-world-s-largest-automakter?odyssey=tab|topnews ...
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...that GM faces is when the firm announced a $10.6 billion loss, which was their first in 12 years. The auditors for General Motors even thought that the firm’s survival was in substantial doubt even if they received the additional $30 billion they were going to borrow from the federal government. The problems have grown as a result of mistakes by GM’s management over the last 30 years. They built up a bloated bureaucracy that supplied boring, low-quality cars for many years. GM will also lose leadership of the United States market, having already been replaced by Toyota as the world’s largest automaker. GM has been burdened with a high cost structure result of contracts that they signed in order to end a prolonged strike by the United Automobile Workers. They faced the biggest challenge in dealing with health and retirement benefits that GM had. The huge costs made it difficult to cut back on the productions of GM, even if that meant they had to rely on incentives to get the cars of the lots. They were also struggling with the sales of their lineups of passenger cars. Some people think that GM will not be able to move fast enough on their reorganization in order to become competitive again, and that they will fail in the meantime. Analysis: GM faces millions of dollars in losses; due to the government loans they were receiving in order to hopefully accomplish some restructuring play. The former heads such as Frederic Donner and Roger Smith were the reason that GM made...
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...Contents Executive Summary………………………………………………….2 History of General Motors…………………………………………...3 General Motors Exports to Argentina………………………………3 General Motors Exports to Brazil…………………………………...4 Trade Agreement between South America………………………...5 General Motors and WW II…………………………………………...6 General Motors in South Africa………………………………………7 General Motors in China………………………………………………7 The Chevrolet Brand…………………………………………………..8 Conclusion………………………………………………………………9 Works Cited……………………………………………………………..10 Executive Summary General Motors (GM) is one of the big three auto makers in the world and they have built some of the most famous vehicles on the road which have met all different types of consumer’s needs. General Motors has taken an unexpected turn in the past several years for the worse due to the changing economy that is affecting the world. Many economists claim that the United States has been pressed into a recession that started with the housing crisis in 2008. From this crisis restricted a major banking crisis that has led to financial institutions implementing tighter lending guidelines for businesses. This has greatly affected General Motors since the company relies heavily on short term returns. Out of all the auto making companies during the crisis of falling sales and crashing returns, General Motors was hit the hardest and filed bankruptcy. The fact that General Motors has such a large portfolio is working directly against their success...
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...General Motors Company (GM), the American multinational corporation, is one of the world’s largest car and truck manufactures. Founded in Michigan as a holding company for McLaughlin Car Company of Canada Limited and Buick, and then controlled by William C. Durant. GM has been in business since 1908. The company designs, builds, markets, distributes vehicles, vehicle parts, and sells financial services. From 1931 through 2007, it has been the global industry leader in sales. With its international headquarters in Detroit, GM employs about 212,000 people around the world. In 2011, General Motors sold 9.025 million cars and trucks globally with a global market share of 11.9%. Vision of General Motors Company is to be the world leader in vehicle market and related services and a brand that represent quality and innovative design. The company offers a largely range of vehicles, from electric and mini-cars to full-size trucks, monocabs and convertibles. It does business in most countries in the world, about 120 countries and produces vehicles in 37 countries. The other brand that the company owns are thirteen: Alpheon, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Baojun, Holden, Isuzu, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall, HSV, UzDaewoo and Wuling. The largest national market of GM is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. In the United States, the company is very strong and has lasted over a century, representing one of the biggest American multinational...
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...Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................... ................... 1 Overview of the Financial Crisis and the Automotive Industry in 2008 ....................................................... 2 Impact of the Financial Crisis on GM ............................................................................................................ 3 North American Demand .......................................................................................................................... 3 Crude Oil ...............................................................................................................................................3 Product Segment................................................................................................................................... 3 Internal/External Competition .............................................................................................................. 3 North American Supply ............................................................................................................................. 3 Labor Costs............................................................................................................................................ 3 Raw Material (Steel) Costs .......................................................................................................................
