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The birth of an auto colossus General Motors (GM) is not only the world's leading manufacturer of cars and trucks, including brand names Pontiac, Saturn, Buick, Cadillac, GMC, Chevrolet, and Oldsmobile. With 400,000 employees worldwide, it is also the largest industrial enterprise in the world. Founder William Durant was a pioneer of the automotive conglomerate, realizing that individually produced automobile brands had a much better chance of surviving a slow year if grouped together. Between 1908 and 1910, Durant bought 17 companies and concentrated them in Flint, Michigan. In 1923, president Alfred Sloan implemented a decentralized management system that is still in place at GM, and has been emulated by countless other corporations. Competition heats up In recent years, fierce competition from overseas manufacturers has challenged GM's industry dominance. In response, GM has focused on aggressive global expansion, including hiring former Toyota consultants to guide them into the Japanese market. (The company also has significant stakes in both Suzuki and Isuzu; in 1999, GM upped its stake in Isuzu to 49 percent and bought 10 percent of Suzuki in 1999.) In late 1998, a joint venture with SAIC produced the first Buicks for the Chinese market. And by moving into low-cost vehicle markets in Brazil and Russia, GM is broadening its penetration of foreign consumer markets, amassing a client base and establishing brand strength long before its competitors arrive on the scene. Not exactly labor friendly, even with the Saturn commercials GM's relationship with unionized labor has been tenuous. In 1981, after choosing to move its production facilities to low-cost developing countries, the layoffs began. For nearly a decade, GM disposed of thousands of its former employees, some of them third-generation GM workers, leaving the corporation's Flint, Michigan base economically stricken. These actions earned GM lasting notoriety and a damaged public image, which was further damaged with the release of Michael Moore's documentary film on Flint's decline, Roger & Me. In 1996, a United Auto Workers strike crippled 24 North American plants for nearly three weeks. Though the strike ended, little was resolved, setting the stage for future labor troubles. In 1998, a seven-week strike actually had a noticeable effect on quarterly reports on the gross national product: GM lost an estimated $2.8 billion during the dispute, which halted its entire North American production. Oddly, GM is also home to the Saturn line, a company whose cars' marketed appeal relies heavily on the subsidiary's image as a utopian work environment, complete with a cheerful, well-treated labor force. One bright spot in GM's labor relations is its decision, in June 2000, offer full medical, dental and prescription drug benefits for same-sex partners of their hourly and salaried employees. The expanded coverage will be available starting August 1, 2000. Better luck in the courtroom GM is still well-regarded in the courtroom, however. The company extracted an apology from NBC in 1993 in response to the network's report about the safety of GM pickups' sidesaddle gas tanks. NBC reported that they were prone to explosion when the vehicles were sideswiped. Though GM was eventually forced to recall 4.7 million trucks, a 1995 unanimous federal appeals ruling overturned a settlement class action suit involving the pickups. GM also pitched a four-year legal battle with Volkswagen over an executive, Ignacio Lopez, who left GM's corporate office for a Volkswagen position, bringing with him sensitive GM files. In 1996 Lopez resigned, and in 1997, Volkswagen agreed to pay GM $100 million in damages, as well as purchase a billion dollars worth of parts from GM over the next seven years. A time to rebuild - and reorganize Still recovering from the 1998 strikes, GM has embarked on a new round of cost cutting. The company has placed high priority on making its small car operations profitable- the company estimates it loses $500-$600 on every small car it sells. Under Project Yellowstone, GM aims to cut costs and boost productivity by having suppliers co-design and partially assemble modules before shipping them to GM plants, thus saving both time and money. The auto giant combined its North American and international operations in 1998. To streamline its operations, GM completed the spin-off of its auto parts arm, Delphi Automotive systems, in May 1999. While the move brought in $11 billion for GM, the lost revenue places it neck to neck with rival Ford Motors as largest auto manufacturer. GM hit a snafu in July 1999 when it had to recall 3.5 million sport utility vehicles and trucks due to problems with their anti-lock breaks.
President and Chief Operating Officer, G. Richard Wagoner, Jr. lists "sincere enjoyment of hard work, continuous learning, and teamwork" as crucial qualities in a new General Motors employee. The company recruits college graduates from a wide variety of fields, including engineering, math, economics, the physical sciences, and business-related disciplines. "The interview process is very short and straightforward." It consists of "basically a resume review discussion" that tends to be "quite relaxed." GM is looking for "people to do good work, not just to look good" and "it's important that they weed out the nonproductive at this point before they disappear inside the corporate structure." GM's recruiting web site, located at www.gm.com/edu_rel/careers.career.html, provides information on campus recruiting as well as details of hiring patterns by college major and GM department. GM also offers a "College Co-op" program that allows students to work in various departments while still in school. Details at www.gm.com/edu_rel/student/studpgms/htm#opunits. The Salaried Employment Offices located in every GM unit can furnish additional information. MBA candidates may also apply for admission to the co-op program; see the web address above. Typical entry-level positions are in Corporate Finance, Management, Manufacturing, Marketing, Sales, and Worldwide Purchasing. One employee reports surprise at the scarcity within the corporation of MBAs not sponsored directly by GM, noting them as a definite "minority group." Evaluations of internships for MBAs tend to emphasize the word "disorganized."
Out with the old, in with the globe The world's largest corporation keeps its workforce satisfied by offering "challenging assignments" and by being "responsive to the career goals of younger employees." The game plan of the GM board is to "demand action" to grow GM's market share and to "focus on customer satisfaction." While GM has had problems with unionized labor in recent years, engineers and others in technical positions praise General Motors' "consistent dedication" to providing employees with "the latest and greatest in technology." The realities of the automobile industry make the GM culture "an area that is changing dramatically." "There are still some old-timers around," both salary and hourly, "that wish things could be the way they used to be," but they're retiring and being replaced by a new breed who have a "better understanding of GM's place in the global economy." Will somebody pay attention to my work? GM is a "huge company with tremendous resources and talents," but its enormous size "makes it very hard to stand out and be noticed." Insiders bemoan that "much of how you are perceived is based on the way you conduct yourself rather than what you actually accomplish." Of course, at GM "corporate culture is a variable" much like other corporations, but when you have over 100,000 salaried employees, the chaos factor tends to increase. For 60 hours a week, I better get some #$@ perks! Entering MBAs usually log over 60 hours a week. But despite the heavy workload, "GM takes very good care of their (corporate) employees." Long hours are rewarded with a healthy salary and steady promotions, as "your pay is proportional to the amount of work that you do." GM's benefits are generous: "the use of a company car (with a new one every three months), healthy travel expenses," hefty bonuses, as well as profit sharing. All salaried employees have the time from Christmas Eve till the workday after New Years off, "regardless of how long they've been at the company." Despite size, some room to maneuver While some find a "slow advancement process" that can be "frustrating," recent hires comment that they are confident that they will have "terrific opportunities in the long run." More established employees praise the fact that GM's size provides for "a lot of opportunity to advance in your specialty, or even move to a different area of interest." Though "even the middle levels are male-dominated," insiders note that GM pushes for diversity, simply because "to act any other way is a tremendous waste of talent." Go global young man (or woman) Insiders advise that "in terms of clout" it seems "finance has more than marketing," and that most of the people in the higher positions "came through a finance track." More specifically, "a lot of (the very successful) worked in NY at the GM Treasurer's office." GM is an especially attractive employer for those interested in international experience; while jobs in Michigan are "abundant," the international opportunities are "more exciting and offer a substantially higher quality-of-life." Since "much of [GM's] growth will be in international markets," that's simply where the money is.
Human Resources
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