Investigating General Motors Chevy Volt Project

Investigating General Motors Chevy Volt Project What does the Chevy Volt case tell you about the nature of strategic decision making at a large complex organization like GM? In a complex organization such as GM, it appears that decisions concerning Chevy Volt project were reached without giving thorough plan outlay to the planning groups in the company. There was a lot of thing that put the company at stakes from the wrong strategic decision undertaken. All aspects of the project were done at the individual and subjective level. Take for example the proposal presented by Larry Burns and Bob Lutz concerning Chevy Volt to the top management presents a missing link of strategic leadership that should have been a transformational force. Yet the sad state of affairs is that strategic formulation and its implementation also were all compromised upon, which happened when the Chevy Volt concept car was launched. This shows that managerial level function, their involvement and leadership were not collaborative in a sense as far as implementation processes goes. Together with it, shareholder values and business plan also were not emphasized upon when decisions were made, which appears that the responsibility attached with managerial role and their expertise were all taken for granted that put the company in the threshold of a gamble and a joke. Explain briefly the changes in the external environment that made it favorable to undertake the Chevy Volt Project? As we relate to the given case, rising fuel prices, new environmental regulations, new entrant for green concepts cars and stiff competitors give abundant evidence to the changes in the external environment. There is some relevancy that microenvironments also were emphasized upon in context of Porter five forces model and SWOT analysis. Thus, the Chevy Volt project can significantly foster the CSR of GM, which is favorable. As a green concept car, the Chevy Volt scores a point as far as cost saving for users goes in context of rising oil prices then. However, what is crucial also can be exemplified in context of sustainable development process that the Chevy Volt can impact, let say limiting carbon gas emission in the backdrop of global warming and greenhouse effect and most importantly presents a wider socio-economic relevancy and impact. What internal obstacles do you think existed within GM that were unfavorable to the pursuit of the Chevy Volt project? Cost factor also is one unfavorable point that existed, given that GM have already invested billion of dollars for the development of Lithium-Ion batteries, which did not registers with the top management. The relevant cause for that also can be emphasized in context of the internal obstacles at GM as can be observed in respect of top management who were skeptical of Chevy Volt project, especially when the EV1 Hybrid model, a green concept electric car that run on conventional fuel cell introduced by the company way back in the 90s did not succeed and was a sheer loss in term of resource and brand image. Besides leadership in the company also have it flaws, and were not wholly involved. That is to say, strategy planning, its formulation and lifecycles that guaranteed the outcome of project was a missing links, which are the internal obstacles that are unfavorable for the pursuit of Chevy Volt project. The plan for the Chevy Volt seems to be based partly on the assumption that oil prices would remain high, and yet in late 2008, oil prices collapsed in the wake of a sharp global economic slowdown: What does this tell you about the nature of strategic plans? Chevy Volt project which is partly based on the assumption of fuels prices is rather skeptical. Plan outlay in context of rising oil prices, and environment sustainability only does not in a sense constitute total business plan layout. External environment analysis such as the macro and micro-economic factors also should have been focused, so that an alternative plan layout to develop new innovation for its benchmark cars model that run on fuel and that which should meet the tighter regulation in the future. Yet that was not the case, which we feel posit the flaws in the nature of strategic plan concerning Chevy Volt, and presents the uncertainty of such development course, which in the other case economic factor should have been given more emphasis for strategy, wherein economic theory of demand and supply also should have been brought in contention in regard of decision and strategy. How do falling oil prices affect the Chevy Volt project? The Chevy Volt project strategic plan was based on factor that kept rising oil prices in contention to market its electric car model for profitability. That is true to some extent. Yet, buying a car is long-term investment for buyers. That factor also should have been given due importance. Besides, investment made by GM in the Chevy Volt project also posed huge cost factor. In business context, Chevy Volt is less competitive and cost already incurred for the project means that the company has to compromise with its benchmark to foster a profitable outcome from situation of spiraling oil prices. Thus, falling oil prices can affect Chevy Volt project in terms of profitability directly from the sale of electric cars. However, such marketing concepts pose many risks and uncertainty, which in simple economic sense can be justified in context of supply and demand rule applicable to economics, be it for oil prices or the Chevy Volt car models and its demands in situations when oil prices would remain high. Do you think oil prices will remain low? There is no reason to think that oil