Background to HRM at General Motors Corporation Essay

everyday Motors Corporation (NYE GM) is the leading American auto crystalizer in the world with its operations spanning in 157 countries. The car maker was established in 1908 in Michigan and today it is headquartered in Detroit, the linked States of America. Besides the domestic industry of the United States of America, frequent Motors manufactures cars and trucks in other 30 countries around the world. Among its brand products atomic number 18 Cadillac, Buick, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Hummer, Holden, Opel, Saab, Pontiac, Vauxhall, and Saturn. Besides these brands that atomic number 18 owned by the automaker, GMC also operates joint ventures in China and lacquer.That is, print GM and SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile several(prenominal)ly. From its Website, superior general Motors Corporation is among the leading American employer with 204 000 employees distributed throughout its global marketplaces. The employees include production engineers, financial auditors, marketers, a nd researchers among others. Before restructuring and retrenching that took place in 2008 following a harsh global financial crisis that resulted into a spill of $37.3billion by the automaker, General motors corporation was the leading American employer with 284 000 employees (GMC, 2008).Because of its large internet of global presence in 31 countries, General Motors human vision management practices entail international practices that are designed in consent to the international operation requirements and the cheekal culture designed to reduce practicable costs. Majority employees of the corporations subsidiaries in the 31 countries are force from the domestic pool of local tote markets and only a hardly a(prenominal) expatriates are drawn from USA as back sourice managers everyplacedue to their wide knowledge of its organization culture (Cappelli, 1999). The Board of directors which draws from the organizations international market presence is charged with the responsi bilities of making major decisions full of life to the companys operation. fit in to Gustin (2008), General Motors Corporation spent up to $103 million in settling healthcare insurance benefits of its retired employees in 2007.From this selective information, it is spare that the American automaker provides life insurance covers for its employees upon retirement. However, following restructurung, these benefitswere stripped off and only a few employees still enjoy them today. From January 1, 2010, pension project of retired hourly employees of General Motors Corporation was transferred to United Autoworkers a third political party insurance firms and all permanent employees who were hired after january 1, 1993 nolonger receive health care insirance benefit upon retirement(GMC,2008).The entry salary of the global automaker is primed(p) by the labour laws of each market of operation and thus change with the United States of America being the higher(prenominal)est irrespectiv e by argumentation categories ( briny et al., 2007). The organization has invested in a mankind election instruction frame that leave alones close interraction of its global employees through technology such(prenominal) as e-mailing and enterprisingness imagery commission (Azrul, 2010). Marketing dodging entails presentations by field marketers to the organizations large distributors and on word of mouth follow ups.Reccommended HRM practices for GMCFrom the in a higher place background analysis of General Motors corporation, it is clear that the organization requires international serviceman preference Management practices that giveing integrate the cultural diversity of its employees.The catastrophic impact of the 2008 financial ciris that resulted into vast restructuring and retrenching of its human resources also underscores the organizations poor human resource planning. The following good words are prescribed for the automaker on the basis of figure 1 below.Th e first recommendation, is Re-designing the line of credit strategy to target the bottom line of the market. According to Azrul (2010), one of the main reasons for the $37.4 billion loss incured by the American automaker is external market forces from competitors like Honda and Hyundai that were producing far cheaper vehicles with high economical engines and low fuel consumption rates as compared to Genereal Motors brands. In the affectionateness of global financial crisis, the market shifted to consumption of cheaper and less fuel consumers produced by the competitors resulting in bulky losses by the General Motors Corporation.The vernal business strategy should entaildesigning cars and trucks with high eficent engines and electric cars that can inhabit an upsurge in oil prices. This leave behind involve an investment in manufacturing technologies that ensures high quality at reduced costs such as electric engines that uses bateries.This leave behind give the Amecan leading automaker a competitve favour against the stiffening market competition.The second recommendation is outsourcing of labour from China and Japan. numerous Corporations prefer to manufacture their products from China because of the availability of a relatively cheaper labour force when compared to western counterparts. General Motors corporation can either outsource its human resoure from China or undertake most of its production from its Nipponese and Chinese Subsidiaries. The labour laws in the two countries are relatively fictile and firendly than in the United States of America. This leave aid the American Automator reduce huge operational costs incured in meeting the big devoteroll of over 200, 000 employees.The third recommendation is integration of employees training in high occasion work practices. According to Konrad (2006), engaging employees of an organization in job special training improves their productivity by increasing their job-related skills, reducing pr opensity of committing costly errors, and increasing their job confidence. Training of General Motors employees on their job specifications go away improve their productivity. Ofshore trainings in China and Japan are recommended.This will allow the corporations manufacturing engineers to learn new efficient production technologies of Japan and China in making cheaper and highly effiecient cars. Motivational incentives such as team building sessions, delegation of duties, self-managed leadership styles, and monetary rewards will further their commitment to the organization. The