Strategic Plan for the Indiana Automotive Industry Coursework

Introduction

The U.S. boasts of some of the largest automotive industries in the world. There are many factors that support the consumption of products from the automotive industry. One of these factors is the large population in the country (Cooney & Yacobucci, 2006). The state of Indiana can be regarded as the leading in assembling vehicles within the U.S. The state has a long history of auto-manufacturing. The industry has several companies that have been working in the industry (Thompson & Merchant, 2012).

A strategic plan is required to enhance productivity in the industry. This will lead to economic growth and development of the industry. It will also boost the entire economy of the state. Strategic economic plans are beneficial since they help in articulating key issues within the economy.

This results in tremendous economic growth and development (Stiglitz & Walsh, 2006). This paper presents a strategic plan for the automotive industry in the state of Indiana, America. The plan lays a strong ground on which the industry can peg its growth and the general growth and development of Indiana economy.

Overview of the Indiana Automotive Industry

The automotive sector of Indiana has well over 600 companies. These companies employ approximately 120,000 people. This denotes that the industry has a very large potential to grow. In the year 2009, the industry had a cumulative output of 9 billion US dollars. Indiana has a relatively large population.

It has been rated as the fifteenth most populated state in the US. The industry is better structured, and a majority of the population can directly benefit from this industry. According to the US census report of 2012, a majority of the population within the state is comprised of middle aged people. Approximately 60 per cent of the general population falls in the age bracket of between 26 and 64 years. This is a highly productive age group in an economy (Matt, 2012).

The Indiana Automotive industry has visionary bodies that regulate the industry. There is the Indiana Automotive Council which is a major stakeholder body in the industry. The council coordinates initiatives aimed at enhancing the industry’s performance. This includes uniting different stakeholders from different sectors of the economy to advance the industry. There is also the Conexus Indiana. This body was formed to enhance logistics in the automotive industry of the state and improve manufacturing (Business Wire, 2011).

Goals of the plan

1. The chief goal of this plan is to ensure that the state of Indiana becomes the leading state in the automotive industry within the US and the world at large.
2. Improving of the competitiveness of the Indiana automotive industry.
3. Strengthening the economy of Indiana using the automotive industry as the basis.

Objectives of the plan

• Promoting workforce skills that are needed in the automotive industry. Though Indiana has a significant skilled human capital, it is comprised of people who do not possess the workforce skills required in the automotive industry. These skills will be developed through the support of education and training within automotive engineering.
• Building workforce that is skilled and which makes a good use of the innovative potential of the industry through collaborations. Innovation is quite critical for the growth of any industry within any sector of the economy. The automotive industry is a technical industry that can easily employ innovative information technology solutions. Therefore, innovation must be entrenched in the workforce of the industry.
• Creation of meaningful partnerships in the industry. The partnerships will be made among the major players in the industry and other economic sectors deemed to be supportive of the growth within the industry. This includes the education sector that is the vital in the supply of labor to the industry within the state of Indiana. The partnership will be facilitated by the Indiana Automotive council. The council will begin by uniting key players in the industry. These players include the automotive companies that have been established in the region.
• The other objective is to develop initiatives by engaging leaders in the industry. This will ensure that a competitive environment is cultivated in the organization. In turn, this will work to improve the design of automotive products.

Goal I

Strategies

• The plan will be based on several programs that will draw actions from the identified players within the industry to ensure success of the plan. The major players in the programs include:
• Automotive companies operating in the state. There are more than seventy companies operating in the motor industry of Indiana. This includes the recent entries like the Toyota Motors Corporation.
• The Indiana Automotive Council
• Academic institutions in Indiana
• The state government of Indiana
• The general public or population of Indiana
• The plan will make full use of the Indiana Automotive Council, which will serve as the strategizing body in the plan. A number of automotive companies have been supporting students in the local academic institutions. A majority of the State Universities are also running internship programs that are supported by a number of automotive companies. These companies include Toyota Motors Manufacturing, BCR Rubber and Plastics Incorporated, and AM General among others. This provides a reasonable basis on which the program and strategies will be formulated. The companies will be made significantly proactive in providing support to academic institutions and individual students who show high potential of advancing in the field of automotive engineering (US Department of Commerce, 2007).