prices will remain low, because it happened in a situation when demand for the product was low in the market. Rising oil prices defines the simple economic basis of the law of demand, which depends on market equilibrium for a product in influencing the inflation and deflation of particular product. Thus, it is very likely and in simple economic sense that once the demand for oil increases, prices also is also likely to surge accordingly. Besides there are no substitute product as far as fuel goes and in the case of Chevy Volt cars the case is otherwise, wherein substitute product can be emphasis in context of internal combustion engine cars which pouts competitors in a favorable situation as far as car model goes. a) What are the external conditions that need to be present for the Chevy Volt to be a successful car? For the success of the Chevy Volt Project effective marketing strategy has to be formulated. Marketing aspects also should capitalize on the internal and external forces that influence the products within the industry and against its rival for the competitive factor. From our understanding, the Chevy Volt is a high-tech car. Hence, external analysis from operational and business perspective should focus on the competitive structure of the industry and factors such as; innovations, socio-economic, and environmental impact that defines value added product, and the opportunistic cost that comes with it. Thus, a lot of innovation in the development process of the car should be fostered as one factor to benchmark against rivals and competitors in the industry, which is critical for success for a profitable outcome and goals achievements. Part of it also should focus on the strategic marketing aspects that give the car and its salient feature to reach the people through advertisement and awareness created in that regard are interrelated and need to be present for the Chevy Volt to be a successful car. Given its long presence in the market GM may not lack competency and skills, however, its strategic planning and decision making is stifled by strong resistance from its managers. This may be due to the complexity of the organization and resulting problems associated with strategic decision making. What would you suggest for GM to make its strategic planning and decision making effective and relevant? To facilitate effective strategic, it is advised that GM managers should take into account the following:- Response to the competition that the market posed and demands. Management Responsibility in decision undertaken. Knowledge sharing as a basis for project formulation and effectiveness. Cost factor analysis. Collaborative leadership as a means to negotiate against redundant formulation process. Do away with subjective and unreasonable reasoning and decisions. Transformational change has to be initiated. Management and supervisors involvements in any given projects. Business plan and layout should be effectively defined for any major outcome and long-term effects. Apart from these point and list of suggestion, we feel that strategic group in the company should be given ample hand to empanel for strategic plan layout, given that there are huge stakes for any given undertaking. After all, strategic group are expert panel. Yet, decision being reached is more or less subjective. Hence, a collaborative approach to management thinking, leadership and strategy formulation should be the core cultural basis in the company, which can effectively and relevantly drive the strategic planning and decision making in the course of goals achievements. In light of your analysis, what are the costs of failure in this project for GM? The cost of failure as far as Chevy Volt car concerns is huge and tremendous, as far as operation and economic consequences goes. Less involvement from the managers also brought to fore the cost and its effect to directly hit the company that brought it to the stage of total shutdown of its operations. Since the company is already in the threshold of bankruptcy, the Chevy Volt project that failed to impact the company strategic goals and its achievements posed the total effect of bankruptcy of GM and huge economic consequences as an aftermath, because the company is already on the process of huge public debt facilitated by the government to save itself from bankruptcy. Thus, it is suggested that either the plan have to be charted out to bring into effect the following:- Capitalize on the capability and expertise the company posits. Effective strategic management of operational process and procedures. Top Management involvement. Responsibility. Collaborative approaches to leadership. Cultural and structural upgrade of the corporate echelon and strategic management panel and groups. Standardization of managerial role, decisions and business plan layout. Capitalizing on the opportunities and threat. Facilitate a dynamic leadership culture. What are the costs for GM of not pursuing the project? There are tremendous and direct effects as far as Chevy Volt project concerns, since it is not pursued at all. Take for example the following cost factors:- The huge opportunistic cost lost in between. Operational and business capability that went for a toss. Marketing research that has not been capitalized effectively and efficiently for result outcome. Change factor and organizational learning. Cost factor in term of direct financial investments to investors, and stakeholders. Resource accumulation. Brand image and identity. Corporation competencies that have not been capitalized Sustainable development plans Corporate Social Responsibility Economic consequences. Bankruptcy. Business process and procedures.

