Planning for the Chevy Volt Essay Example for Free

Planning for the Chevy Volt Essay Question 1 The nature of strategic decision making at a large complex organization like GM appears to be done without having a thorough plan outlay to the planning groups or the business development unit within the company. There were several areas that put the company into the situation of making inappropriate strategic decision. The project was initially proposed by top two managements. Due to lack of thorough analysis and plan, they could not convince other managers in order to pursue this Chevy Volt project. This implied the missing link of strategic leadership that should have been a transformational force. In addition, the shareholder’s wealth creation had not been properly addressed and the well-defined business plan had not been emphasized and communicated when decisions were made. This implied that the management’s responsibility and expertise were all taken for granted that put the company in the threshold of a gamble betting on the success of this project. The accountability of management was disappeared. Question 2 The external environment trends that favor this project were the rising oil price, economic slowdown that made people to be more cautious about spending, the falling costs of manufacturing lithium ion batteries that help make the car price become more affordable, and global warming concern together with going-green concept. The Chevy Volt project could help promote the CSR of GM, which is favorable to the image and brand. These trends had signified that the external environment had been changed. As a green concept car, the Chevy Volt makes a point as far as cost saving for users goes in context of rising oil prices. However, what is crucial also can be exemplified in context of sustainable development process that the Chevy Volt can impact. Limiting carbon gas emission in the backdrop of global warming and greenhouse effect can significantly present a wider socio-economic relevancy and impact. Question 3 Cost is the most critical hurdle in pursuing with Chevy Volt. The cost factor is unfavorable given that GM had already invested substantial capital for the development of lithium ion batteries. The relevant cause for that could be observed from top management who were skeptical of Chevy Volt project. When the EV1 hybrid model, a green concept electric car running on conventional fuel cell, was introduced by the company way back in the 1990s and did not succeed, such model was a crucial loss in term of resource and brand image. In addition, the missing link among the strategy planning, formulation and lifecycles were also another internal obstacle unfavorable for pursuing the Chevy Volt project. Question 4.a The strategic plans are based on how well the company analyzes the existing market situation, competitors and the market trend. The external environment analysis such as the macro and micro-economic factors should also be emphasized and properly addressed. The economic theory of demand and supply should also be brought in contention when making the decision and planning the strategy. The plan should be flexible enough to reflect the dynamic business environment when the revision and amendment to the strategic plan are necessary for business to gain competitive advantages over the competitors in a timely manner. Question 4.b The Chevy Volt project strategic plan was based on assuming that oil prices would continue in rising trends which could then be able to market the company’s electric car model and generate profitability. Thus, falling oil prices could negatively affect the potential success of Chevy Volt. Question 4.c When supply is relatively limited, while the demand can increase once the global economy recovers, it would be difficult for oil prices to remain low in the future. Rising oil prices demonstrates the typical economic basis of the law of demand, in which the price depends on the market equilibrium for a product. In addition, there are no substitute product as far as fuel goes. There is still no other alternative energy or technology that can match or surpass the oil in all aspects. Question 5: What will it take 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 should capitalize on the internal and external forces that influence the products within the industry and against its rival for the competitive factors. As the Chevy Volt is a high-tech car, the 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, innovation in the development process of the car should be fostered as one factor to benchmark against 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. Last but not least is the price and related costs of Chevy Volt. The price must be affordable for target group of GM’s customers in order to boost the demand and achieve cost advantage over competitors in term of economies of scale, and the related maintenance cost and useful life of lithium ion battery must be reasonable enough to be able to convince target consumers to purchase the car. It is also suggested that the strategic plan has taken into account of effect of the capitalization on the capability and expertise the company has; effective strategic management of operational process and procedures; top management involvement, responsibility and accountability; collaborative approaches to leadership; cultural and structural upgrade of the corporate echelon and strategic management panel and process; careful analysis of the opportunities and threat; and the facilitation of a dynamic leadership culture. Question 5: How risky is this venture for GM? Launching this project is very risky for GM as it involved significant resources, time and capital investment. Given that GM has already exposed to potential bankruptcy, the success of Chevy Volt will be one of the critical factors affecting the possibility of GM to diminish the bankruptcy risk and boost the future cash flows. Question 5: What are the costs of failure? The cost of failure as far as Chevy Volt car concerns is huge and tremendous. 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 has already been in the situation of potential 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. Question 5: What are the costs of not pursuing the project? There are substantial costs and adverse impacts as far as Chevy Volt project concerns when it is not pursued at all. Example costs are 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 experience; cost factors 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; CSR; exposure to bankruptcy risk; and economic consequences.

