General Motors' performance management system and competitive challenges

Performance Management System

General Motors was founded in Michigan in the early 19th century. It is among the leading car and truck manufacturing companies in the globe. It has been in existence for over a century, and thus has managed to establish roots in many countries across the world. Its scope of operations is quite vast, incorporating several industrial activities. However, the main focus of the General Motors is based on the engineering and manufacturing of motorized transportation. Over the period it has been in existence, General Motors has widened its production process to cover several types and designs of vehicles. The company has banked a number of honors and recognitions from its exclusive brands in the period it has been in existence. However, it is still imperative to develop a performance system that will detail the performance of the operations of the company (Josiane, 2009).

Background

The industry

The United States automobile industry has continued to grow at a remarkably fast rate as compared to the other motor industries around the world. The growth is attributed to the fascinating expansion of the American car industry, which demands the local production over the imported cars. This has seen the trends in the market shift from the high to higher sales (Josiane, 2009). However, as this aspect of the market continues to grow, more companies continue creeping in to tap the potential in the industry. This influx of companies and other motor part dealers has faced out several companies, and caused others to be redundant since they could not cope with the competition.

For instance, in the period between 2007 and 2009, the giant motor manufactures in the U.S., General Motor and the Chrysler company experienced a massive blow on its sales, with the sales declining due to the factors in the industry, including competition from the competitors considered minor in the industry. However, the two 'giants' in the industry, reported increased sales in the 2010-2012 period. This clearly indicates that the motor industry is truly competitive and; therefore, it is essential for a company to ensure quality performance in delivering services to its customers. The motors industry is extremely dynamic, requiring regular upgrading and branding of the companies that operate within the industry.

Company objectives

The General Motor company, from its time of formation, it had the core objective of producing vehicles that diversify the transport industry; while transforming the lives of the American citizen and the economies of the world. With time, most of the initial starting objectives have been achieved, however; the company continues to rebrand and upgrade while setting new objectives. Some of the mark that the business has set include, that the company to manage the operating budget, which has been rising alarmingly, and working on a way to bring the total annual expenses of operation to as low as the $9, 409, 400 mark; over which it has been operating. Another objective of the General Motors is that it intends to identify and implement measures and practical ways of ensuring sustainable use of gas and electricity. In a simple statement, the goal is to work on the energy strain, so that the operations do not increase the already pilling pressure on the energy industry. Additionally, the company has set the objective to introduce new distinctive and innovative products, focusing on the expansion of products sales in multiple geographical locations; which will ensure a diversified product service to the markets in which they venture. This goal also has the aspect of ensuring they achieve and maintain satisfaction of their customers. Lastly, the fourth and final objective the company has out-rolled is to work with the city officials to ensure they gain a better illumination of the main roads.

Target job for which the evaluation is intended

The performance evaluation focuses on the third objective which focuses on the composing of new designs; that will diversify the market as well as ensure customer satisfaction in the market (Flynn, 2010). This objective is much achievable as the General Motors is a company with quality and effective working staff. The company, much as they have produced and released various exclusive designs in the past which have earned them millions of returns; it is vital to evaluate the brands, and how they perform, so that the company can develop its new products; and follow through the objective knowing the expectations of the market and thus make the right decisions as pertains the operations.

Format

The method that the proposed performance management system will use is the behavioral anchored rating scale. It is the best suited in establishing the competitiveness and qualification of the departments of design and innovations, and that of the manufacturing and assembling. This scale is a combination of the critical incident techniques and the graphic rating. Moreover, it focuses on making the final ratings from the observation of the behaviors of the individuals (Dickson, 2011). It also gathers on indicators from the outcome of their work that shows their effectiveness or ineffectiveness in the job performance. In view of the departments and the work description, this method is effective since it will provide a vast source of information that will enable the evaluator to determine a well founded conclusion. The scale of evaluation is based on a wide source of information; thus the room for making a misjudgment is minimized completely; if not eliminated. Additionally, the performance appraisal also determines the effectiveness of the employees directly and thus the impact of their presence in the company.

Raters

The criterion of appraisal and measuring the performance of the employees is based on a vast source of information. The sources of data to be used in rating the department and its functioning elements will come from the information given by the supervisors, the co-workers and customers in the market. These are the sections from which the feedback for the final rating of the performance system will solicit the feedback (Dickson, 2011). The supervisors and the co-workers will provide a firsthand feedback from the observations of the persons being evaluated. The information in this source will be useful and much credible, since it shows the personal attributes and conduct of the persons while performing their duty. The other source, which is the feedback from customers, will also be useful since it comes from the person intended for the product. Their experience with the product, therefore, will show the quality of work output from the workers, and thus indicate their effectiveness and efficiency in applying their skills. Furthermore, the customer is most likely not to be biased hence the credibility of the feedback. The sources of information will be integrated by analyzing the data and comparing the feedbacks to determine if they show consistency; before drafting the final report.

Development

The performance appraisal method of evaluating the behavior for rating has a critical technique of analyzing information incorporated. Therefore, in developing the tool, the first approach is to establish the information that is required (Flynn, 2010). Once determined, the questioned are phrased and documented into questionnaires and interviews, which will then be administered to the supervisors, the co-workers and customers for feedback purposes. Additionally, the previous reports on the company's trends will be incorporated to show how the behavioral changes in the department affect the returns of the company. The information gathered is then consolidated into a report for the final scaling which is the report of the performance management system team. The appraisal tool is complete when the whole procedure, from gathering information to the final report production is established and outlined completely.

Cost benefit analysis

The employee performance levels impact the overall expenditure of a company. General Motors is not exceptional as it is evident from the objectives it wishes to attain, that one of the objectives is about reducing the recurrent expenditures to minimum possible value. This proposed performance evaluation system will help identify the area where the company is losing its inputs; by establishing the employee performance levels (Maurer, 2002). To execute the plan, the initial preparation cost for the plan, to acquire the necessary equipment for evaluation, the company needs $15,000. This will be spent on acquiring the materials. Additionally, a sum of $25,000 is needed to cater for the execution of the plan for the first time, these constitute the fixed costs. The variable costs depend on the period and locality of the place where the plan will be executed. An estimate of $10,000 annually is enough to cater for the plan.

The metrics of the format of the appraisal format is as follows. The chosen scale is intensive, as it requires the sources of information to get ample time to respond to questions. Therefore, the process will take some time, ranging between three and four weeks for gathering information. The intervals for conducting the appraisal can be as the company decides, and the most appropriate interval is annual. The costs for the whole appraisal process are about $30,000. The process of evaluating the employees will take a short period, depending on how the management reacts to the resultant recommendations of the appraisal findings. Weeding out the undesired characters of employees, and ensuring that the performance levels of the employees remain at peak level will see the benefits of the returns to the company raise in short length of time. The huge losses witnessed from low sales and law suits by clients due to incompetence of the employees; for instance the law case that saw General Motors pay a total of $49 million when a car exploded after being hit from behind by another car will be minimized if not fully eliminated. In a year's time, the company can hit the $1 million mark from the sales. The performance appraisal technique will ensure that the company's growth in sales remains steady, and the quality of vehicles manufactured is beyond reproach. The customers will also equally be satisfied and thus more for the company.