A Broken Supply and Social Chain: Anatomy of the Downfall of an Industrial Icon

Abstract

There was a time in the history of GM when it was the largest corporation in the US. The history of GM also shows that it was the single largest employer in the world. The announcement of GM’s bankruptcy on June 1, 2009 shocked the world and had a tremendous impact on the United States economy. Looking back at the history of GM, there were many indicators which suggested the fate of the company. There were several internal factors that answer the question, what went wrong with GM. These internal factors are management arrogance, not meeting customer demands, the costs and demands of unions, poor forecasting, and internal controls on accounting standards. Similarly, there were several external factors that answer the same question, which include increased competition and loss of market share, rising gas prices and environmental friendliness, and the costs and burdens of meeting government regulations and restrictions. This paper will explore and answer the following questions: What are the fundamental causes of GM’s problems? What can be learned from GM’s mistakes and experiences? How and why an industrial icon came to ruin?