Fear and excitement: the price of change at General Motors

Article Abstract:

Roger B. Smith, CEO of General Motors Corp., has won the admiration of automobile industry executives and analysts with his understated but effective management style, in contrast to the more noticeable style of his counterpart at Chrysler Corp. across town, Lee Iacocca. At the opening of the new headquarters for Saturn Corp., GM's experiment in the future, Smith exhorts the new firm's employees to reach for the stars, and while his style is lackluster, his message is clear. Smith has implemented considerable changes in the management and planning structures in place at the giant automobile manufacturer in his five years in the top spot, many of which are described. GM's plans for the future and how Smith has helped shape and implement these plans are described.

Motor vehicles and car bodies, Automobile industry, Executives, Business planning, management, Smith, Roger B. (American automotive executive)

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Why this 'obsolete' company is 'a great place to work'

Article Abstract:

Lincoln Electric Co. is an anomoly when its management techniques are compared with those of other firms in the industry: its workers are paid by the piece, its executive offices are as gray and plain as its factories, and it continues to operate in Cleveland, Ohio, the middle of what is now referred to as 'the Rust Belt' of the U.S. Still, the company has managed to keep its workers happy by implementing a series of incentive programs that require more time and effort from top management than most firms are willing to invest, according to the company's vice president for international operations, William I. Miskoe. The employee incentive programs in place at the firm and the benefits these programs and other Lincoln policies have produced are described.

ELECTRONIC & OTHER ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT, Methods, Electrical equipment and supplies industry, Electric equipment industry, Employee motivation, Miskoe, William I.

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Artificial intelligence: the race to make it work for managers

Article Abstract:

Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to deliver a true thinking machine, perhaps not in the human sense but in the sense that the machine can learn and make complex relations between objects. In the future, artificial intelligence is expected to make many skilled jobs obsolete, just as the previous generation of computers made bookkeepers obsolete, and this trend will have a significant effect on managers who will be forced to deal with the technology. Before this can happen, however, a new generation of computer systems will be required, one with substantially more memory, faster processing speeds, and more efficient voice synthesis and recognition capabilities. The ramifications of AI for managers and recent developments in AI research are described.

Usage, Technological innovations, Artificial intelligence, Expert systems

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