Daniel T. Jones

Developing countries and the future of the automobile industry

Abstract This paper reassesses the controversial view which has assumed that, at some point in the future, the global automobile industry, having reached maturity, would naturally migrate to the leading developing countries where the markets are growing more rapidly and wages are substantially lower. The authors argue that the threshold facing a developing country seeking to establish a domestic automobile industry has risen because of two recent developments: the rise of Japan as a major automobile producer; and a new wave of technological and organizational innovation. This involves use of state-of-the-art microelectronics and flexible manufacturing system, as well as complete restructing of component supply resulting in considerable unit cost and lead-time advantages. The authors look at what these trends mean for both the OECD and the developing countries. They outline the conventional view in more detail and then present an alternative analysis of the evolution of the industry. New policy options for the developing countries are spotlighted.

Phase 1: Process Concept Evolution

Business processes consist of nucleus tasks and activities that are connected with each other and are categorized and grouped. High-level business processes occur in a far more abstract context, as they are, usually, utilized to illustrate how a business carries out many different sets of operations. The entire marketing department of a large corporation, for example, can be described as a process group, although it depends entirely on the process structure of each individual organization. A business process can also consist of minor activities within the business process itself, and in such a case, these minor activities are called subprocesses. One ought to view the processes in the big picture first (captured in the process map) since a business process can trigger many tasks and subprocesses but also initiate other processes. In that way, you often see a connection between the different processes (both the value-adding processes and the non-value-adding processes) that are involved in the servicing of a client. Business processes are often illustrated by different readable business process diagrams—for example through the use of Business Process Modeling Notation diagrams. Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is a standardized, visual (graphical) modeling representation used to illustrate business process flows. It provides an easy to use, flow-charting notation that is independent of the implementation environment. Business processes are presently used to illustrate, document, and shape the way an organization carries out its business operations across all organizational levels, i.e., both the strategic, tactical, and operational business levels.