The period of the seventies was characterized by occurence of oil crises that defined the entire decade of economic development across the U.S. The theoretical section of the work is devoted to macroeconomic consequences of the increased oil prices and brings the idea of economic theory, which considers the oil shocks as a part of wider economic problems in the mentioned period. Analytical part examines the impact of increased oil prices on the concrete industry. It describes performance indicators of automobile producers in the U.S., sketch the entry of new competitors in the U.S. auto market and following gradual loss of dominance of domestic brands. Work further analyzes the consumer behaviour in terms of preferences of new model products and the usage of personal vehicles. In conclusion, the given legislative measures its impact on the development of car culture in the U.S. Synthesis of statistics on industry, regulatory and economic papers provides opinion, that even though the opportunity for change in the automotive industry due to the oil shocks of the seventies occurred, in the long term remain unused which lost the chance to eliminate the potential risk of future oil crisis in the american automotive sector.

The main goal of this thesis -- "Market Analysis of Škoda Auto in China" is to analyze Škoda Auto Group in The People's Republic of China. Enjoying more than 100 years of history, Škoda Auto, based in Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic, is one of the world's oldest automobile manufacturer and is a part of Volkswagen Group -- one of the world's largest auto concerns. Škoda Auto is a global brand presented in all major markets including emerging markets of Russia, India and most importantly China. Even though Škoda Auto has entered the Chinese automotive market very recently -- in 2007 with Octavia - in the first half of 2011 sold there 112 000 vehicles. Moreover, since 2010 Chinese market is the largest one for Škoda Auto followed by German and Czech markets. This thesis analyzes Škoda Auto in China as well as describes the main differences in model lines from European versions.

The goal of this diploma thesis is an analysis of the Czech automotive industry perspective which is influenced by trends of globalization. There are mentioned three viewpoints (economic, political and social) of the globalization trends in the first chapter. The indicators of global competition indices are also included here. The second chapter is focused on the Czech automotive industry itself. There are analysed the Czech automotive production, a condition of the car fleet and main export markets. The chapter number three is aimed at european (EU) viewpoint. The main terms are an automotive production, direct and indirect employment and comparison of car fleets among the EU member states. The fourth chapter is focused on a widest global viewpoint. There is an analysis of the world biggest automotive producers, main export and import markets and the car fleet in chosen world economies. The conlusion includes three schemes for the future development of the Czech automotive industry. The author tends to the middle one, which is characteristic by a moderate growth in the Czech automotive production. But this growth won't be enough to keep the present position in the world, because of the much bigger and booming developing countries especially in Asia. The main export markets of the Czech producers will be more presented by Asian fast growing economies (e.g. member states of BRIC). The Czech car fleet could a bit improve in next few years, that means a mild growing number of cars and a decrease in an average age of cars.

Este estudo propõe um método de avaliação de desempenho de práticas típicas da produção enxuta em indústrias de manufatura. As práticas utilizadas no método proposto são práticas enxutas operacionais (por exemplo, gerenciamento visual e troca rápida de ferramentas), diferentemente de estudos anteriores que focavam principalmente em práticas enxutas gerenciais. O método foi desenvolvido e testado em um estudo de caso realizado em uma empresa fabricante de juntas homocinéticas. Essa empresa vem adotando a produção enxuta (PE) como estratégia de produção em nível corporativo desde 2002. O método é composto de oito etapas: (a) uma avaliação da sua aplicabilidade, a qual implica em verificar se os objetivos das estratégias de manufatura podem ser atingidos através da produção enxuta; (b) uma avaliação preliminar do quanto a cultura organizacional é consistente com os princípios da produção enxuta – essa avaliação é feita através da aplicação de um checklist baseado em requisitos estabelecidos pelas Normas SAE J4000 e J4001; (c) entrevistas com gerentes para verificar suas percepções sobre os pontos fortes e fracos na implementação da produção enxuta – nesse estudo de caso, sete gerentes foram entrevistados: (d) aplicação de um checklist para avaliar o desempenho de um grupo de práticas enxutas, baseado na percepção de gerentes – nesse estudo de caso, sete gerentes preencheram o checklist e a média de desempenho de cada prática enxuta foi calculada; (e) o desenvolvimento de um ranking para avaliar a importância de práticas enxutas, baseadas na percepção de alguns gerentes envolvidos na etapa anterior; (f) seleção de indicadores de desempenho que possam quantificar indiretamente o desempenho de práticas enxutas, considerando os indicadores utilizados na empresa e indicadores utilizados em estudos anteriores; (g) coleta de dados referentes aos indicadores selecionados na etapa anterior ; (h) seminário para discutir os resultados coletados em todas as etapas anteriores. Os passos (g) e (h) não foram aplicados nesse estudo de caso. De forma geral, os resultados demonstraram que práticas enxutas fortemente associadas com a estabilidade básica, tais como a padronização, apresentaram desempenho fraco. / This study presents a method for assessing the performance of typical lean production practices in manufacturing industry. The practices encompassed by the proposed method are related to operational lean practices (e.g. visual management and single minute exchange of dies and tools), differently from previous similar studies that focused mostly on managerial lean practices. The method was developed and tested in a case study undertaken in a manufacturer of automobile axiles. This company has been adopting lean production as its manufacturing strategy since 2002. The method involves eight stages: (a) an assessment of its applicability, which implies checking whether the manufacturing strategy targets might be achieved through lean production; (b) a preliminary assessment of the extent to which the organizational culture is consistent with lean production principles – this assessment is made through the application of a check-list based on the requirements established by SAE J4000 and J4001 standards; (c) interviews with managers to identify their perceptions on strenghts and weaknesses of lean production implementation – in the case study, seven managers were interviewed; (d) application of a check-list to assess the performance of a set of lean practices based on managers perceptions – in the case study, seven managers filled out the check-list and an average degree of performance for each lean practice was then calculated; (e) the development of a ranking to assess the importance of lean practices, based on the perceptions of some of the same managers involved in the previous stages; (f) selection of performance indicators that could indirectly quantify the performance of lean practices, considering both the existing indicators in the company and existing indicators proposed in previous studies; (g) data gathering concerning results of the selected indicators; (h) a seminar to discuss the data collected during all the previous stages. Stages (g) and (h) were not carried out in the case study. Overall, the results pointed out that lean practices that are closely associated with basic stability, such as standardization, performed poorly.