Code Of Hummurabi :: Hummurabi Code of Law

History is the past, which for the most part can not be scientificately proven. The real; goal of History is to rediscover past. A dramatic error happens when past is rediscovered from our own bias that is from the way we see it. Even certain artifacts and works pf literature that we have left from earlier civilizations can be interpreted in several different ways, or misinterpreted to a certain extend or entirely. Usually interpretation or even misinterpretation is affected bu the concept of ethnocentrism, where different communities have an already set up establishment of certain norms based on their own believes, traditions, social, legislative, and personal values and ethics from which they judge other foreign communities. When considering other societies, it is usually a difficult task to view â€Å"other world† without any observer prejudices. Each world, our and their can evoke its own realities that are more or less comparable from one period to another, or from one cu lture to another. One of the obvious misinterpretations, discussed in this paper, took place considering historical document written by king of Mesopotamia. Our textbook, Arts and Culture,(p 98) presents Hammurabi’s Code as a â€Å"Law Code† of king Hammurabi. It was, in turn something quite different from a Code of Laws existing in our judicial and legislative structure of government and society. Hammurabi’s Code- â€Å"A law Code† or a set of royal decisions As written in Mesopotamia: The Mighty Kings, (p26), the code consists if 282 laws that are branched at the beginning and end by a prologue and epilogue. The â€Å"Code† touches almost every aspect of everyday life in Babylonya. As the prologue states, the laws were supposedly written â€Å"to promote the welfare of the people,†¦to cause just to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil, that the strong might not oppress the weak† ( The Human Record, p 12). Furthermor e, just like a real Law Code, each â€Å"law† is written in the form of conditional sentence: in which the phrase is introduced by a certain condition, â€Å"if† and the consequence follows â€Å"then†. Another fact makes Hammurabi’s â€Å"Code† so similar to the U.S. Constitutional Law Code is that it follows specific order, consisting of separate â€Å"chapters† associated with similar issues. For instance;† The Administration of Justice† â€Å"chapter† is followed by â€Å"Felons and Victums†, which is in turn followed by â€Å"chapter† that talks about â€Å"Property† issues.

Personal Identity and Mind Essay

From the Latin word â€Å"duo†, or two, dualism seeks to explain the relationship between the mind and body. Put simply, it purports that mind and body are categorically distinct and separate from each other and, thus, can not be reduced to each other in any way. In order to understand this theory better, we take into account all the external stimuli received by our sensory organs that bring about changes in our mental state. As a result, our body starts to feel sensation/s. Note that whenever our bodies feel sensation, be it pleasant or unpleasant, it drives it to move or act in a certain way. For instance, we crave for fried chicken and suddenly smell the aroma of fried chicken wafting through the air, and hear the cracklings of chicken being fried. Suppose, this dish is served to you, your body then starts to move towards the dish and start eating. It appears therefore, that there is interaction between mind and body in such a way that physical events cause mental events and mental events cause physical events. In the case of Captain Picard, regardless of the fact that his body and brains were just â€Å"exact replicas† of his previous self, his mind and body are still considered as two distinct and separate entities. His body or physical state will function in a way that may interact with hid mind but will still remain its distinction as separate entities. This is the contention of property dualism, which claims that although there may not be a distinction in substance, mental and physical properties are still categorically distinct, and not reducible to each other. Captain Picard’s mind state will change upon receiving external stimuli and from there, his body will start to feel sensation that will goad it to act in a certain way. Yet, both are separate entities. According to mind-brain identity theory, Picard’s mental states are each identical to his brain states. What does this mean? How would the identity theorist respond to the argument you provided for dualism? In contrast to dualism, the mind-brain identity theory asserts that mental states are identical with brain states. The theory further asserts that for every mental state, there is a brain-state with which it is identical. For instance, â€Å"every pain event is identical with the C-fibers firing. † (â€Å"Mind-brain Identity Theory†) The same article attempts to explain this theory further by providing details about the physiological functions of the brain and relating it to the said theory, thus: The main support for mind-brain identity theory is the phenomenon of localization. Mental events appear to be associated with specific parts of the brain. Mental activity appears to be localized in identifiable areas of the brain. This is shown by the fact that inhibiting brain activity inhibits mental activity. Those who suffer localized brain damage also have such localized damage to the mind. The most natural explanation of this localization is that the mind is the brain. Captain Picard’s mind and brain, according to the mind-brain identity theorists, are one and the same thing. Any damage to his brain, therefore, produces damage to the mind also. Works Cited â€Å"Mind-brain Identity Theory†. Philosophy of Mind. Info. 2005. 22 June 2009 â€Å" Mind Body Dualism Theory†. Wikipedia. 2009. 20 June 2009

How does globalization affect the environment Free Essay Example, 1500 words

Greenhouse gasses cause global warming by accumulating in the atmosphere where they destroy the ozone layer, thereby resulting in average increases in daily temperatures. Greenhouse emissions come from many sources, such as transportation, industrial production, and deforestation. Although these three sources of greenhouse emissions exist independent of globalization, there increase since 1970s has largely been linked to globalization, notes Ghemawat (par. 11). Globalization Increases Carbon Dioxide from Transportation Transport is an important facilitator of globalization. The increase in international trade due to globalization has resulted in an increase in transport. However, the various modes of transport used to facilitate trade between countries contribute significantly to the increase in the amount of carbon emissions in the environment. Study shows that the amount of carbon emission from roads has increased significantly since 1970 (Huwart and Verdier par. 4). Globalization has also resulted in increased transnational road transport, which is contributing significantly to the increase in the amount of carbon emissions to the environment. Nevertheless, air transport is the major transport mode that has characterized globalization in the past decade. Studies show that emissions from air transport has been increasing every year since 1990 due to increases in air transport facilitated by globalization. We will write a custom essay sample on How does globalization affect the environment or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now For instance, a report shows that greenhouse emissions from the aviation industry increased by 86% between 1990 and 2004 (McAusland 11). Today, an aviation industry alone is responsible for between 4-9% of greenhouse emissions being released into the atmosphere. Additionally, the world has also witnessed an increase in cargo transport between countries via the sea due to globalization. Accordingly, an increase in sea transport has increased the amount of greenhouse emissions from the industry. Current estimate indicates that sea transport consumes about 4% of fossil fuels consumed every year. The carbon emissions from the ships end up in the environment, where it causes havoc. Globalization Increases Carbon Emissions from Industrial Activity and Consumption The world has been witnessing an increase in international trade and investment in the past decades. Such increases have also facilitated an increase in industrial activities in various countries across the globe (Charles par. 4). However, the increases in industries are causing a major problem to the environment by increasing the amount of carbon into the atmosphere.