Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University General Motors Case Study

Instructions:

-use times new Roman (size 12,double spaced) font.

– you must in every question Support your submission with course material concepts, principles, and theories from the textbook and at least two scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles.

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Part (1)

CASE: GENERAL MOTORS

When she gets out of bed, what does Mary Barra (CEO of GM) think about? “I spend a lot

of early mornings thinking about executing our plan quickly. The big thing I worry about is

speed,” says Barra. CFO Chuck Stevens agrees, highlighting a statement from the faulty ignition

switch internal investigation about the culture at GM, “No sense of urgency. No accountability

or responsibility. A siloed mentality.” Barra has reacted quickly and with force to make culture

change a reality by implementing a number of initiatives including “GM 2020,” which is a

program designed to create cross-functional labs throughout the company. Barra has also pushed

hard to create a new culture of speed by creating a year-long transformational leadership course

for upper-level executives that Barra personally leads. It’s not focused on company strategy, but

rather the interpersonal skills she believes are necessary to create change. HR chief John Quat-

trone says, “Mary believes that if we change the behaviors (of top managers), people who work

for us will see that and emulate it.”

Barra’s major vision for GM is to lead in safe autonomous driving. This puts them directly up

against the fast-moving cultures of Google, Uber, and Tesla. Barra believes GM’s recent acquisi-

tion of Cruise Automation ($581 million) puts them square in the driver’s seat. After a success-

ful, high-profile test of an autonomous Chevy Bolt (with Barra riding in the back seat), Barra

told a large group of Cruise employees, “If somebody (at GM] says you can’t have something, or

you can’t do something, or it’s going to take this much time, and it doesn’t make sense to you,

challenge them. I want you to take the energy and speed and how you look at doing things and

drive it into the core of GM.”

GM believes that they have the advantage. GM product chief Mark Reuss says, “The piece

that is not well understood outside of the automotive industry is how hard it is to take technology

and integrate it into a car. It seems like you should be able to layer it in and have it work and that

would be great. Right. The effort to integrate that into the car is equal to or more than the tech-

nology itself. A car has to work right every time, all the time.” So far, the technology companies

have spent billions of dollars in development and have little to show for it. Still, Barra is not will-

ing to bask in success for long. Onstage at GM’s headquarters she told her group, “Don’t confuse

progress with winning. Are you doing what you can? Or are you doing what it takes to win?”

Question 1- Do you think GM can outduel the technology companies for safe autonomous driving

vehicles? (Min words 150-200)

Question 2- Would you consider Mary Barra to be the prototypical transformational leader? In what

ways does she fit or not fit that model? (Min words 200-250)

Question 3- Given GM’s history, why does Barra put a premium on her executives’ leadership

behaviors? (Min words 200)

(Support your submission with course material concepts, principles, and theories from the textbook and at least two scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles.)

Source: M. DeBord. “Mary Barra Is About to Become the Most Influential CEO in GM History,” BusinessInsider.com,

February 17, 2017: http://www.businessinsider.com/mary-barra-most-influential-ceo-in-gm-history-2017-2; C. Fussman.

“What I’ve Learned: Mary Barra,” Esquire.com, April 26, 2016: http://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/cars/interviews/a…

what-ive-learned-mary-barra); P. Ingrassia. “Hail Mary,” Fortune, September 15, 2016, pp. 84-89; B. Luscombe. “13 Ques-

tions with Mary Barra, ” Time, June 2, 2016: http://time.com/4354740/mary-barral; and R. Tetzeli. “The Accelerators,”

Fast Company, November 2016, pp. 68-74, 100.

Part(2): Discussion question :

which statement did you feel was more accurate: “Leaders are born” or “Leaders are made”? How do you feel now, and why do you feel that way? (Min words 200-300)

(Support your submission with course material concepts, principles, and theories from the textbook and at least two scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles.)