O processo de desenvolvimento de produto (PDP) é reconhecido por influenciar diretamente a competitividade das empresas. O sucesso do desenvolvimento pode contribuir, entre outros resultados, no aumento da participação de mercado, conquista de novos clientes, redução de custos e melhora da qualidade. O PDP realizado entre montadora de veículos e fornecedor requer atenção especial no que diz respeito à gestão do processo e à interação entre as empresas. Isso porque, em muitos casos, fornecedores detêm o conhecimento tecnológico do produto e processo de produção do mesmo e a montadora detém o conhecimento das necessidades de performance do projeto. Dentro destas duas instituições, montadora e fornecedor, ocorre um movimento que envolve competências, responsabilidades e a atuação de diversas áreas funcionais. Todo este processo requer integração, comunicação e estrutura, para que possa ocorrer de maneira organizada. Montadoras americanas desenvolveram uma metodologia que busca suprir algumas das necessidades de integração no PDP, o Planejamento Avançado da Qualidade do Produto (APQP). O objetivo deste trabalho é discutir esta metodologia, identificando condições em que o APQP contribui para a gestão do processo de desenvolvimento do produto. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido por meio de estudos de casos da indústria automotiva, entre os quais dois estudos com maior profundidade. Em um segundo momento, foi pesquisado um grupo maior, de 20 fornecedores de um mesmo projeto, para avaliar se as conclusões obtidas nos dois casos mais aprofundados eram representativas para um grupo amplo. Nos casos estudados, foi possível identificar que atrasos por parte da montadora dificultam a gestão do processo. O fornecedor, ao trabalhar próximo do cliente, obtém informações que possibilitam administrar atrasos e prazos comprimidos, muitas vezes antecipando-se a formalizações da montadora. Isso tem custos adicionais, mas revela que o APQP pode contribuir positivamente na interação, fornecendo subsídios para um alinhamento constante. Porém, não impede que falhas internas na montadora sejam evitadas. / The product development process (PDP) is recognized for having direct influence on companys competitiveness. The success of PDP can influence other objectives, some of them: market share increasing, new customers, cost reduction and quality improvement. The OEMs (Original Equipments Manufactures) and automotive parts manufacturers PDP require special attention on the process management and interaction between the companies. These because, in many cases, suppliers hold the technical knowledge of the product and production process and the OEMs hold the requirements and project performance knowledge. Inside those companies, OEMs and auto parts suppliers there is a process which involves competencies, responsibilities and work from several functional areas. The success of those projects requires integration, communication and a well organized structure to make it happen on an organized way. Auto makers have developed a methodology to supply some integration requirements between the players on the PDP and the Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP). The objective of this paper is to discuss the methodology, indentifying conditions which will contribute for new product development management. This paper was developed on case studies from automotive industry. First, two deep studies cases was made. In a second moment, a more extensive study was done with 20 suppliers of the same project, to evaluate if the conclusion on the primary study were representatives into a large group. On the two moments, it was possible to indentify that delays on car manufacturer make more difficult to manage the process. However, the supplier can work closely to client and make possible to have an easier communication process. This communication enables to track the delays and deadlines, and sometimes work in advanced. This have additional costs, but shows that the APQP can contribute on the interaction, giving assistance for supplies have a constant alignment, on the other hand cannot guarantee to avoid errors and internal failures on the car makers.