Foreseeable outcomes

• Properly, functional and equipped academic institutions in the state producing quality graduates who fit in the industry.
• Highly and advanced courses in engineering and other technical fields that will enhance the development of the automotive and other industries in Indiana.
• Appropriately educated graduates who are ready to bring skilled expertize in the industry thence a technological revolution in the industry.

Goal II

Strategies

• A favorable market for the firms will first be established in the state through policies that are supportive of the industry. The Indiana Automotive Council will help companies to launch marketing initiatives in the entire state of Indiana and outside the state. These initiatives will include aggressive marketing campaigns. The population of Indiana will be expected to gain a sense of loyalty for the automotive industry and products that are manufactured and produced by the industry.
• Inward competition is common within the automotive industry of Indiana. Though competition is encouraged in business, it has to be minimized if the firms competing want to make collective outcomes. The IAC will help in developing a common understanding amongst the companies and provide a common stand on which intra-industry competition will take place.
• Research has revealed that marketing of the automotive industry has not been given priority (Area Development, 2008). However, competition is piling from other states. This is the reason why marketing will be a critical aspect for consideration in the plan. Marketing enhances sales of the products and services that are produced in an industry. Without a positive marketing environment, the sales of products and services from an industry are likely to reduce. This minimizes the capacity of firms in the industry especially the support of corporate functions that are supportive tool for economic development. Though the automotive industry of Indiana has been termed to be fairly competitive, it exists in a large US automotive industry that is highly competitive.

Expected Outcomes

• The outcomes that are expected from the marketing strategies used include wide knowledge of the automotive companies and product originating from the state. Also, the number of buyers of the products is expected to increase. This is because most customers will get to know about the products.
• The other outcome will be reduced intra-industry competition. This will be reflected in the high profit margins that will be realized by the companies operating in the industry.

Goal III

Strategies

• The plan will strongly peg on education programs that are the basis of improving outcomes in the industry. A strong relationship will be developed between the automotive companies and the academic institutions with the support from the government and public. These will include providing scholarships and other support programs to students and academic institutions in the state. The players will also be allowed to introduce academic programs in the higher institutions. This will help in enhancing research to foster technological advancement in the industry.
• It has been noted that local plants for the automotive firms are located in places where there is little access to post–high school education. For students who do not advance to attain high level education, the government in collaboration with the other stakeholders will help in setting up vocational training institutions (Indiana Business Research Center, 2012).
• These institutions will be set in places where local automotive plants are located. This will help the population to gain skills through access to these facilities thereby adding to the workforce in the industry.
• The government will also be supportive in linking the rehabilitation centers to the vocational centers like prisons where the population undergoing rehabilitation can get training. Once this population has been trained, they will be incorporated into the workforce within the industry under coordinated programs. This will help in advancing positive changes within the economy of Indiana (Indiana Department of workforce Development, 2012).

Expected outcomes

• The expected outcome of this program is the increase in the number of employable people amongst the population.
• Increased market of the products from the industry which will improve the performance of the industry.
• An active and employable population in the entire state.

Timeline for the plan

This plan is projected to have been fully implemented and accomplished in a span of five years. Evaluation and reviews will be conducted on a yearly basis. However, assessments will be done continuously to detect minor flaws and correct them as implementation progresses.

Conclusion

The automotive industry forms an important sector in the economy of the state of Indiana. The industry has many firms that are operating within the state. The set plan will help promote the industry and in turn let the industry lead to economic growth and development of the state. This can only be attained when all stakeholders cooperate to the later stages of implementation. Also, the full participation of the stakeholders will be critical to the plan.

References

Area Development. (2008). Indiana: Accelerating the Automotive Industry. Web.

Business Wire. (2011). Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Conexus Indiana Bring Industry Leaders Together to Launch Indiana Automotive Council. Web.

Cooney, S. & Yacobucci, B. D. (2006). U.S. automotive industry: Policy overview and recent history. New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Indiana Business Research Center (2012). History of Indiana Business Research Center. Web.

Indiana Department of workforce Development (2012). Indiana leads the nation in job growth. Web.

Matt, P. (2012). World Population Review. Web.

Stiglitz, J. E., & Walsh, C. E. (2006). Economics. New York, NY i.e.: Norton.

Thompson, M. F. & Merchant, A. A. (2012). Segmenting Indiana’s Automotive Manufacturing Industry: Jobs and Wages. Web.

US Department of Commerce. (2007). Foreign-Based Companies Investing in the U.S. Auto Industry. Web.