GITAM UNIVERSITY

GITAM INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, VISAKHAPATNAM

ASSIGNMENT:- FORTUNE 500 (GNERAL MOTORS)

SUBJECT – ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

COURSE- IMBA
SEMESTER- IV
STUDENT NAME- G BIKASH KUMAR
REGD. NUMBER- 121733601008
LECTURER- DR. B KRISHNA KUMARI

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CONTENT:-
1. INTRODUCTION OF GM
2. ORGANIZATIONAL STEUCTURE
3. BEST HR PRACTICES
4. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
5. MOTIVATIONAL TECHNIQUES USED
6. TEAMWORK, FORMS OF TEAMWORK

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 GENERAL MOTORS
Introduction:-
General Motors Company, commonly referred to as General
Motors (GM), is an American multinational corporation headquartered
in Detroit that designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes vehicles
and vehicle parts, and sells financial services, with global headquarters
in Detroit's Renaissance Center.
It was originally founded by William C. Durant on September 16, 1908
as a holding company. The company is the largest American automobile
manufacturer, and one of the world’s largest. As of 2018, General Motors
is ranked #10 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States
corporations by total revenue.

Their vision for future of zero crashes, emissions and congestion, and
they have committed their selves to lead the way toward this future.

General Motors has been pushing the limits of transportation and

technology for over 100 years. Today, they are in the midst of a
transportation revolution. And they have the ambition, talent and
technology to realize the safer, better and more sustainable world they
want.

As an open, inclusive company, they are also creating an environment

where everyone feels welcomed and valued for who they are. One team,
where all ideas are considered and heard, where everyone can
contribute to their fullest potential, with a culture based in respect,
integrity, accountability and equality. Their team brings wide-ranging
perspectives and experiences to solving the complex transportation
challenges of today and tomorrow.

Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A GM is:

 Over 180,000 people

 Serving 5 continents
 Across 23 time zones
 Speaking 70 languages

At General Motors, innovation is main role. As the first company to

mass-produce an affordable electric car, and the first to develop an

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electric starter and air bags, GM has always pushed the limits of
engineering.

 GM is the only company with a fully integrated solution to produce

self-driving vehicles at scale.
 They are committed to an all-electric future.

Our future depends on responsible stewardship of the earth, and we

continually seek creative and innovative solutions for the environment.
Our policies and technologies promote a cleaner planet from supply
chain to manufacturing to the vehicles we put on the road.

General Motors India:-

General motors India private limited is a partnership between General
Motors and SAIC that is engaged in the automobile business in
India. General Motors has 93% stake in this partnership and the
remaining 7% is held by SAIC. It is the 5th largest automobile
manufacturing company in India after Marti Suzuki, Hyundai, TATA
Motors and Mahindra. After 21 years of operations in India, General
Motors announced that it will stop selling cars in India by the end of
2017, as a part of its global restructuring actions.

Subsidiary companies: - Current auto brands are Buick, Cadillac,

Chevrolet, GMC, Holden and Waling.
Former GM automotive brands include La Salle, McLaughlin, Oakland,
Oldsmobile, Opel, Pontiac, Hummer, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall.
In addition to brands selling assembled vehicles, GM also has had
various automotive-component and non-automotive brands, many of
which it divested in the 1980s through 2000s.
These have included Euclid and Terex (earthmoving/construction/mining
equipment & vehicles); Electro-Motive Diesel (locomotive, marine, and
industrial diesel engines); Detroit Diesel (automotive and industrial diesel
engines); Allison (Aircraft engines, transmissions, gas turbine
engines); Frigidaire (Appliances including refrigeration and air
conditioning); New Departure (bearings); Delco
Electronics and Adecco (electrical and electronic
components); GMAC (finance); General Aviation and North American
Aviation (airplanes); GM Defense (military vehicles) and Electronic Data
Systems (information technology).
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References:-
1. https://www.gm.com/our-company/about-gm.html
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_India
4. https://www.gm.com/our-brands

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 Organizational structure of General Motors:-
General Motors Company uses its organizational structure to support
managerial decisions. The company also streamlines the business
through activities flowing through its corporate structure.