For the first time in history, 5 generations are working side by side, creating a challenge concerning training, developing, and managing a multigenerational workforce. More people are working into their later years, and the U.S. labor force participation rate of individuals age 55 and older is projected to increase from 22.4% to 24.8% by 2026. The purpose of this single case study was to explore training strategies managers used to improve multigenerational employee productivity. The sample population included 6 managers of an automotive company in the Great Lakes area of the United States who had knowledge and experience supervising multigenerational workers. Human capital theory was the conceptual framework used to ground the study. Data were collected from semistructured face-to-face interviews, company documents, and website pages. Data analysis included coding to identify themes and member checking to ensure validity. The 2 main themes were collaborative training methods and mentoring programs; the 2 subthemes were advancement and promotion, and retention of employees. Findings of this study may be used to support older employees working longer than traditional retirement age, which might benefit society with increased economic productivity through decreased costs of retirement benefits, healthier living, and greater longevity.

<p>Functionality in the automotive industry is becoming more complex, withcomplex communication networks between control systems. Information isshared among many control systems and extensive testing ensures high quality.</p><p>Degradations testing, that has the objective to test functionality with some faultpresent, is performed on single control systems, but is not frequently performed on the entire electrical system. There is a wish for testing degradation automatically on the complete electrical system in a so called Hardware-In-the-Loop laboratory.</p><p>A technique is needed to perform these tests on a regular basis.Problems with testing degradation in complex communication systems will bedescribed. Methods and solutions to tackle these problems are suggested, thatfinally end up with two independent test strategies. One strategy is suited to test degradation on new functionality. The other strategy is to investigate effects in the entire electrical system. Both strategies have been implemented in a Hardware-In-the-Loop laboratory and evaluated.</p>

Over the past two decades, the open-door of the market supply in China has had a massive impact on the automotive market. This development contributes to the globalization of the automobile industry that involved the integration of the Chinese domestic market into the international markets. Among many reasons, motivation to gain access to industrialized markets and to gain access to superior technology, management resources and knowledge are the most driving factors of the Chinese automotive industry for the internationalization and going abroad strategy of China´s automotive industry. This study investigated whether different external globalization drivers and internal organization factors have differential effects on various dimensions of China´s automakers firms’ global strategy. Most of the studies written about global strategies have implemented only either of the internal or the external drivers of the internationalization of the firms. The contribution of the paper introduces a more comprehensive model on the global expansion of a firm. This paper concludes that China´s automotive industry has some competitive advantages such as low cost, while, facing a number of challenges that hinder the internationalization of Chinese automobile companies. It also shows that multiple factors play an important role in firms' internationalization global strategy plan. It is thus essential that the interaction among independent variables is considered in the determination of global expansion strategy. This paper suggests that in comparative application of China´s economy of internationalization process to most of other industries in the emerging markets, they have similar development strategies and profiles due to the similar enterprise organizational mode and industrial environment. Therefore, most of the factors discussed in this paper can also apply to many industries in other emerging markets that are seeking for internationalization by creating a competitive global expansion strategy.

The car exhibition in Beijing in 2006, many multinational companies design car style for the Chinese customers. Why would the multinational company yield in the Chinese market? Why the multinational companies just enter the Chinese market after China joins the world trade organization? How the Chinese government manages these multinational automobile companies in China? How does the Chinese government draft the competition strategy of the automobile industry? What influence the multinational company will cause to the automotive industry of China? The conclusion of this paper is the multinational companies strengthen the control to the joint venture in the ownership, organization and the technique transfer. Chinese government uses protectionism; prop up the large automobile enterprise.

The purposes of this thesis are probing into the joint venture of China¡¦s automobile industry, because I am studying on why the development of China¡¦s automobile industry is many differences. The result of the research can help me to understand the transition in Chinese automobile industry from 1994 to 2004 and can the joint-venture policy give Chinese automobile industry any help. And then how Chinese automobile industry utilize opportunities and avoid threat by inference. No matter Taiwan, China or the western scholar analyse Chinese automobile industry by one side. Hence, this research will analyse the relationships among supply, demand and government policy in the joint-venture policy of the Chinese automobile industry. In the meanwhile, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages that the joint-venture policy brought with the role of China, and then find the reason the obstacle takes place in the development of Chinese automobile industry. The conclusion of this paper is because of the central government¡¦s and local governments¡¦ goals are inconsistent, let multinational enterprise break up Chinese motor corporation one by one in the negotiation of cooperation. This is the reason that Chinese automobile industry and market preferrence are inconsistent now.