General Motors and the Ignition Switch

In addition it is also worth noting that the company also faced legal action concerning claims that its vehicles had faulty ignition switches that failed to meet the required specifications. Inherently the whole matter associated with the ignition switches leading to the loss of lives of the firm’s customers as well as the destruction of their vehicles which in this case represents their investment. Therefore it is from this perspective that the paper seeks to provide an insight into the role played by the various stakeholders such as the government regulators, General Motors administration, and the board of directors as well as the engineers in dealing with the faulty ignition switches. The paper focuses on the subject matter by looking into the possible solutions that could have been incorporated to deal with the current threat at hand.

Inherently it is worth noting that Beech, Lienert and Cowan (2014) argued that the company noted that most of the ignition switches that had been into the market were not as per the recommended standards. The engineers even with the knowledge at hand did not try to fix the vehicles regardless of the fact that people had raised numerous complaints concerning the poor road worth of the the small cars. In addition a congressional committee revealed the information during a hearing in which General Motors was being blamed for the loss of lives of people. The engineers in this case act as one of the primary stakeholders that are concerned with the performance of the company. Nevertheless very few engineers exert primary ownership of the general motors’ company.

Inherently the other stakeholder by the virtue of being a supplier is the Delphi Automotive industry. It is because the customers had already made it known to the company that their vehicles were faulty especially since the airbags could not function when the vehicles got involved in accidents. Wallace (2014) argues that the other individuals that must have been aware of the problem at hand were the managers. It is because one notes that when the ignition switch could stop when a car was in motion cutting power to the breaks and the airbags the deaths reported ought to have reached the individuals in the top position. Therefore the problem rests with the managers as they did not act immediately rather they waited until the problem had escalated for them to recall more than two million vehicles.

It illustrates that the management was slow as far as responding as well as communicating the issue to its clients was concerned. If you were the CEO of General Motors, what changes would you implement to avoid similar problems from arising in the future? Of the various options you mentioned, which do you think is most likely to be effective, and why? If I were the CEO of General Motors I would have to consider coming up with mechanisms that are not only efficient but also would anticipate and handle crises in a timely manner. In this respect Wallace (2014) points out that the reorganization of the entire engineering department involved in the design as well as vehicle assembly would be the first step.

It is because the engineers already knew that the company’s vehicles had defects and would result in the loss of lives. In addition I would also restructure the board of directors within the organization’s administrative structure. According to Valukas (2014) the board of directors must have been the one that pressured the incorporation of the policy associated with the reduction in the short term costs in vehicle production. What actions if any, do you recommend that policymakers and regulators take to avoid similar problems from arising in the future? The integration of policies to deal with the issue concerning faulty ignition switches is the first step in ensuring that firms that do not comply with the regulations face the force of the law.

In this respect NHTSA (2013, p. 12) implores that the integration of policy associated with issuing of a certificate of compliance is the first step that can thwart the release of faulty cars into the market. In this respect the certificate of compliance will prevent future manifestation of faulty systems such as the one experienced by General Motors. For example the compliance certification can only be given when thorough tests have been conducted on the vehicles before they have been released into the market. Nevertheless the issue at hand concerning the faulty ignition switches is an eye opener not only for the company but also for the other stakeholders such as the consumers, the government, as well as the owners to put into consideration compliance to standards before releasing vehicles to the public.