The other important function of the plan was to shift responsibility for the pension obligations from the company to the United Auto orkers. hile smaller creditors and contractual partners need not be satisfied with the reorganization, it is difficult to believe that the reorganization could have been done with the cooperation of the UA. It would not have been politically expedient for the federal government to become involved and without their involvement the judge would have had had the option of the 363 asset sale. In accepting responsibility for the pension, the union has lifted a major portion of the liabilities from General Motors. In addition, a deal reached before the filing adjusted some of the work rules, ended bonuses and froze wages, all of which combined to save GM $1.2-1.3 billion per year. Combined with plant closures, the moves are expected to bring GM's labor costs more in line….

For example, GM lobbied the state of California 1998 to overturn an emissions-reduction mandate that would have prohibited many of GM's passenger vehicles from being sold in the large, car-hungry state. When it was successful in the short run, GM discontinued its work on its prototype of a battery-powered car, the EV1 that ran 100 miles on a single charge. Toyota, in contrast, continued to work on its hybrid line, and the resulting Prius shows the fruitfulness of the Toyota approach (Lifton 2008). Discontinuing research on battery-powered technology was not simply bad business sense on GM's part, but also showed how one part of the company (management) could thwart the efforts of another part of the company (&D). The focus of systems theory is synergy rather than such discordant behavior. Systems theory stresses that "the system's overall behavior depends on its entire structure (not the sum of its various parts)"….

The big three will likely weather the tsunami, as completely different entities than they have been in the past, possibly even more strikingly different than they were before and after the Japanese management style implementation in the 1980s. ith these and other changes likely in the industry in the near future The industry will once again prove flexible and innovative in changing with the times.
orks Cited

Brown, Shona L., and Katleen M. Eisenhardt. 1997. The Art of Continuous Change: Linking Complexity Theory and Time-Paced Evolution in Relentlessly Shifting Organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly 42, no. 1: 1.

Chrysler Sale Could Herald Auto Industry Restructuring. 2007. Manila Bulletin, May 16, NA.

Klier, Thomas. 2005. Determinants of Supplier Plant Location: Evidence from the Auto Industry. Economic Perspectives: 2.

Klier, Thomas H. 1995. The Geography of Lean Manufacturing: Recent Evidence from the U.S. Auto Industry. Economic Perspectives 19, no. 6: 2.

Lung, Yannick. 2000. "2 Is the Rise….

Auto Supply Chain
Supply Chain Management in the Auto Industry

The benefits of effective supply chain management are manifold. The ability to project sales, production, demand and inventory in correlation to one another is essential to ensuring that an automaker maintains critical demand schedules.

Benefits and Risks:

Remarkably, the benefits and risks of supply chain management in the automotive industry are closely intertwined today. On one end of the spectrum, auto makers are finding that there is a sudden surge in demand for both automobiles and associated parts. According to the text by Miziolek (2011), maintaining a rapid and responsive supply chain strategy has helped many automakers to stay on pace with this rising demand. However, there is a considerable risk that many face today. As Miziolek notes, the sudden rise in an industry that was struggling to stay afloat half a decade ago means that demand for shipping needs has suddenly outstripped supply.

By….

Industry Specific
My industry of choice is the auto industry, and I will analyze it using the PESTEL framework. The political environment is critical to the auto industry for a couple of reasons. In most countries, the auto industry is significant, and therefore becomes politicized. The bailouts of GM and Chrysler are just two examples -- albeit extreme ones -- of the intense government involvement in the shape and size of the automotive industry. Another good example is NAFTA, which has resulted in production shifts to Canada and Mexico, but also the opening of the Mexican market. The current climate holds that the governments of the U.S. And Canada are divesting some of their control over GM and Chrysler, but will remain heavily involved in the industry, with the objective of supporting the Big Three, as well as major foreign automakers. The political environment also shapes demand conditions. For example, high….

These different elements are important because they highlight the real reason as to why the industry saw such a long-term decline take place. To rectify the situation, it is recommended that the entire industry aggressively begin selling as many hybrid vehicles as possible. This is important because the article the Potential of Hybrid and Diesel Powertrains, indicates that the company / companies that are able to have their entire line of cars and trucks converted to hybrid technology, will see a dramatic improvement in market share. As they estimate that a 40% shift could take place in the market, by the company / companies that are able to achieve this objective. Then, when you combine this with the fact that they were able to reduce labor costs dramatically over the last two years, means that if Ford and GM can be the first to deliver these vehicles, they will….

Industry and Firm Analysis
Bennett, J. (2016). Fiat Chrysler to Build Parts Distribution Center in Virginia. Wall Street Journal. etrieved 25 May 2016 from: http://www.wsj.com/articles/fiat-chrysler-to-build-parts-distribution-center-in-virginia-1463662804

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is investing $12.2 million to build a new distribution center in Virginia amid growing demand for parts used by its dealerships to both repair and customize its vehicles.

The 400,000-square-foot Mopar distribution center, located in Winchester, will employ about 70 people and ship more than 9.2 million parts and other items annually. This will be the 22nd center Fiat Chrysler has in operation in North America. It will primarily supply more than 200 dealers in the mid-Atlantic region after it opens sometime in the fourth quarter.

Mopar is the hidden gem of the Fiat Chrysler operation. Currently, the unit distributes more than 500,000 different parts and accessories to more than 150 markets around the world. That number is only expected to continue to grow since….