combined effect of training and motivation will necesitate restructuring of a have a bun in the oven roll while leveraging on improved productivity of highly productive employees.The fourth recommendation is embracing technology in Human Resource Management system to enhance global cordination of its business. According to Dreher and Dougherty ( 2002), the use of technology such as centralised Enterprise R esource Management system to co-ordinate human resourceactivities of General Motors will enhance quick sharing of ideas and consultation among the global employees of the company without barriers. This will allow the organization to carry out its marketing strategies efficiently and in effect without limitation by geographical distances. Effective Human Resource Management through streamlined sofware-based systems enhances fast communication and online training which gives an organization a higher competitive advantage.The fifth recommendation is integration of social benefits such as pension and health care schemes in the reward system. From the backround information above, it is evident that General Motors Corporation with-held social benefits for employees who were hired after January 1, 1993 and transferred the remain ones to third pary insirance firms. The American automaker also stripped healthcare benefits for retired employees beyond 65 years. Acording to Konrad (2006), soc ial rewards like health care insurance schemes make employees feel more valued by their organizations than monetary rewards in harm of bonuses and salary increments. Also pension schemes improve employees commitment to their employer because of proximo guarantees. This reduces employees employee turnover which is essential in retaining circumstantial human resources for continuity of operation of General Motors. high-pitched supply retention improves an organizations competitive advantage in a complex market of operational rivalry.The sixth recommendation is the implementation of employee productivity management and monitoring systems such as equilibrize Score Card (BSC) and High Performance Work System (HPWS) (Rouse, 2000). The latter(prenominal) system refers collectively to open systems, autonomouas teams and teamworks, and performance-based pay (Azrul, 2010). The implementation of the two Human Resource Management systems will improve organizational performance by providi ng real time employees information storage database from which future managerial decisions, and rewards will be based.According to Konrad ( 2006), employees of an organization are more productive when they are aware that their performance is recorded for review in determining their future rewards. Effective implementation of the Human Resource Management systems will help General Motors Corporation in categorising employeesaccording to their productivity rates. This information is chief(prenominal) in determining the relevance of job training and objective restructuring in the event of a crisis like that which befell it in 2008. In this case, only high productive employees will be retained.The seventh recommendation is the implementation of an consolidative pay/ reward system to inculde performance- chance pay scheme, skill-based pay, and seniority-based pay scheme. According to performance-contingency pay scheme, the employees reward will be based on the performance of their work ing(a) teams. This will help the automaker in creating effective self-managed and motivated teams. Skill-based pay will ensure that employees pay schemes are based on their job skills.For instance, production engineers will be given high pay than marketers because of their technical skills required by the organization. Seniority-based pay scheme demands that those employees who have stayed longer in the organization will get a higher pay than new comers because of their cumulative salary increements along their carrier path. Seniority-based pay scheme promotes staff retention even when the entry salary is relatively lower than the market rates because employees know that there is a room for growth.In general, General Motors Corporation should ensure total compliance with the labour markets and legal environments of their respective countries of operations before implementation of the proposed recommendations. For instance, the employment laws regarding hourly prosecutes, minimum w age policy, employment opportunities, labour regulations, and safety rules in China are antithetical from those of the United States of America. Therefore it is imperative that the American automaker consider their implications in setting the minimum entry wage in each pastoral of operation.Conclusion.In conclusion, General Motors Corporation can sustain its competitive strategy as a leading automaker by embracing the above prescribed Human Resource Mangement system that integrates staff training on job related skills, outsourcing, social reward scheme, technology, andperformance-contingency pay scheme among others as strategic competiencies in its operation. The implementation of Balanced Score Card and HPWS is critical in improving the productivity of the organizations employees. The proposed system will enhance high staff retention, high staff productivity, and objective contingency planning in times of global crises like the 2008 global financial crisis that lead to massive re trenchment by the automaker.ReferencesAzrul, A. (2010). Human Resource Management & General Motors. Monash University Publication, p.1-13.From http//www.scribd.com/doc/14812855/Human-Resource-Management-General-MotorsMain, B.G.,Jackson, C., Pymm, J.,& Wright, V. (2007). GMCThe Remuneration deputation and Strategic Human Resource Management. University of Edinburgh publications, p.1-49.Cappelli, P. (1999). Employment Practices and Business Strategy. Oxfford, ew York Oxford University Press.General Motors Corporation. (2008). Restructuring Plan for Long-Term Viability Submitted to Senate Banking Committee & House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. Detroit General Motors Corporation.Rouse ,D. (2000). Manufacturing SdvantageWhy High Performance Work Systems Pay off. Journal of Team Performance Management, vol 96(5) , p.1420.Dreher, G., & Dougherty,T. (2002). Human resource strategy A behavioral perspective for the general manager. capital of Massachusetts McGraw-Hill/Irw in.Gustin, L. R. (2008). Billy Durant Creator of General Motors. Ann Arbor. Michigan University of Michigan Press.Konrad, A. M. (2006). Engaging Employees by High-Involvement Work Practices. IVEY Business Journal , n.p.From