50.1K

Verified Solution

Link Copied!

Read the leader in action segment about Mary Barra of General Motors on page 76 & 77. Answer and discuss the third question. (Based on whatever information you may have available, how well is Mary Barra doing as GM's top executive?) CA Leader in Action Mary Barra, CEO of GM Mary Barra is Chairman and chief executive officer of General Motors Company, the dual title she has held since January 2016. In early 2014, when she was the product global chief of General Motors Co., Barra, was named the new company CEO. When Barra, age fifty-one at the time, was appointed to this position, she was the first woman to become CEO of a major vehicle manufacturer. Departing CEO Dan Akerson stated that he picked Barra to be his successor based on her ability to "make order out of chaos." In March 2014, Barra faced the chaos of the recall of 2.53 million cars for faulty switches, and 1.3 million vehicles for power steering problems. In 2014, the company spent $2.9 billion on recalls related to the switches. GM was held legally responsible for 124 deaths due to faulty ignition switches. The company has already paid $1.5 billion in penalties and settlements. After an internal probe conducted by a former U.S. attorney, Barra fired fifteen employees, and instituted a policy of "If you see something, say something." She also restructured engineering operations to facilitate quicker responses to potential safety violations. wixos? 1 2 AA Under Barra's leadership, the company has focused on strengthening its core business of manufacturing cars, trucks, and crossover. At the same time, GM has strived to lead the transformation of personality mobility through advanced technologies such as connectivity, autonomous driving, and vehicle sharing. A specific example is that GM is close to releasing self- driving cars for the Lyft ride-hailing service, and Barra intends for the company to be the first in introducing fully autonomous technology. Also of note, GM introduced the 2017 Chevy Bolt EV, winning over rival Tesla in the race to engineer the first affordable electric car with a range of 200 miles. In referring to changes in the automobile industry, Barra said, "In this era of rapid transformation, you have to have a culture that's agile. We still have a lot of work to do." As the head of product development as well as global purchasing and supply chain, Mary Barra was already the highest-ranking woman in the global automobile and truck industry. She was promoted to head of product development in 2011. Previous to her appointment as head of product development, Barra spent four years as vice president, global human resources. Joining GM after graduation as an electrical engineer, she was soon identified as a person with executive potential. She moved up the corporate ladder steadily in Jobs in manufacturing, administration, and internal communications before the HR position. As the CEO, Barra was expected to change the culture of a company for which she had worked her entire career. The GM board regards Barra as one of his key change agents in his efforts to remake the often slow! moving company culture. The CEO before Barra identified her as "a strong leader and change agent who knows the business inside and out." In 2017, Barra spearheaded a major initiative to improve GM profits. Her plan was to withdraw from markets where GM was not highly profitable, including Russia, India, and Europe, in favor of more profitable locales, particularly the United States. Another approach to boosting profits is to cut back on the low-margin business of selling cars to rental fleets. In one of her initiatives to change the culture, Barra has helped GM loosen the controls over engineers, allowing them more creative freedom with vehicles. She said her approach is "empowering them to make the decisions, and I think you see it with some of the vehicles we just put out, whether it's the Chevrolet Impala or the Cadillac CTS or the Corvette." One of the organizational complexities Barra wants to change is that there a twelve executive chief engineers organizational complexities Barra wants to change is that there a twelve executive chief engineers responsible for every automobile, truck, or crossover that the company makes around the world. Another culture-changing initiative is for senior executives to participate in a year-long course in transformational leadership. Barra believes that her thrust for creative freedom and simplicity will strengthen GM in the long term. She is adamant about leading by persuasion rather than direct commands. Barra said that when employees say "I'm doing it because Mary told me to do it" is the day she loses. Barra recognizes that culture change only takes place when people change their behavior, such as taking more responsibility for problems. During her first month as CEO Barra revealed her goals to expand GM's profit margins in North America, while increasing its global market share. Part of her plan for attaining these goals was to strive for innovation on both business processes and product development. Several years later, she emphasized that the ultimate proof point of whether the changes she has introduced are working "will be when we deliver exceptional financial results." Barra received a bachelor of science in electrical engineering (BSEE) from the General Motors Institute (now the Kettering University). Later she graduated with an MBA from Stanford University. She was raised in a GM family, with her father having been a die-maker in a Pontiac plant for thirty-nine years. Questions 1. Why might Barra be classified as a transformational leader? 2. What relevance might Barra's experience in HR have for the product development of vehicles? 3. Based on whatever information you might have available, how well is Mary Barra doing as GM's top executive

Answer & Explanation Solved by verified expert

See Answer