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Yangon University of Economics

HRM-(101)
General Management
Mid Term Answer

Name Thet Su San

1. Which management functions and skills enabled GM's leaders to create a bold vision
for reinventing the automobile around green technology?
To solve the above case, there are four management functions. They are
1. Planning
2. Organizing
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3. Leading and
4. Controlling
According to the four management functions, planning played the greatest role in
defining a new direction for General Motors. The three management skills are;
1. Conceptual skill
2. Human skill
3. Technical skill
Among the three categories of management skills, conceptual skills were the most
important in helping CEO Rick Wagoner and other top managers. Conceptual skills are
important as they allow managers to visualize the entire organization and see the big future.
Since managers must make decisions for the company as a whole, having conceptual skills
allows them to understand the impact of decisions. Conceptual skills are the abilities used to
understand complex situations and visualize abstract concepts. Rather than looking at day-to-
day operations, conceptual skills help leaders look at the larger goals of GM company and
plan for ways to work toward the GM save from disaster.
2. Identify social, political, and economic forces that affect the auto industry and the
practice of management at GM.
Social affect: The following social external factors significantly impact General Motors:
(a) Increasing demand for electric vehicles (opportunity)
(b) Increasing demand for self-driving vehicles (opportunity)
(c) Increasing demand for vehicle-sharing and ride-hailing programs (threat)
The automobile market is marked with increasing demand for electric vehicles. This
external factor creates growth opportunities for General Motors through the development,
manufacture and sale of electric vehicles under any of the GM brands. Similarly, the
increasing demand for self-driving cars can promote growth through the sale of such cars
from the company. On the other hand, the increasing demand for vehicle-sharing and ride-
hailing programs is a threat against firms like General Motors. For example, ride-hailing
programs improve people’s access to convenient transportation, corresponding to a potential
decline in target customers’ likelihood of purchasing new automobiles from GM. So, they
should emphasize the importance of exploiting opportunities in the remote or macro-
environment through innovation, which can be supported through General Motors’
organizational culture.
Political affect: In particular, the impact of governments and governmental programs and
actions on automotive firms are of interest in this aspect. The following political external
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factors are relevant in the case of General Motors Company and its remote or macro-
environment:
(a) Governmental promotion of public transport and other alternatives (threat)
(b) Aggressive tax policies on combustion-type automobiles (threat)
(c) Political stability in major markets (opportunity)
General Motors faces the threat of governmental promotion of public transport and other
alternatives. For example, this external factor encourages people to use shared transportation,
such as buses, trains, and vehicle-sharing programs, potentially reducing GM customers’
likelihood of purchasing automobiles. In addition, aggressive tax policies threaten General
Motors through potential increases in taxes that reduce profits. Nonetheless, political stability
in major markets presents growth opportunities in the remote or macro-environment.
Economic affect: Under the General Motors’ case, the following economic external factors
are significant in the automotive industry:
(a) High growth rate of developing markets (opportunity)
(b) Economic stability of major markets (opportunity)
(c) Rising competition in developing markets (threat)
The external factor of high growth rate of developing markets creates opportunities
for General Motors to grow and expand in these areas. For example, the company can expand
the GM dealership network in developing markets like India and Indonesia. Also, General
Motors can expect minimal economic issues in major markets, based on their relative
stability. However, despite growth opportunities in developing markets, the company must
ensure competence to address rising competition with regional and local or domestic
automotive firms. So, the General Motors can expect growth if it ensures competitive
advantage.
3. Which historical management perspective fueled GM's transformation into a
manufacturing powerhouse in the early twentieth century?
In the early 20 centuries, the making of GM’s manufacturing powerhouse is the
conventional outlook of an essential role. Historical management perspective refers to how
the management thinking and practices have been evolved in certain period of time.
There are four historical management perspectives Scientific, Behavioral,
Contingency and Quantitative.
1. Scientific management perspective is a subfield of the classical perspective that
emphasizes scientifically determined changes in management practices as the solution to
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improving labor productivity. Frederick Winslow Taylor is known as the father of scientific
management.
2. Behavioral management perspective involves understanding the individual
behaviors and motivating GM’s performance.
3. Contingency management perspective involves the methods for solving the
conflicts and responding to the particular situation depending on its characteristics.
4. Quantitative management perspective involves the improvement of decision-
making process with use of new techniques and allocating the resources accordingly.
According to the above case, the Scientific management resulted to GM’s Company
to produce with the mass amount of the development method of production and
manufacturing measures for production of numerous kinds of automobiles. The bureaucratic
organization converted a reality for GM when William Durant, founder of GM bought variety
of car companies and parts makers, including Oldsmobile, Cadillac, AC Spark Plug, etc…
Sloan founded semi-autonomous divisions within GM company, which, among other things,
allowed Chevrolet to focus on low-to-middle income customers while wealthy consumers
were stayed focused by Cadillac.