Case Study

Honeymoon interrupted: Mary Barra, CEO, GM (B)

5 pages
June 2014
Reference: IMD-7-1566

It had been two months since Mary Barra had faced two days of questioning in both the US Senate and House of Representatives. After a no-holds-barred investigation by Anton Valukas of Jenner & Block, the report into the ignition switch fault at GM was made public. It made grim reading – showing a company with a deeply troubled culture, including rigid silos, lack of accountability, and skewed priorities. Based on the report, Barra announces firings and other measures.

Learning Objective

1) To illustrate the challenges facing a newly-appointed CEO facing a major crisis. 2) To highlight how a company’s culture can distort organizational decision-making and contribute to a major safety failure costing lives. 3) To explore the extent to which the failure was a “predictable surprise” and how it might have been avoided. 4) To discuss how to approach changing a “toxic” culture in a large and complex organization.

Keywords
Leadership, Transition, Chief Executive Officer, Succession
Settings
Northern America, United States of America
General Motors, Automotive, Automobiles
April to June 2014
Type
Published Sources
Copyright
© 2014
Available Languages
English
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This case study is part of a series
  • Honeymoon interrupted: Mary Barra, CEO, GM (A)
  • Honeymoon interrupted: Mary Barra, CEO, GM (B)
  • Honeymoon interrupted: Mary Barra, CEO, GM (C)
This case study is part of a series
  • Honeymoon interrupted: Mary Barra, CEO, GM (A)
  • Honeymoon interrupted: Mary Barra, CEO, GM (B)
  • Honeymoon interrupted: Mary Barra, CEO, GM (C)
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Honeymoon interrupted: Mary Barra, CEO, GM (A)
By Michael D. Watkins and Lisa Simone Duke
Case reference: IMD-7-1565 ©2014
Summary
In early 2014, General Motors (GM) was hit with a crisis of immense magnitude. The company’s new CEO Mary Barra had been in post for just 11 weeks ...
Reference IMD-7-1565
Copyright ©2014
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Organization General Motors
Industry Automotive, Automobiles
Available Languages English
Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Honeymoon interrupted: Mary Barra, CEO, GM (B)
By Michael D. Watkins and Lisa Simone Duke
Case reference: IMD-7-1566 ©2014
Summary
It had been two months since Mary Barra had faced two days of questioning in both the US Senate and House of Representatives. After a no-holds-barr...
Reference IMD-7-1566
Copyright ©2014
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Organization General Motors
Industry Automotive, Automobiles
Available Languages English
Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

Honeymoon interrupted: Mary Barra, CEO, GM (C)
By Michael D. Watkins and Lisa Simone Duke
Case reference: IMD-7-1740 ©2015
Summary
More than a year had passed since Anton Valukas of the law firm Jenner & Block had published his report on the General Motors ignition switch scand...
Reference IMD-7-1740
Copyright ©2015
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Organization General Motors
Industry Automotive;Automotive, Automobiles
Available Languages English
Contact

Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications