This case analyzes the tenure of Alfred Sloan as the Chief Executive Officer of General Motors over a 35-year span, ranging from 1920 through 1955. He was known by the many managers who worked for him for his acts of kindness, help, advice, and sympathy during theirtimes of need. While he seemed to be a deeply personal executive who connected with his subordinates, at the same time he was completely detached from the entire group. This may have been due to his very ‘professional’ upbringing, but he was always known as “Mr. Sloan”,and never referred to any of his other top executives by first name. His upbringing was mostlikely different because he was, in fact born in the 1870’s. He had grown to be a senior executive of his own business prior to 1900, so his managerial style could best be described as “old-school”.
Although he addressed his white subordinates who were in power this same way, hew as unlike others of his time, in that he referred to his African-American subordinates in the same manner. Even when a person introduced themselves by their first name, i.e. Barnaby, he would always ask for, and then address them permanently by their last name. He frowned upon the use of first names by anyone in his organization. It was a well-known fact that Mr. Wilson, for many years General Motor’s President, and Sloan’s eventual replacement was on a first name basis with many of the Vice Presidents. Sloan loathed this.
It is possible that he felt this way because he had no close friends within the General Motors group. He had always been a sociable man until deafness made it difficult to communicate with others. Most of the friends he had, which were outside of the business had long passed by this time. The only one who was different, was Walter Chrysler, who had only become a personal friend after Sloan had left General Motors. Mr. Chrysler had later gone on tofound his own successful automotive group,upon Sloan’s advice.
As his close friends began to pass, Sloan became to feel more and more isolated, yet never reached out to create new friends within the circle he belonged, that of General Motors. He never initiated new contact, or invited anyone over his home, nor did he accept any invitation to visit others. Henry Francis du Pont, who was his boss in the earlier 1900’s had