Automobile Industry Essays - American Brands, Automotive Industry

Automobile Industry There is no industry more present in the world-wide community than the automobile industry. The automobile has changed the lives, culture, and economy of the people and nations that manufacture and demand them. Ever since the late 1800s when the first "modern" car was invented by Benz and Daimler in Germany, the industry has grown into a billion dollar industry affecting so many aspects of our lives. There are more than 400 million passenger cars alone on the roads today. During the early part of the twentieth century, the United States was home to more than 90 percent of the world's automotive industry, but has shrunk to about 20 percent in today's world. This drastic change has occurred by the booming economies in such nations as Japan, Germany, Canada, France, Italy, and other nations. The US auto industry "sales totaled $205 billion, or 3.3 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product." (Tardiff 394) By the end of 19th century, there were about 500 auto manufacturers, but that number dropped sharply to 23 by 1917, and today the Big Three dominate the market. Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler make up the Big Three which account for 23 percent of the world's motor vehicle production in 1997, with the Japanese industries coming in second, producing 21 percent. Germany produces 9 percent, Spain, France, South Korea, and Canada each produce 5 percent of the international market in 1997. In the US alone, the auto industry, which includes it's 500,000 car-related businesses, create 12 million jobs. The automobile is clearly an oligopoly, but each company's control of the market has gradually diminished because of rising foreign competition. The US has three main auto manufacturers, Japan has five major producers as does Germany. Each of these companies produce differentiated versions of the same product, have control over their products' prices, and rely heavily on non-price competition. Each company produces a new line of cars for each model annually. There are many different types of cars, like sedans, station wagons, Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV), two-doors, and four-doors, but by comparing models between two competing companies, you can see how great the similarities are. The auto industry can still thrive even though it's products are so similar because the demand for cars is immense and continuous. People rely on cars for so many things that life without one seems impossible, especially in the US which registered 141 million cars in 1988, whereas Japan, the second highest, only registered 30 million. The creation and production of a new car starts about three to four years before it is released to the public. The initial planning stage begins in the company's corporate headquarters with ideas for the car from product planners and company officials. Automotive designers draw prospective sketches of the new car, and once approved, model makers create small scale models of the car in fiberglass or clay, then forge life size models also in clay or fiberglass. Automotive engineers then develop each part of the car, and mock-up builders create those indigenous parts of the new car. Test drivers check over the entire system, analyzing how it runs, and then gives suggestions on improving the vehicle. Automotive engineers test all the new, specialized parts of the car, and after all the parts are tested, plant engineers plan how to best mass-produce the new car. Of all the people working in the automobile industry, most will be found in this next industry which is the assembly plant. In the United States, the majority of these assembly plants can be found in the Michigan, Great Lakes area, and it, on average, takes about ninety minutes on the assembly line for an entire car to be produced. When planning a new car model, the company tries to create what the consumer wants. This is very difficult because as stated earlier it take between three and four years to develop a car. When General Motors begins developing a new product, it starts by assembling a new team to coordinate the production. After this team is assembled, millions of dollars are spent on dispensing and analyzing public surveys, private firm's own research, government research, and past car sales to determine what the consumer wants. These specifications include physical dimensions, cost, fuel efficiency, comfort, market price, appearance, and performance. GM then would go on to begin producing the car. The most time consuming step when creating a new model is supplying the specialized pieces of the new model. Some of the parts can be carried over from previous models or other cars,