“A firm’s organizational or corporate structure is the design or system

that involves the composition and arrangement of business components,
such as departments or offices.” In General Motors’ case, the
organizational structure focuses on regional markets. For example, the
company has a managerial team for operations in North America. As a
result, the corporate structure serves as a means for implementing
strategies specific to regional market conditions. As a major player in the
global automotive industry, General Motors must align the characteristics
or attributes of the organizational structure with business needs relative
to market conditions. This situation is so because the company’s
business capabilities are partly dependent on the structural features of
the organization. With a suitable and evolving corporate structure,
General Motors can optimize its capabilities and performance in the
international market.

General Motors Company has a regional divisional organizational

structure. This type of organizational structure involves grouping
business activities according to geographical segments or areas of
operations. For example, General Motors’ operations in Europe are
grouped as one segment. This corporate structure type is usually
employed when there are significant differences among regional
markets. Considering these factors, the following characteristics are
notable in General Motors’ organizational structure:

1. Regional Segments (primary structural characteristic)

2. Business-Type Divisions
3. Corporate Functional Groups

Regional Segments (Primary Structural Characteristic). Regional

market conditions vary across the global market for automobiles.
General Motors addresses such variation through managerial focus
based on geographical divisions in its corporate structure. These
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 geographical divisions are reported as regional segments in the
company’s annual filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission. An executive, such as a president or executive vice
president, heads each division in General Motors’ corporate structure.
This structural characteristic enables the company to implement
strategies that best suit regional conditions. General Motors’
organizational structure has the following regional segments:

1. GM North America (GMNA)

2. GM Europe (GME)
3. GM International Operations (GMIO)
4. GM South America (GMSA)

Business-Type Divisions. Business-type divisions are a secondary

structural feature based on the businesses of General Motors. For
example, GM’s automotive business operations are grouped as one
division. This characteristic of the organizational structure allows the
company to effectively manage each business, considering that different
businesses have different needs.

1. Automotive
2. GM Financial (Auto financial services)

Corporate Functional Groups. General Motors Company’s corporate

structure has corporate functional groups as a secondary feature. The
company uses these groups as a means to integrate all business
operations. For example, all automobile and parts manufacturing
operations of General Motors are integrated through a corresponding
corporate group called Global Manufacturing. Through this structural
characteristic, the company ensures consistency and continuity in overall
organizational development. General Motors’ organizational structure
has the following corporate functional groups:

1. Office of the CEO

2. North America
3. GM Financial
4. Global Manufacturing

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5. Global Communications
6. Cadillac
7. South America
8. Legal and Public Policy
9. GM International
10. Tax and Audit Services
11. Information Technology
12. Europe
13. Global Human Resources
14. Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain
15. Finance and Treasury
16. Accounting Services
17. GM China

Reference:-
1. http://panmore.com/general-motors-organizational-structure-
flexibility-regional-markets

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Best HR Practices:-
1. GM stays committed to work force transformation:-
Once every quarter, General Motors CEO Mary Barra gathers the
automaker's top 12 executives for a two-day retreat away from the office.
It's not a meeting to discuss upcoming vehicles, market share or
marketing strategies.
"These are pretty intense, serious sessions. They belief if they change
their behaviors and they do the right things then the people who work for
them will emulate that, and that will drive a culture change down through
the organization. They have seen it happen. Improvement has come so
fast, that the company GM has hired to conduct a periodic employee
engagement survey balked at reporting the results because it thought
the gain was too big to be legitimate. And the next round of the survey
produced another big jump.

2. ‘Portable' employees:-
GM's ability to engage its employees as critical in an era when new hires
often have wanderlust and no defined-benefit pension to tie them to the
company for decades. Meanwhile, the company is bulking up on
software developers and other high-demand talent that it doesn't want to
lose to Google, Apple or anyone else in Silicon Valley.
It's hiring about 100 people a year out of the University of California at
Berkeley, 50 from Stanford University and 40 from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. In the past, virtually no one from those elite
institutions applied to join GM. The company also has attracted more
women.