Aztec Culture

Research Paper: Aztec Culture The Aztec culture dates all the way back to the 13th century. Some say that a few Aztec people still survive, although they are not exactly â€Å"pure. † Their culture was derived from South America. In this research paper the plan is to inform and explain to the teacher that the Aztec were an impressive group of people for their time period because they were so advanced in science, agriculture and were far more civilized than people from other regions had assumed during that time period. What caused the collapse of such a refined empire?Moving on to government and political systems, the Aztec people’s started off with what is called the Calpulli – the basic unit of government. Each group is made up of multiple families and these families own land together. Whoever is made the leader of the Calpulli group is in charge and responsible for all the needs of everyone in the group. They set up what is called telpochalli – school fo r the common citizens. Leaders of these groups collect taxes as well. Although in cities the Calpulli leader is less family based and more about the region and surroundings (Cotrill).The next section of their government goes on to the nobility and councils. People in the nobility and council held a lot of power in society but they were not automatically put in government positions. Every city had a Calpulli and each Calpulli has a leader. All of the leaders from each group made up a council, these held a lot of the power in their government system. In the early to middle 1400s there were 3 main city-states that held the most power. The 3 city-states together were called the â€Å"Triple Alliance,† which was located in Mexico Valley. Each of these had a name; there was, Tenochtitlan, Texaco, and Tlacopan.Tenochtitlan came to dominate the whole empire itself. For each council an executive council is formed within it. Four members are chosen to lead; one of these chosen members is the tlatcani – leader of the city. Finally we come to the Huey Tlatcani which means â€Å"great speaker. † This person led the city, and was worshipped as a god and also considered the emperor (Cotrill). The emperor was supported by judges, governors, hosts of other officials, and priests. Even though the emperor was given â€Å"absolute power† in some sort of form, sometimes people also had a say. Emperors were chosen in a partially democratic system, meaning they ould be removed from power at any time. Archaeologists and historians are unsure of how any certain Aztec person was chosen to get the position of Huey Tlatcani. It was not hereditary but it did have something to do with family lines. The control of the Aztec empire did not go everywhere in Mexico. Lands that the Aztec people conquered and claimed as their own did have to pay a price of tribute to them, but still had a certain amount of freedom. The gain of land was accomplished by warriors making attacks on surrounding areas, where they also took sacrificial prisoners.Most of the time, when villages, towns or cities were captured by the Aztec, it was an incentive bringing more trade and better goods to be traded along with infrastructure. So where in history did the Aztec contribute to us? Well to start, they didn’t have twenty different ones, they had about 5. The first one of these is onions and horses and this is not technically an invention or contribution but it was introduced to them by the Spaniards. Education was not seen as a â€Å"must† or a â€Å"need† by most countries during their time, yet the Aztec people made it mandatory.Unlike in countries today there are rules and regulations to education. In some countries you can’t go to school if you are a girl, yet in others it doesn’t matter what sex you are. Black, white, poor, rich, middle class, low class, it didn’t matter to the Aztec. School was for everyone (Cotrill). An other thing introduced was popcorn, yes, popcorn. It was first used by the Aztec people for head dresses and for honoring the God of Maize and Fertility; this god is also named Tlaloc. This item was not eaten until years later and was mainly popular for Aztec use only.Foods are important in understanding cultures a second from the Aztec was chocolate. Where would you be today without it? This item was exceedingly valued by them and was used as a currency. They also demanded cacao beans which played a part in the tributes they made to their gods. A drink was made from the chocolate that the Aztec called â€Å"xocoatl† – meaning bitter water, this word was actually invented by the Aztec people themselves (Cotrill). The Aztec culture brought about chewing gum and instead of calling it gum or something of the sort they called it â€Å"chicle† which is what some Mexican vendors still all it today. Although, when the Spaniards showed up they destroyed their trading ro utes and the gum or â€Å"chicle† disappeared with it. The