Free Essays on The Nile

God Dies By The Nile â€Å"God Dies By The Niles† By: Nawal El Saadawi After reading â€Å"God Dies By The Nile† by Nawal El Saadawi one can begin to realize how much different life in the Middle East is in comparison to areas such as China and India which we have studied. The term Middle East refers to South Western Asia and North Eastern Africa The Middle east has many very interesting features and aspects about it such as the way there economy is organized, the type of religion that they practice, the various geographical aspects of the land, and the way that society is in general. The economy of the Middle East is somewhat similar to the economy of India. The Middle East mainly imports everything and anything this is part of the reason why they are so poor because everything is so expensive. The main reason for a lot of the importing of products such as a pencil is because they’re a no factories. The Middle East is a very highly taxed, which makes the economy also very week and p oor. Because the economy is so poor a lot of the people in the Middle East live in mud homes along rivers, and have very little food and clothing. Since the land is not that great in the Middle east very little agriculture can be grown so therefore people cant make much money from farming and can just get enough food to feed there family. Some of there agriculture includes: Cotton, corn, rice, wheat, beans, fruits, and vegetables. They also raise cattle, water buffalo, sheep, and goats. There main industry includes: textiles, tourism, food processing, petroleum, cement and construction. Like most underdeveloped and poor countries there is people who have a lot of money and don’t live in poverty these people live in nicer homes and have a lot more than the average peasant. People who have a higher economic status usually are working for the government. Because of the fact that everyone is so poor there is a lot of crime and most of it is mainly people... Free Essays on The Nile Free Essays on The Nile God Dies By The Nile â€Å"God Dies By The Niles† By: Nawal El Saadawi After reading â€Å"God Dies By The Nile† by Nawal El Saadawi one can begin to realize how much different life in the Middle East is in comparison to areas such as China and India which we have studied. The term Middle East refers to South Western Asia and North Eastern Africa The Middle east has many very interesting features and aspects about it such as the way there economy is organized, the type of religion that they practice, the various geographical aspects of the land, and the way that society is in general. The economy of the Middle East is somewhat similar to the economy of India. The Middle East mainly imports everything and anything this is part of the reason why they are so poor because everything is so expensive. The main reason for a lot of the importing of products such as a pencil is because they’re a no factories. The Middle East is a very highly taxed, which makes the economy also very week and p oor. Because the economy is so poor a lot of the people in the Middle East live in mud homes along rivers, and have very little food and clothing. Since the land is not that great in the Middle east very little agriculture can be grown so therefore people cant make much money from farming and can just get enough food to feed there family. Some of there agriculture includes: Cotton, corn, rice, wheat, beans, fruits, and vegetables. They also raise cattle, water buffalo, sheep, and goats. There main industry includes: textiles, tourism, food processing, petroleum, cement and construction. Like most underdeveloped and poor countries there is people who have a lot of money and don’t live in poverty these people live in nicer homes and have a lot more than the average peasant. People who have a higher economic status usually are working for the government. Because of the fact that everyone is so poor there is a lot of crime and most of it is mainly people...

Organisations Design - Approaches and Applications Essay

Organisations Design - Approaches and Applications - Essay Example What attracts job seekers to want to join Google is the one of a kind working environment at the company. Google employees have coined a phrase to explain their modes of work – Googley. As reported by the NBC news, the company has also been rated by fortune magazine as the best American company to work for (Larson, 2011). The interesting thing about Google is that it has an organization structure that is flat as opposed to the traditional hierarchical system. One would expect that such a structure would prove counterproductive but Google has clearly proved management experts otherwise. Google is a company that embraces a work ethic that is anything but conventional. According to an NBC reporter, the employees at Google are â€Å"way too happy.† When doing an interview with the human resource personnel, the reporter posses a rhetoric question, â€Å"these people are too happy†¦.seriously, can’t I see a frown here? (Larson, 2010)† It is hard to have a frown as an employee of Google. The company offers the workers such a friendly working environment by providing them with all the luxuries they will need at no extra cost. For instance, the employees have access to a physician right at the office incase they fall sick, there is a gym at the office, they have chefs that fix them five star meals free of charge, they have luxury lounges and even beds to rest if they need to take a nap†¦the list is endless. This is arguably the epitome of mixing business with pleasure but contrary to what one would expect, it has worked to continue to make Google one of the most profitable companies Google’s structure seems to answer to the contingency theory. The contingency theory states that there is no blanket solution to management of a company. It is thought wise to allow different organizations to develop their own different structures that will work for them in their different environments (Sibbet,