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But with those changing dynamics comes the potential for higher
turnover, something GM still has been able to keep very low, particularly
relative to the double-digit churn rates at many technology companies.
The demographics of GM's salaried work force, which has grown about
40 percent since the start of 2014, means that it could lose as many as
20,000 people in the next four years, mostly because of retirements.
3. New kinds of engineers:-
Many of the openings they leave behind will go to people with different
skill sets, as the company pushes into autonomous-vehicle technology
and contends with consumers who would rather hail a ride with a
smartphone than buy their own car.
They are on the precipice of a lot of technological change. "They still
need body engineers and chassis engineers, but very much they are
moving toward software and sensor and computer platform architects,
and control systems engineers and automated hardware engineers. The
skill sets are computer engineering and electrical engineering and math-
based engineering and simulation and robotics."
4. Labour relations:-
They respect their employees’ right to freedom of association in all
countries and comply with their obligation to satisfy all local labor laws
and regulations. GM works with about 29 unions globally, representing
approximately 69 percent of global workforce covered by collective
bargaining agreements. GM’s relationships with labor unions are
generally healthy and stable business partnerships. Consistent with their
respect for employees and their bargaining representatives, they have
worked collaboratively with their union partners to realize significant
increases in performance.

Reference:-
1. https://www.autonews.com/article/20170703/OEM02/170709959/g
m-stays-committed-to-work-force-transformation

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 2. https://www.gmsustainability.com/manage/talent.html

Organizational culture:-
General Motors Company (GM) uses its organizational culture to support
enhancement efforts in the automotive business. The company’s cultural
characteristics are significant contributors to the success of reforms
aiming to improve industry position. A firm’s organizational or corporate
culture defines the traditions, values and unwritten rules of behavior
among employees. In General Motors’ case, the corporate culture
promotes agility in human resources. Such agility is expected to support
the company’s efforts to improve overall business performance.
Focus on its organizational culture allows General Motors to fulfill its
goals and objectives for addressing business performance challenges
and issues. The company’s reform efforts view the corporate culture as a
contributor to success. This is so because many of General Motors’
problems in performance are linked to its old cultural characteristics that
emphasize bureaucracy and lack of accountability. Nonetheless, other
factors are involved in determining the actual performance of GM’s
business and its effectiveness in addressing internal problems and
external challenges.
General Motors Company has an organizational culture of agility. This
kind of organizational culture focuses on speed in addressing issues,
problems and opportunities in the business. For example, the corporate
culture enables GM to develop its competitive advantage on the basis of
rapid innovation and positive relations with stakeholders, whose
interests determine the initiatives and programs in General Motors’
corporate social responsibility strategy. The company must ensure that
its cultural characteristics are aligned with goals and objectives, to
optimize the success rate of strategic implementation in the automobile

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market. The following characteristics are notable in General Motors’
organizational culture:

1. Fast thinking for continued success:- Speed is essential in

addressing opportunities and threats relevant to GM and the
automotive industry environment.The company aims for
continuous improvement through this characteristic of the
organizational culture. For example, fast thinking facilitates
General Motors’ problem-solving processes while minimizing the
adverse consequences of problems in the business.
2. Innovation and emphasis on quality:- Innovation and quality are
seen as significant determinants of General Motors’ ability to
compete against other automobile manufacturers. The company
believes that this characteristic of the organizational culture is
essential to developing competitive advantage. In this regard,
innovation and quality are aligned with General Motors’ generic
strategy and intensive growth strategies. Also, innovation and
quality contribute to the technological advancement of the
company’s products.
3. Responsibility and accountability:- General Motors Company’s
organizational culture instills responsibility and accountability
among employees. This cultural characteristic helps minimize and
mitigate problems in the company. For example, responsibility
motivates GM workers to take necessary action to address
problems they encounter on the job. On the other hand,
accountability links outcomes and consequences to General
Motors’ human resources, thereby facilitating problem-solving
processes. Moreover, this feature of General Motors’ corporate
culture extends to accountability of managers regarding the effects
of the automotive business on its stakeholders.
4. Positive relationships for operating success:- Positive
relationships are valued in General Motors’ human resources. This
characteristic of the organizational culture pertains to the internal
and external relationships involving the automotive business. For
example, relationships involving General Motors and its
customers, suppliers, and dealers are considered. The corporate
culture also encourages alignment between the company and its
business partners. The overall effect of this attribute of the

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 corporate culture is that it promotes mutually beneficial relations
between General Motors and its stakeholders.