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...Corporation (GM), incorporated in 1916, has two core businesses: Automotive and Other Operations and Financing and Insurance Operations. GM participates in the automotive industry through the activities of its automotive business operating segment, General Motors Automotive (GMA), which consists of four regions: GM North America (GMNA), GM Europe (GME), GM Latin America/Africa/Mid-East (GMLAAM) and GM Asia Pacific (GMAP). GMNA designs, manufactures and/or markets vehicles, primarily in North America under the following nameplates: Chevrolet, Pontiac, GMC, Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac, Saturn and Hummer. GME, GMLAAM and GMAP primarily meet the demands of customers outside North America with vehicles designed, manufactured and/or marketed under the following nameplates: Opel, Vauxhall, Holden, Saab, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac. GM's automotive regions also have equity ownership in Fiat Auto Holdings, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corporation, Isuzu Motors Ltd., Shanghai General Motors Corporation, SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Company Ltd. and GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Company. These investees design, manufacture and market vehicles under the following nameplates: Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Subaru, Suzuki, Isuzu, Buick, Wuling, Daewoo and Chevrolet. GM's other operations include the design, manufacturing and marketing of locomotives. Substantially all of the Company's automotive-related products are marketed through retail dealers and distributors in the United States, Canada...
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...100 years of logistics nightmare called GM The ability for a company to succeed and prosper depends on how well that company can design and engage an architecture that will yield its greatest results and satisfy the needs of the consumer along the way. General Motors has become one of the biggest automotive car makers in the United States. When organizations take a proactive role in giving the customer what they want, the system as we know it takes on a new role in that the final product serves to predetermine, predict, or speculate on the expected outcomes of what is being proposed. This project will discuss the beginning, where GM is now, and what’s the future holds for Detroit’s top automaker. Through a stock exchange GM took controlling interest in North American Aviation and merged it with its General Aviation division in 1933, but retaining the name North American Aviation. In 1948, GM divested NAA as a public company, never to have a major interest in the aircraft manufacturing industry again. Over the next twenty years, diesel-powered locomotives — the majority built by GM — largely replaced other forms of traction on American railroads. In 1935, the United Auto Workers labor union was formed, and in 1936 the UAW organized the Flint Sit-Down Strike, which initially idled two key plants in Flint, but later spread to half-a-dozen other plants including Janesville, Wisconsin and Fort Wayne, Indiana. In Flint, police attempted to enter the plant to arrest...
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...of genetic crop improvement.1 For decades, the industry has been mixing naturally the genetic traits of seeds in the search for particularly robust varieties. Genetically-modified (GM) seeds are a significant step forward in the production of agricultural crops. GM seeds are seeds that have been modified to contain specific characteristics such as resistance to herbicides (in the case of "Roundup Ready" products) or resistance to pests (in the case of Bt corn). But the method of modification used with GM seeds varies from the traditional method in an important respect: the genes have not been modified over generations of cross-fertilization, but rather inserted directly into the DNA of the seed.2 Although this method is more efficient, critics fear that the result — a "novel gene combination" — may have health or environmental impacts that are not being adequately addressed.3 As a result, the technology is surrounded by significant controversy. The reaction of farmers to this new technology has been mixed. Some farmers have quickly adopted the technology.4 Other farmers, mindful of the controversy surrounding GM products, have hesitated to use GM seeds as part of their agricultural operations. Farmers should understand both the benefits and concerns that are raised by the use of GM seeds. Benefits of the technology include increased crop yields, diminished use of pesticides and herbicides, and increased profits. Concerns that farmers should address before adopting...
