Alfred P. Sloan

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Alfred P. Sloan (1937)
Sloan on the cover of Time Magazine on December 27, 1926

Alfred Pritchard Sloan junior (born May 23, 1875 in New Haven , Connecticut , † February 27, 1966 ) was President of General Motors from 1923 to 1937 .

He created the car hierarchy of General Motors (GM), in which the customer could enter “below” in terms of branding and finally “work up” over the years to the top, in this case Cadillac : This created a platform system Differentiated car brands created in which every customer could find an offer. Today, with the exception of niche manufacturers, all automotive companies operate in a similar manner. In addition, Sloan is still considered the inventor of planned obsolescence . In the 1920s, in his role as GM President, he introduced annual configuration changes and changes to automobiles, thereby encouraging customers to buy new ones early even though their vehicles were still fully functional. While still alive, he was committed to science and research, created the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and initiated the Sloan Fellows Program.

Life

He studied electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , where he graduated in 1895.

After completing his studies, he worked for the bearing manufacturer Hyatt Roller Bearing , where he rose to become president. In 1916 Hyatt was combined with other automotive suppliers to form United Motors , of which he was also President. When United Motors was bought by General Motors in 1918 , Sloan was given the position of vice president. In 1923 he was elected President of General Motors to succeed Pierre S. du Pont . He held this position until 1946. In 1937 he was also elected Chairman of the Board. In 1956 he finally retired.

Sloan's advancement of the Taylor approach

Sloan's observation was that the larger the company, the more difficult and extensive the coordination becomes with the ergonomic approach ( Taylorism ). Sloan responded by:

  • Creation of decentralized corporate divisions, which were managed by the top management through key figure control.
  • Divisionalization of the complex car production into several car brands ( Chevrolet , Oakland / Pontiac , Buick , Oldsmobile , Cadillac , GMC ). This made the company clearer and production control easier.
  • Division of labor also at management level. This created specialist departments with a focus, for example, on technology, finance or the sales market.

membership

In 1948 Sloan was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

See also

literature

  • Alfred P. Sloan: My Years with General Motors . Doubleday, New York 1990, ISBN 0-385-04235-3 (reprinted from Garden City, NY 1972; autobiography)
  • John McDonald: A ghosts memoir. The making of Alfred P. Sloan's "My Years with General Motors" . MIT-Press, Cambridge, Mass. 2002, ISBN 0-262-13410-1 .

Web links

Commons : Alfred Pritchard Sloan, Jr.  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dr. Hans-Arthur Marsiske: Hidden expiration date. In: C't , June 30, 2012.
  2. ↑ Cosima Dannoritzer : Buy for the garbage dump , 2010 (Documentary, Online ( Memento from November 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ))
  3. ↑ a b c d David J. Wilkie: GM's Sloan Still Going Strong At 80 In: St. Petersburg Times via Google , May 22, 1955 (English, JPG ).
  4. ^ Members of the American Academy. In: amacad.org (English).
personal data
SURNAME Sloan, Alfred P.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Sloan, Alfred Pritchard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION President of General Motors
DATE OF BIRTH May 23, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH New Haven , Connecticut
DATE OF DEATH February 27, 1966