item didn’t show back up for another 350 years. Aztec people were actually good with medicine and knew some things about it. For the time period they were living in they were considered to be advanced. One of the main things they had used for medicine was called â€Å"antispasmodic medicine† this helped to prevent muscle spasms. It could be useful during surgeries and was made from what is still growing today and that is a passion flower.The passion flower is still used as an herbal remedy which is believed to help insomnia, high blood pressure, and epilepsy. The Aztec culture was not a poor one. The Aztec were simple in clothing, but not in economy. They were very rich as a country and would have been considered a first world country. Though their culture seemed simple since they wore little and lived simple lives they were very smart, Aztec people knew of value, and of money. Cocoa beans were the main form of money, which was used the most. A single rabbit would cost 30 cocoa beans.Something common in their trading system was to trade a child, most likely a daughter, for 600 cocoa beans. This should not come as a surprise since they also made human sacrifices to honor their gods. There was another type of money used, though not as often. It was treasured by the Aztec people and was highly valued. This form of money was called â€Å"quachtli†. Quachtli is a type of cloth used to make clothes. Legends say that during the time of the Aztec 10 pieces of this cloth was enough to support an Aztec for 6 months in the big city of Tenochtitlan (Cotrill).Trade was a major source of the Aztec’s income. The biggest trading market was located in Tlatelco. The Tlatelco had a large variety of goods which made it the most accommodating for people, over 60,000 came per day to visit. Whatever you wanted or needed was found here, cloth, corn, seeds, spices, pottery, etc. Not all villa gers grew crops which led to other Aztec people being able to specialize in other trades. Some of the trades included were feather workers, stone workers, lapidary, and metallurgy workers. The economy of this culture came to a slow halt as soon as the Spaniards arrived.They destroyed trading routes, cities, took control, and made rules. Fighting with the Spaniards caused the Aztec people no time to grow crops and this was the start of the downturn for their economy. A somewhat discussed subject that we’re moving forward on is the social system of the Aztec people. They did not have very complex social system, just two main groups. The first group is the higher ranked of the two. Nobles, which were called pipiltin and pilli for singular usage made up the higher status people of the Aztec culture.The people in this group received a more extent education than other people in the culture. Also, these people were allowed to decorate their houses to their choosing and wear superior clothes compared to that of the average people of the town, village, or community they were living in. Nobles mostly held places in the office of government, but not all, some were craftsmen of different sorts, and a few were even the palace servants. Even if they were given a lower ranked area of work it was possible to move up to a new or more suited position just by doing a good job at what was presently assigned.Second to the Nobles were the Commoners or what were called by the Aztec; macehualli, which these were the people who worked the land of the area. Not all people worked the land, albeit some were stuck working land forever you could also move up a bit in this class with some hard work. The poor of this class could sell themselves and become a slave, eventually working off their debt. Slaves were not treated badly at all, they even had laws that firmly protected them. Commoners also included craftsmen and merchants.The merchants were given more opportunity and could trav el, sell, trade, and were given more respect than most in this class. Soldiers can be included in both classes because even if they started out at a low rank they could work their way up to being a noble, and become a pilli. The classification of the Aztec culture is fairly simple. They were rich. Aztec people possessed many, many, manyimportant goods that you could not easily get around the world. Being a first world country was not exactly and easy task.Unbeknownst to them though, was that they had predators lurking in the shadows (Spaniards) that wanted their gold, cocoa beans, and much more. Their society and area was highly valued. Plus, the land they lived on was not known by many people and had not been explored. Aztec people were civilized, eminent, smart, cunning, and ethical, but their empire did fall. Not all things last forever as history shows us. Spaniards eventually came in search of new land and treasures such as gold, upon which they found the Aztec people. Invaded on November of 1519 the Aztec people welcomed the Spaniards.Cortes was a Spanish conquistador looking to conquer them. At first, the outcome looked to be in the favor of the Aztec people, but because their religion called for sacrificing hundreds to thousands of people they lost many of their own that could have been used in battle. The Spaniards brought the smallpox disease with them, which was not purposely but did favor Cortes’ side when the time came for battle. Twenty-five percent of the Aztec people died from smallpox. By 1520 the Aztec people were low on food, and still dying of the smallpox disease, eventually it claimed their emperor’s life.In 1521 Cortes finally conquered them and they surrendered. In conclusion, even though the pure Aztec race was ruined by a change in their culture from the Spaniards’ invasion there are descendants left, but with little Aztec blood in them. The legends told, pottery, huts, temples, and much more still remain in Mexic o. Life in their society was very well planned and put together, yet when the Spaniards arrived that all changed. Disease, death, famine, and much more caused them to lose hold of their culture. They went from being the richest in their country to being slaves and commoners to the Spaniard conquistadores.A lot of their culture was destroyed with the invasion so most researchers have little to go on. The possibilities of how different their society would have been if the Spaniards were defeated, or had never come into contact with the Aztec people are infinite. References â€Å"Aztec Economy. † edublogs. edublog, 9 Mar. 2011. google. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. . (Aztec Economy edublog) â€Å"Aztec: Economic and Trade System. † PLU. Pacific Lutheran University, n. d. google. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. . (Pacific Lutheran University) Baquedano, Elizabeth. Aztec, Inca, and Maya. : Eyewitness Books, 1993. Baquedano) Cottrill, Jaime. Aztec-History. Ed. Jaime Cottrill. , 2006. Google. Web. 1 0 Oct. 2011. . (Cotrill) Outline I. Intro a. Aztec Culture b. In this research paper the plan is to inform and explain to the teacher that the Aztec were an impressive group of people for their time period because they were so advanced in science, agriculture and were far more civilized than people from other regions had assumed during that time period. II. Political System III. Major Contributions to Human History IV. Economy V. Social System VI. Classification VII. Reasons for Success/Destruction VIII. Conclusion

Delights Nursing Care Home Essay

Here is an induction document explaining any risks or hazards that could potentially result in residents, visitors, and staff being harmed or abused within the nursing home. Physical Within the care home there will be some residents and visitors that may require to use a wheelchair or walking frame, this means that hallways can become very crowded and doorways can be awkward to get through. As well as physically disabled people, people with visual or hearing impairments can equally be at risk as if the hallways are blocked and a visually impaired resident has no knowledge of this it could lead them to be confused and potentially end up falling. A hearing impaired resident may not be able to hear if there is an emergency meaning that people have to leave the building quickly this could fault in them being pushed over or them bumping into objects. Hallways should be widened for easy wheelchair access and should be kept clear of furniture and objects making it efficient for all residents. If there is object restricting the residents to move and there was an emergency that requires first aid or a member of staff to assist they would be slowed down in attempt to help them. This is why staff, residents and visitors should be able to move freely, for both comfort and easy. Equipment The Care Homes equipment (hoists, lifting equipment) are stored on the second floor next to the fire exit. This could be a serious risk as if their was to be an accident requiring the residents to evacuate the building quickly this is unlikely to happen as staff would have to go up stairs and possible bring equipment down for the residents. Also if equipment is not sided properly this means that it could be blocking the fire exit meaning no one can exit the building as quickly as possible. The bedrooms are located on two different floors meaning some residents can access the kitchen which is located on the ground floor, this could potentially lead to appliances being turned on accidentally if a resident gets confused or falls switching them on, if a member of staff is not present. Infections With the Care Home looking after many residents infections can spread quite easily, the staff will have to make sure that they put in place any rules to stop infections from spreading. For example; all dirty laundry should be taken straight to the laundry room be washed, all infected wasted should