Reference:- http://panmore.com/general-motors-organizational-
culture-agility-characteristics-analysis

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Motivational techniques used by GM:-
1. Freedom and opportunity to grow, learn and evolve:-for
employees to address their career development goals. For
example, the company maintains human resource programs that
develop talent and skills among workers. In this way, General
Motors’ workforce remains adequate in developing solutions to
emerging challenges that require new skills and abilities from
employees.
2. Talent engagement :- GM’s approach to employee engagement
is simple: Generate a positive work environment to drive long-term
success by creating a place where employees feel inspired to do
their best work and feel valued for doing it. They strive every day
to engage their employees in a meaningful way so that we may
further instill there Purpose and Values into their global workforce.
The GM Recognition program endeavors to make appreciation for
others a part of employees’ daily routines, using an online platform
that allows employees to say thank you to their peers and leaders
to provide rewards for outstanding work.
3. Talent development :-Career development remains one of the top
concerns for their employees around the world. They continue to
increase the number and variety of career resources available to
help employees grow their careers within GM. Formal performance
management and individual tools for employees to use on their
own are helping us address employee retention and development.
Offering competitive benefits and promoting work-life balance
further allows us to retain employees and enables the greatest
possible returns on investments in talent.
4. Respecting employees is essential:- General motors company
treats employees with individual respect. So it’s important to know
and acknowledge employees and their personal career goals. Get
to know them and create a positive environment where they want
to come to work! Another respectful way to motivate employees is
publically recognizing their achievements and significant
performances. Whether it’s announcing what a great job they did
at a meeting or nominating them for employee of the month,
respectful encouragement means a lot to employees and is a great
way motivate them without cash.

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 5. Company pride leads to high employee motivation:- It’s
important for employees to believe in the organization’s goals so
they can contribute effectively. And with the significant progress
GM has made in the last year, it looks like general motors knows
how important employee respect and company pride are. This
company means so much to the city, this state and to this nation.
Company couldn't be prouder of the progress we've made.”

Reference:- 1. https://www.gmsustainability.com/manage/talent.html
2. http://panmore.com/general-motors-organizational-
culture-agility-characteristics-analysis
3. http://blog.profiles-sea.com/en/blog/bid/119725/As-GM-
cuts-labor-costs-can-it-still-motivate-employees

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Teamwork – Forms of teamwork:-
Customers may never actually see the battery packs in their vehicles,
but fortunately for them Kim Bondy looks at hundreds of packs a day
with an eye for perfection.

General Motors’ Brownstown Battery Assembly Plant (BBAP) produces

a diverse lineup of high-voltage batteries, including hybrid, eAssist,
extended range electric and plug-in hybrid packs. Employees such as
Bondy enable such scale by making recommendations to improve plant
efficiency and battery quality.

Bondy, a team leader at BBAP, was promoted to leader after only a

month as a team member. Her supervisors say her attention to detail
and desire to improve processes contributed to her advancement.

“You want [your work] to be easy, fast and safe, so you are self-
motivated,” Bondy said of her team’s pursuit of improvement. “I feel
empowered by GM leadership to make decisions that cause
improvements that go to the customer and put money and resources
back into the company.”

Everyone on Bondy’s team plays an important role. Through their

business plan development board — a tool with team-specific goals and
standards used at many GM plants — her team is encouraged to
problem-solve in the areas of safety, people, quality, responsiveness
and cost. Not only do team members take responsibility for their area,
they each contribute to auditing processes to understand what each
team member does, and they work together to refine the pack assembly
process.

Working at BBAP has improved in Bondy’s personal life, too. She is

working toward a degree in integrated science, and BBAP’s schedule
provides enough flexibility for her to take classes. Bondy enjoys the plant
work just as much as she enjoys seeing vehicles she helped build, such
as the Chevrolet Volt, on the road.

“When you see someone purchase something you worked to make, that
is important,” said Bondy.

The efforts of Bondy, her team and all of those who work at BBAP
contribute to the quality of each pack made. With more than 100,000
hybrids, plug-ins, and electrified vehicles sold, GM continues to build

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expertise and expand its customer base thanks to the hard work of
employees throughout the company.

Reference-
https://plants.gm.com/Facilities/public/us/en/brownstown/recentnews.det
ail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2016/aug/0930-brownstown.html

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