Fiat is a manufacturer and a seller of the common Fiat brand vehicles based in Italy and with many sales branches around the world. It has been successful for many years in the production of its vehicles and has made a lot of returns from that. However, the company has faced a lot of challenges, especially the effects of the global financial crisis, factors that have caused it to undergo a recession and a great fall in its business resulting to very low returns. On the other hand, the company has undergone a lot of pressure from its competitors in Italy and also other car manufacturers from prominent countries like Germany and Japan and this has resulted to a lowered competitive advantage. All these factors have contributed to what has been referred in the vehicle business world as the fall of Fiat. In addition, the company suffered a lot of Continue reading
Management Case Studies
Management case studies are real-life examples of issues and problems found in particular workplaces or business organisations. Case study assignments give the opportunity to relate theoretical concepts to practical situations. Most case studies are written in such a way that the reader takes the place of the manager whose responsibility is to make decisions to help solve the problem. In almost all case studies, a decision must be made, although that decision might be to leave the situation as it is and do nothing.
Case Study of FIAT: Deployment of Robotics in Manufacturing
Fiat was among the first companies to adopt a Post-Fordist system in production after its recovery from the 1970 oil crisis. The large-scale deployment of robotics in the production process of Fiat Company was the most significant move to cope with increased competition and demand. In 1972, the company initiated the adoption of FMS so that it could shift to flexible production methods from the Fordistic inflexible mass production systems. The move was considered as the first step towards discontinuity in management and organization involving the shift in planned goals and replacements of procedures supporting operations supervision. The Robogate technology was developed in-house by Fiat Company and used to create flexibility with enhanced product-mix flexibility. Product-mix flexibility is the conferred ability of an organization to produce different products sequentially using the same lines of production. As indicated, the shift from Fordist mass production systems enables a company to reduce tool specificity Continue reading
Case Study: The Story Behind the Olympus Scandal
In the 1980s, several Japanese corporations experienced financial challenges as they depended on investments to boost their declining profits. One of the main reasons was that the country’s export had been damaged by the strength of its currency against other currencies, especially the US Dollar. Olympus became one of the number one victims of Japan’s economic situation. Because the company was struggling with its business operations, it decided to use a Japanese concept known as zaitech, which refers to financial engineering in salvaging the situation. Consequently, the company decided to invest in risky businesses and financial derivatives in order to boost its profits. Nevertheless, the business ventures caused huge losses of about 2.1 billion Yen in the early 1990s. It is during that time when the management of the Olympus devised ways of concealing the huge losses from the published financial reports. Although it has been able to hide the Continue reading
Case Study: The Downfall of Nissan’s Carlos Ghosn
Financial dishonesty and misconduct pose significant threats to any business. Carlos Ghosn, an influential top manager and ex-CEO of Nissan, was arrested because of financial misconduct in Japan in 2018. The scandalous news led to a panic on the stock exchange, and Nissan’s shares crashed rapidly, which also affected other automobile companies. Today, the company prepares for difficult times and reputational losses, which can no longer be avoided, even if the most serious accusations are not confirmed. Currently, Ghosn has already been interrogated by the police, and an investigation against him is underway. The 64-year-old top manager was accused of financial misbehavior, using his position. To do this, he deliberately distorted the data on the amount of his remuneration, which he received from the Alliance brands, such as Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi. Ghosn was also criticized that for 20 years of working with the Alliance, he received almost unlimited power, Continue reading
Case Study: Analysis of Daimler-Chrysler Merger
The merger between Daimler and Chrysler was designed to create a complex multinational automobile manufacturer with a market worth of more than $130 billion. The merger was supposed to ring paradigm shifts in the way that cars would be made and driven. But unfortunately, the great upheavals and changes that were predicted did not happen and the merger sunk into a morass of cultural mismatch. Synergies between Daimler, a German company, and Chrysler, an American company could not develop. For the merger to be successful, a climate of mutual trust, learning, creativity common values, and ethics needs to be developed first. When two companies merge, there needs to be a balanced change management policy where both parties are given their due right and encouraged to exchange ideas for mutual growth. Daimler tried to ramrod its policies on the resilient Americans who resisted and this resulted in a war of attrition in Continue reading
Case Study of Disneyland: An Intermediary Between Diverse Cultures
Since the first of the Disney parks was founded in 1955 in Anaheim, California, Disneyland theme parks have often been referred to as the “happiest places on earth.” Disneyland’s are recognized worldwide for their joy-filled rides, playful atmosphere, and other amusement features. Various studies have shown that Disneyland has created multicultural amusement zones where people from diverse geographic and cultural backgrounds enjoy escapism and fairy-tale life. This description makes Disneyland an intermediary between cultures. Culture can be seen as shared beliefs, customs, values, behavioral patterns, and cognitive constructs among people belonging to a particular group. It defines the characteristics and knowledge of unique groups of people in aspects such as language, socialism, religion, cuisine, art, and more. While culture presents diverse characteristics among people of different origins, conscience plays a significant role in binding them within a larger society, allowing them to share unique experiences, beliefs, attitudes, values, spatial relations, Continue reading