General Motors Co. (GM) is replacing its president after a year. GM sells the most vehicles in China than in any other country. I thought this looked like an interesting article because of the book we read about General Motors in China. We learned about the partnerships that are needed between foreign companies and Chinese cities. The difference between the old president and the new president is he will have to report directly to the Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson instead of the China chairman Tim Lee. This is a different hierarchy than what most foreign companies face whilst doing business in China.
Because of the vast section that the China market is, GM reorganized its overseas businesses to separate China. It is also going to change its headquarters to Shanghai. The president’s job is to integrate the China strategy and help work closely with those that undertake the day-to-day operations.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-29/gm-replacing-china-president-as-socia-retires-after-one-year.html
The level of importance that growth markets hold to large multinational companies’ future growth is enormous and has become a consistent theme. As a result, most companies are actively trying to look for ways to heighten their focus and overall exposure to the large growth markets. GM has consistently capitalized on its exposure to the Chinese market and will continue to look for new ways to enhance its market share and profitability within the country. A similar story is with Yum! Brands Inc. The firm recently announced that it will separate its international business into one business division excluding both China and India, which it will make a separate operating segment out of. The critical importance of a firm’s ability to expose itself in the most adept ways to the massive populations of China and India reiterate the consistent theme among multinationals
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20131120-712361.html