Tuesday, August 9, 2005

Good Thinking

I just read that General Motors is doing quite well in China. In fact, they are the leading manufacturer! Their most profitable vehicle? A minivan that gets 43 mpg and sells for $5,000. This vehicle propelled them to first place in sales as they swept past all of the other manufacturers. But, to clarify…this is a joint venture of G.M. and Wuling. G.M. has a separate division in China that makes large cars and surprise! They aren’t doing so well. And the man responsible for the success of the G.M./Wuling enterprise, Mr. Philip Murtaugh has now departed from China.

Here’s what the Times had to say… “In what may be a telling sign of the corporate culture at G.M., Mr. Murtaugh's success in China led not to promotion but to his departure from the company. G.M. declined to discuss personnel matters, but both it and Mr. Murtaugh said he resigned and was not dismissed.

A soft-spoken man in a company known for autocratic leaders, Mr. Murtaugh ran the China operations for more than nine years from his base in Shanghai, repeatedly making some of the best calls in the industry. Now he finds himself unemployed and living in a small community in rural Kentucky.

His resignation in March, at the age of 49, came shortly after senior company executives’ reorganized management to give more power to Detroit executives to oversee design, engineering and various manufacturing disciplines all over the world, including operations in China.”


Wouldn't you think...that they would look at what succeeds when making decisions?

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