Strategic Competitiveness and Management
Introduction
Businesses operate in a dynamic environment which keeps on changing and the business must incorporate the needed changes to succeed. Strategic management helps the firm to adjust the existing strategies to succeed. The business needs strategic competitiveness to succeed in an environment full of competitors. A combination of different strategies and business models is needed for the firm to become an industry leader. This paper is written to discuss how general motors, a company based in the United States of America is affected by globalization and technological changes, strategic models, vision and mission statement, and stakeholder impacts on the success of the firm.
Impacts of Globalization and Technology
Globalization speeds up the integration and interaction of goods, services, and people. General Motors has utilized globalization to access new markets all over the world. The firm has been able to sell more units of vehicles, leading to increased revenue sources. The main foreign markets include Brazil, Russia, and India. New markets enhance company competitiveness as it is a clear indication that the firm can compete favorably with other companies in the same industry (LeClair, 2018). Globalization has also helped general motors to form strategic alliances with other companies in other countries. The alliances include fiat-general motors in 2000 where general motors were to benefit from easy access to engines and gear equipment. The alliance was aimed at cutting expenses in the company and this will result in reduced operational costs which can help the company lower the selling prices leading to a competitive advantage. Globalization has enabled other companies to export motor vehicles to the United States of America and this has led to increased competition for General Motors’ primary market.
Globalization has led to the spread of technology which in turn has promoted creativity and innovation. Innovation in general motors has helped the company to lower the cost of production due to improved efficiency. Efficiency helps the company to minimize wastage of resources needed in the production process and this aspect has helped the company to maintain its competitive advantage. Technological changes have helped the company to speed up the car manufacturing process as design and testing the vehicles have been automated (LeClair, 2018). The invention of the assembly line has led to a reduction in the prices of the manufactured cars. Technological changes have also helped general motors to take advantage of the eco-friendly economy as the production of vehicles with advanced fuel efficiency has led to increased sales and better relationships with all the stakeholders.
Industrial Organization Model
The industrial-organization model argues that the industry where a firm operates has a stronger influence on the performance of the firm than the decisions of managers in the organization. General Motors can utilize an industrial-organizational model to earn above-average returns. This can be achieved by learning the strategies of competing firms such as pricing models, technology, and innovations (Berry, Gaynor, & Scott Morton, 2019). Studying strategies employed by competing firms will enable general motors to come up with better strategies which will result in reduced production costs. Lower production costs than competitors due to technological advancement will enable the firm to come up with an optimal pricing model which will ensure competitive advantage and above-average returns. Learning the external environment will also help the company develop an appropriate strategy to exploit the core competencies effectively.
Resource-based Model
The resource-based model can be used by the firm to generate above-average returns as the model argues that organization performance is majorly influenced by the resources and capabilities of the company. General Motors can utilize these models by allocating a significant amount of resources to research and development. This will result in innovation and creativity which can minimize production costs and ensure great efficiency in the production process (Barney, 2018). Efficiency and innovation will lead to the production of quality vehicles with a high level of fuel efficiency. This action will lead to the production of vehicles with a high level of demand leading to increased sales. The increased sales will propel the company to gain above-average returns. The company can also use resources to attract the best talent in the automobile industry and this will lead to better management and availability of skilled personnel to coordinate other forms of resources in the firm to achieve above-average returns.
GM Vision and Mission Statement
General Motors’ vision statement is “to create a future of zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero conglead and we have committed ourselves to leading the way toward this future.” The vision statement indicates what the company wants to achieve. It is the future aspiration of the company. The vision statement plays a critical role in the success of the general motors as it provides direction for the company to follow to achieve its goals and objectives. The vision statement will help the organization to monitor its operations and take corrective measures whenever deviations from the plan are detected. The vision statement also communicates the purpose of the organization to the employees. The vision statement, therefore, becomes a communication tool, and employees can focus on the key activities and this has led the organization to offer quality automobiles which have helped to increased sales leading to above-average returns.
General Motors’ mission statement is “G.M. is a multinational corporation engaged in socially responsible operations, worldwide. It is dedicated to provide products and services of such quality that our customers will receive superior value while our employees and business partners will share in our success and our stock-holders will receive a sustained superior return on their investment.” The mission statement has enabled the company to focus its operations on the production of eco-friendly automobiles that conserve the environment such as fuel-efficient cars as the firm wants to achieve its vision through environmentally friendly business actions. The mission statement has enabled the company to manufacture cars that meet the needs of the customers such as fuel-efficient cars and this has led to increased sales resulting in high profits which usually benefits all the stakeholders especially shareholders.
Impacts of Stakeholders
General motors stakeholders comprise of customers, employees, community, suppliers, and investors. Customers purchase products offered by general motors as the company offers motor vehicles that satisfy the needs of the customers. The increasing number of customers due to return purchases and acquiring new customers has enabled the company to increase its production output to meet the growing demand. The increased demand from customers has led to increased sales leading to high profitability. Employees in the company are qualified as they have the right knowledge and skills. The company can manufacture high-quality vehicles due to the availability of innovative and creative employees. The high-quality vehicles attract customers, hence the success. The community where the company operates benefits in various ways as many businesses have been set up to support the company activities. The company can gain the needed skilled labor for production from the society which leads to the production of quality vehicles for the customers.
Suppliers are responsible for supplying the company with the needed raw materials for production. General Motors has engaged the services of suppliers who engage in sustainable business practices and this has led to an improved reputation for the company. The firm has also diversified the supply chain to ensure that raw materials are always available when needed. Suppliers avail the materials for the production of the quality cars, hence the high demand. Investors avail resources needed by the organization to operate efficiently and effectively. The company management on the other hand is responsible for ensuring that the investors get value for the invested resources. The company management should safeguard the resources of the investors and ensure that investors get returns. Wastage of company resources by the management can result in agency problems that can affect the operations of the company. The investors have invested the needed resources and the company has used the resources to manufacture quality cars and attract the best management in the automobile industry. The action has led to the acquisition and retention of customers, hence the business success.
Conclusion
Globalization ensures the movement of people, goods, and services across borders and the process has helped general motors to acquire new markets for its products. Globalization has also enabled the company to form strategic alliances that have helped to access the needed production materials such as engine and gear equipment. Technological changes have led to high output to meet the ever growing demand for quality cars. The organization can also utilize the industrial organization model to achieve above-average returns by studying the external and internal environment effectively. The vision and mission statement of the firm plays a critical role in the success of the company as it gives the firm the needed direction and what needs to be done to achieve the set vision. The stakeholders of the company play critical roles in the success of the firm as they combine in the needed manner to provide resources and strategies.
References
Barney, J. B. (2018). Why resource‐based theory’s model of profit appropriation must incorporate a stakeholder perspective. Strategic Management Journal, 39(13), 3305 3325.
Berry, S., Gaynor, M., & Scott Morton, F. (2019). Do increasing markups matter? Lessons from empirical industrial organization. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33(3), 44-68.
LeClair, D. R. (2018). General Motors: Globalization, disruption, and sustainability. In Business despite Borders (pp. 165-177). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.