Mercedes

Mercedes in the New Millennium

Questions:

1. DaimlerChrysler’s chairman characterizes the company as a developing transnational global organization. Do you agree, or would you describe thecompany differently? Explain how you view the corporation.
I agree with DaimlerChrysler’s chairman, Jurgen E. Schreemp, because the company was created as a merged between Daimler-Benz and ChryslerCorporation. Then the company called DaimlerChrysler maintained joint corporative offices in Michigan and Stuttgart, with the regional executive groups in Japan and India, and a global communication centerin Ireland. In addition they have launched an educational project and a culture exchanged sponsorships in which teenager from U.S. and German can participate. Now the project has extended to thecompany’s South American and Asian operations. DaimlerChrysler’s chairman also said that industries and services are entering an era of regionalism; markets, alliances, capital movement, and socialsystems; that’s why managers must learn to be global citizens and honor their cultural identities.

2. How would you explain the rationale by which Mercedes Benz is locating assembly plants and activitiesto places such as Mexico, Brazil, and India? What advantages does the company have in these facilities?
I think that Mercedes understood that, completion for resources and markets is intensifying asmore and more corporations scour the world for lower-cost areas in which to relocate production and for the opportunity to network optimal cross-border systems. To keep up with fast-paced globaleconomic change business leaders must benchmark their operations against the best in the world, in efficiency, quality, and in financial performance. That’s why it is an advantage to place plants andactivities in Mexico, Brazil and India.

3. Why would Mercedes invest in a major new U.S. manufacturing facility for a top-line automobile? What problems would you anticipate when the firms brings...