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GM: 100 Years of Revolution

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General Motors is among one of the most powerful fortune 500 companies that have spent over 100 years revolutionizing the automotive industry with world-changing innovations. Founded in 1908, GM began its journey of revolution when they developed the first electric self-starter in their 1912 Cadillac. Over time, GM developed a decentralized concept of management that changed the way industrial enterprises modeled their own management structure in the United States. The structure behind General Motors, as well as a never-ending desire for growth, has brought unmeasurable success in the past and limitless potential into the future. In addition to being a household name to many with the GM name living in driveways, General Motors has dedicated all their talents to support a powerful mission. Their mission as stated on their website states, “We envision a future of zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, and we have committed ourselves to lead the way toward this future.” L...
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Alfred P. Sloan

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By Kara Margraf In 1966, the New York Times published an obituary titled, Alfred P. Sloan Jr. Dead at 90; G.M. Leader and Philanthropist, which brought highlight to his life that was dedicated to being the General Motors president and chairman from 1923 to 1956. As seen in the title of the highlighted glimpse of his life, “leader” became synonymous with his name.  Here in this dedication, divulged Sloan’s management style that brought the company to new heights, pioneering automotive advances such as four-wheel breaks, ethyl gasoline, crankcase ventilation, and knee action front springs. His impact on GM as a leader and the automotive industry as a whole did not go unnoticed. Presidents and other chairmen from competing organizations such as Henry Ford 2d, chairman of Ford Motor Company stated that Sloan was, “one of the small handful of men who actually made automotive history.” Ford went on discussing that it was his leadership style that brought so much effect on the on...
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Harlow H. Curtice

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By: Jake Smith Harlow H. Curtice was President of General Motors from 1952 to 1958.  He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1971. The number that makes him stand out the most is that he increased sales of Buick nearly 1,000 percent in the less than 10 years that he was head of General Motors. Curtice started out in the AC Spark Plug division of GM. Six years after being employed at AC, he became the President of the organization. As President, he expanded the number of products in their product line, which in turn helped to increase sales. This was impressive in itself because this increase actually occurred during the Great Depression. In 1933, Curtice was named President of Buick. At the start of his time at Buick, sales were incredibly slow, and people were starting to think the he was going to be the end of the organization. Curtice instead renegotiated dealer contracts and added 3 new models to Buick’s line of cars. By the end of his first year, Buick’s sa...
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Current GM CEO: Mary T. Barra

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By Max Pairaudeau Mary T. Barra was promoted to CEO of GM in 2014, following numerous roles she held at different levels throughout the organization, she started her career with GM at 18 years old. Barra is the first woman to reach the position of CEO in GM and CEO of a large multinational auto manufacturer. Barra can be seen as a visionary, transformational leader for GM she has taken the leadership approach to empower her subordinates. This has been done in a variety of ways. Firstly, she has delegated major decision-making authority to division managers and team leaders, giving them greater autonomy, when subordinates are given greater levels of autonomy, they feel more valued by the organization and will therefore have higher organizational commitment. This is will result in higher levels of job satisfaction and the employee accepting the higher degree of accountability that comes along with being given more autonomy. Barra also stresses the idea that management has to creat...
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Leadership's Impact On An Organization

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Overall, General Motors’ success today can be accredited to the leadership that has been established, maintained, and embedded into the future of the company for years to come. Here, there has been many leaders and leadership styles involved in making the company so strong. From research done discussing Alfred Sloan, it is clear that a non-traditional, decentralized approach in a time period where all management styles were typically centralized could restructure a company and embed a system that is still followed today. Sloan carried the company through the recession by appealing to the need of the automotive industry. Curtice used a similar style of leadership as well. What could contribute to Curtice’s overall success the most is the emotional contagion that he created. After announcing the expansion, his confidence in the auto industry was seen spreading throughout the nation. His successful leadership style was more centralized, but he was still able to produce positive results. ...
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