Taking a Look Into the Past…
The previous class discussions regarding the automobile industry has been my inspiration for my first ever Comm 101 blog post! After viewing this short trailer of, Roger & Me, by Michael Moore, I began to look into the business ethics involved in General Motors Company’s laying off 30,000 employees. (60,000 as of 2005; 80,000 to date USA today)
At the time of the documentary, 30,000 people were left without a job. This caused a huge economic disaster within the city. Many families were left without an income, and were forced into poverty. GMC’s decision to lay off this large amount of people is correlated towards business ethics. Roger B. Smith, GMC’s chairman, is the antagonist of the film, and was a key factor in leaving people without a job. The competition of Japanese manufacturers such as Honda and Toyota took a toll on GMC. (link) They failed to distinguish the important factors within their own SWOT, and allowed for an international company to take a share in the automobile market. I feel that GMC has failed to provide stability for their employees and laying off as many employees, leaving them without any source of income, was an unethical approach in solving their problems.