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...founded in September of 1908 by William Durant. Durant was a leading manufacturer of hoarse drawn vehicles in Flint Michigan. 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. By the 1920’s the demand for automobiles had grown unexpectedly. General Motors was setting the pace of production, design, and marketing innovation that other manufacturers would have to follow if they were to survive. General Motors began to diversify by adding sever different names to the General Motors name, Chevrolet, Vauxhall, and Opel. These lines made added to the reach of GM. The GM motto was “a car for every purse and purpose”( http://www.gm.com/company/historyAndHerit age/acceleration.html). By becoming so diverse, GM proved to the world that the automobile was more than just a means of transportation. By the 60’s GM was facing new challenges and new changes. Environmental concerns were becoming more apparent, and the foreign market played a role in GM’s downsizing of its automobiles. In order to stay diverse and competitive GM was forced to reengineer many of its models. By the 1970’s, GM once again proved diverse and cutting edge ability by introducing the first engines to run off low lead, or un leaded gasoline. GM was beginning to understand that in order to stay diverse and competitive it had to keep up with the market. By being so revolutionary in the...
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... | |4/30/2012 | | | This paper researches the management and leadership of General Motors Corporation (GM). GM has stood on top of the car making industry for several decades only to find itself bankrupt in 2008 and borrowing money from the United States government to stay alive. At one point the government owned two thirds of the mega car maker and GM found itself in the worst position ever in the company’s storied history. However, GM has turned a major corner in the last couple of years. They have found success through a myriad of management changes and other modifications that have helped GM race back to the top in the car making industry. This paper will explore the history of General Motors, changes made to the management and the structure of the management team, the marketing strategies they have employed over the last few years, and one of their most innovative products ever,...
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...X 4 built and engineer by GM. This vehicle has an engine that delivers 320 horsepower and 340lb-ft of torque. What this basically means is that the consumer gets a powerful vehicle that can pull just about anything. For a complete explanation of horsepower and torque. This vehicle is capable of delivering the already stated performance and is also fuel efficient. According to GM the Tahoe has a better fuel economy than any of its rivals. The Tahoe has seating room for eight persons and is equipped with two front airbags and it has side airbags for all passengers. The airbags are designed to stay inflated in case the vehicle rolls over during an accident, this helps to minimize the risk of being ejected from the vehicle. In addition, the Tahoe LS 4X4 comes with a 100,000 mile or 5 year warranty that is transferable. The interior of the vehicle can be changed according to the consumer’s preferences. The Tahoe comes in many different colors ranging from black to gold. The vehicle is also equipped with blue tooth technology (GM website). All of the unique features the Tahoe LS 4 X 4 offers to the consumer make it a very attractive and safe vehicle. Price. The price for a Tahoe LS 4 X 4 starts at $41,475. However the price can be affected by other factors such as Tax, title, license, dealer fees. Taxes and dealers fees varies from state to state. In addition, optional equipment such as front grill, custom tail-lights, etc cost extra (GM). Place. The Tahoe LS can...
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...Development & Growth of General Motors General Motors (GM), a company that was once the largest and most profitable industrial company in the world, is now identified as the giant automobile company that suffered bankruptcy in 2009. Taking a look at the company’s history is key to identifying how GM went from birth to bankruptcy. The company was founded in 1908, by William C. Durant, who brought 25 independent car companies together, under GM, which simply operated as a holding company. GM focused on producing hundreds of models of cars that targeted wealthy customers. That same year, GM’s major competitor Ford came out with the Model T car, which introduced the idea of producing cars through mass production. As a result, car manufacturing costs dropped, Ford got rich, and GM suffered major losses. Ten years later, Alfred P. Sloan became GM’s CEO, and changed the structure of the company, by grouping their 25 companies into five major self-contained operating divisions, which all imitated Ford car mass production idea. He also reorganized GM into five different car divisions. By the mid 1920’s, GM was at the top, and taking away Ford’s market share through Sloan’s new business model. In the years leading up to the mid 1970’s, GM continued to grow and became highly vertically integrated, while also controlling on average 65% of domestic sales in the U.S. car market. Unfortunately in 1973, the oil embargo damaged GM and...
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