John Delorean
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John DeLorean
Background:
John DeLorean was a divorced, health nut, and dated younger actresses and models in the corporate scene at GM, which did not sit well with the corporate executives or their wives either. He had ear length hair, with sideburns, a style that can generally be stereotyped with hippies.
DeLorean was dedicated to his job and he did it very well. He was told by his boss, during his term at Chevrolet, that he ran his division as well as anyone, and kept his boss informed of the important things.
Although DeLorean was a good manager, his lifestyle did not fit the corporate image of no personality could outshine General Motors. His clothing and lifestyle were rattling the cages of his superiors, as was the amount of publicity his personal and business lives were generating.
Strengths:
DeLorean was a good manager in a corporate structure. This is evidenced by his immediate superiors, Tom Murphys, praise of him for running his division. DeLorean must have been getting a lot out of his employees that worked under him to have a high production output and had to have kept morale high in order to maintain that kind of production.
DeLorean also kept Tom Murphy informed of important matters. Murphy also went on to say that he knows what DeLorean is doing, and that he runs his division better than anyone else.
DeLorean also did not fit the prototypical gray three piece suit, neat and clean haircut corporate image that most upper management follows. This can make it easier for employees that work under him to relate to him. Instead of having an authoritative figure telling them what to do, they have someone with a softer image which employees can relate too. Employees would rather take suggestions from someone they perceive as just like them, than orders from an arrogant business like boss.
Weaknesses:
DeLoreans main downfalls were his pride and arrogance, as he stated himself in his autobiography. At GM he would often have confrontations with older executives often on principles that are difficult for the executives to attack politically, for example minority hiring. So the executives would reluctantly support his positions, which he later adds, could be seen as a form of taunting.
DeLorean