Auto epair
Car repair is the process of diagnosing the car problem to identify the fault within the car. While the cars manufactured before 2000 requires special tools to be repaired, however, the computer technology has been increasingly used to diagnose and repair many newly manufactured cars. Before mechanics start the repairing of cars, they often quote the prices for customers before starting the repairing work. To repair the car, mechanic uses both electronic methods to gather data in order to replace the faulty materials in the vehicle. A mechanic diagnoses the car and identifies the problem within the car before starting the repairing work. There are two approaches used to diagnose a faulty car:

Use of a repair manual

elying on one's analysis

Use of computer technology

A repair manual is a book that assists an auto mechanic to identify the problems within a car. The repair manual consists of a troubling shooting chart….

The copyright is protected by federal law. The law may have different interpretations in different states, but the regulation is the same across country. The intellectual property is encouraged nationwide.

4.4. The 4Ps

The 4Ps refer to the marketing mix: product, price, placement (location/distribution) and promotion.

4.4.1. Product

Auto Hicksville has the core competencies embedded its crew to work on all models of domestic vehicles and a large number of foreign ones. Quick turnaround is always on objective at Auto Hicksville with as all employees focused on superior customer service and the shop will have 3 service bays working in parallel.

Auto Hicksville considers that being honest and accurate with customers in terms of estimates for quoting costs and repair completion time is very important in this business. Auto Hicksville employees are focused on delivering their promises. The company's strategy to build strong customer relationships based on integrity and trust is expected to be the….

For this reason, they have stepped out to pursue alternatives, especially foreign cars. On the contrary, as consumers become price oriented, they have minimal purchasing power because they are not buyers of large volume automobiles (Porter, 1985).
3.3 Threat of New Entrants

It is extremely difficult for new entrants penetrate the auto industry because of the existing high level of brand loyalty. Nevertheless, the few popular overseas firms and entered the American auto industry easily. For example, Honda Motors entered Ohio by opening a new office. This marked the beginning of a major stiff competition in the industry. Foreign entrants have expanded leading to decreased markets for American auto companies (ubenstein, 2011).

3.4 Bargaining Power of Buyers

In the current marketplace, consumers have been given various options, models, and brands to make their selection. However, various factors affect the buying decisions of consumers. They include price, appearance, and effect on the environment. Customers….

Yet, today, they sell only about 47% and this market share loss has accelerated over the past decade (Sullivan, 2008). The major issue, according to Sullivan, is the inability of the ig Three to effectively compete with their more efficient and market savvy Japanese rivals, even on their home turf. Opponents of the auto industry bailout feel that placing more money into a failed business strategy makes no sense and that everyone is better off if the free market, not the federal government, choose the winners and the losers in the economy (Moran, 2008). The end result of the auto bailout could well result in a return to protectionism which could unfairly impact other American industries' ability to compete in a global market. A policy analyst at the German-Marshall Fund voices a common concern that a bailout of the auto industry has the potential "to be the torch that….

S. In sales and innovation and quantity will likely continue to dominate sales as consumers seek cheaper alternatives, either in fuel economy or sticker price, especially in the wake of a downturn of the U.S. economy. It is clear that in the wake of change, and especially growth of competitive systems profitably tends to decrease in all traditional markets. ("Japan's Car Giants Escape" NA)
4.hich companies are likely to be most successful over the next 5 years?

Emerging markets, i.e. foreign competitors are likely to be most profitable over the next five years and in second any existing corporation who has foreseen the massive changes in auto manufacturing and implemented effective and economical models. hen discussing emerging markets one must also consider the fact that the traditional auto industry (mainly in the U.S.) has been historically resistant to the development of ecofriendly autos, short of developing a scrap/recycling industry that has made….

VD industry, located in Singapore, offers manufacturing services of components for the auto industry in both GM in the U.S., Europe and other U.S. automakers. In the recent past, this industry expanded in the exporting its products to GM in China. This illustrated a massive growth in terms of marketing for its business. The VD industry operates as a three product divisional strategic businesses, located within the same business complex, which includes; electrical and energy, automotive parts and infotainment (Burnes, 2000, p. 15). As an external change consultant for the VD industry, several factors or assumptions based on the problems experienced by the industry develops acting as an aid in boosting the growth of the company at a much higher scale. Several assumptions emanate from the group level, individual level and the organizational level of the VD industry, thus, the need to develop ideas, which in turn helps in improving….

Once a DMS has been created that spans across all three dealerships, financial and accounting decisions about pricing, promotion and rebates can be more effectively coordinated to a level of and accuracy not possible today. It is a common weakness in automotive retailers who represent multiple brands to be constrained by the lack of systems integration that limits their ability to create synchronized strategies (Bradford, Samuels, Wood, 2008). By having a customer system of record that spans across all dealerships that also takes into account the many variations and complexities of co-op and promotional programs, dealers are able to more cost-effectively manage selling and service programs (Zinnbauer, Eberl, 2005). Schlossmann Automotive Group needs to concentrate on how to tie together all their diverse DMS systems to create a single system of record that is based on customer activity and lifetime customer value, allowing for flexibility of integration with dealer….

According to Leuilette the only way of accomplishing this is if the, "auto industry flexes its lobbying muscle and pushes Congress to enact a gas tax to pay for research and development. Otherwise, according to Leuliette, the United States will become even more dependent on shrinking foreign oil supplies. Toyota is the second-largest carmaker worldwide and reported that it intends to increase its' lead over Ford. Toyota is expected to remain the worlds most profitable carmaker after making a net profit last year of double its' nearest competitor. Further stated is that, "Japanese manufacturers have been able to steal market share from the American producers in their home market, recently starting to compete against U.S. pick-up trucks and large offroaders, the most profitable vehicles.
Toyota is also rapidly gaining share in Europe and is building new factories there as well as in China and the U.S. On Tuesday the scale….