be disposed of correctly by a member of staff, any medical waste MUST be disposed of immediately after use as this is one of the main ways infections can spread. If precautions are not taken seriously infections can begin to spread meaning the visitors and staff could pick up the infect and take it home. The care home needs to keep all equipment and areas of the home disinfected as elderly people have low immune systems meaning their body does not fight infections of like someone of a younger age. Substances All of our residents take medication for their disorders. It is vital that these medications are locked up safely in the office and are not left lying around to avoid the risk of someone accidentally taking them and doing themselves harm. Staff must also write down the time and dosage of which medication was dispensed to a resident. If not staff may give too much or too little medication which could seriously affect the resident. Medication must also be labelled with the name of the resident it is intended for. If not, strong medications could be given to the wrong resident which could be fatal. Working Practices Every member of staff should have the appropriate training for each resident in the home to avoid mistakes being made. If staff fail to have correct training the residents could be at harm as the staff member might not be able to calm certain residents down in times when they are stressed or be able to handle certain aspects of a resident, like lifting or medication. It could also affect the residents ability to trust staff if they do not know what they are doing as well as making other staff having to undo mistakes being made putting strain of the bond of the staff. The number of staff working in the care home should be efficient with the number of residents present in the care home. Currently Delights Care Home has a manager, a  senior nurse, several care assistants, who all work shift patterns of morning, afternoons and nights as well as two cleaners, a cook, a kitchen assistant and a handy man. All staff should make sure shifts are planed accordingly to decrease the chance of being short staffed, this will reduce the chance of some residents being slightly neglected or left out. Being short staffed could mean residents may not receive their medication on time or wound dressings might not be changed as often leading to infections. Security Systems As the care home is situated near the main road it is important to keep security to a maximum. If a resident was to leave the building without a staff member or carer, they could be at risk of being knocked down trying to cross the road or getting lost because their confused. The Delights care home have a double entry door with a key code for staff which must be kept confidential as anybody could come in off the streets and cause harm to the residents, staff or visitors and a bell for any visitors, when the visitors enter the building there is a book they must write in to say they are here this is for health and safety. If there was a fire, this means that everyone in the building could be accounted for. We have a safe where residents can keep their money and valuables. This must be locked as to not tempt theft. This is also where the computer system holding the medical records is. If not kept secure this could breech the confidentiality rights of the residents.

The Divide of Metropolitian Secregation - 953 Words

Metropolitan segregation can be seen from both micro and macro levels, this divide is apparent through racial segregation across communities and also by examining the outcomes of district and industry zoning. Laden in urban segregation is the process of gentrification, which acts as an agent of change regarding spatial relationships among different social groups. Segregation has always been a component of the urban dynamic, this structure of divide has shifted and metamorphosed as a result of inevitable changes over time. These evolving social, economic and political frameworks must be addressed in order to provide a thorough study of the motives behind segregation, as well as the resulting ramifications. Zoning is arguably the root of both structural and racial/economic segregation that occurs within a city. The motives behind exclusionary zoning are fueled by the desire to preserve the integrity of specific communities and areas at the expense of one or multiple social groups. This process is more apparent in residential zoning, but the concept can be seen in various urban components, even elements as simple as infrastructure. Federal highways have shown to be a vehicle of segregation by serving as literal boundaries between neighborhoods of different races. These highways support ‘white flight’ and also allow for the ‘flight’ of jobs into the suburbs as well; this phenomenon leaves black and other minority neighborhoods economically deprived as industry begins to