Global Development and Improvement in Technologies - Term Paper Example

? Should Cars Be More Efficient Introduction Global development or improvement in technologies has apparently changed the living style of the human society with facilities of increasing mobility. Day by day, automobile is becoming the primary assistance in human lives. Consequently, the consumption of automobiles is increasing globally to a large extent, which again deliberates the increasing demand for fuels, especially the non-renewable natural resources. In the current state of the global market, the prices of fuel are highly unsteady at an increasing rate. With the increase in fuel prices, consumers are quite likely to expect that the price of the car should meet with the budget allotted (Johnston, 2010). Based on the current role of automotive industry in the environmental degradation caused due to huge CO2 emissions and increasing consumption of non-renewable fuels, especially the companies engaged in manufacturing of cars, this paper will intend to provide an account of the essentiality to preserve and effectually enhance the efficiency of cars in the futuristic perspective. Needs for Eco-Friendly Automobiles The aggregate consumption level of cars can be identified as increasing day by day and consequently emissions of CO2 are also growing rapidly, owing to which environment is being affected by a higher degree of pollution making the atmosphere unhealthy for the prosperity of the living beings. With this concern, the European Union Commission along with various other national institutions has been identified to adopt various measures for reducing the emission of CO2 in the long run. As a result, many new cars have been manufactured by automobile companies with special attention on using Liquid Petroleum Gas and hydrogen gas among other renewable energies. Many cars have also been manufactured, which run through electricity as well as chargeable battery power and thus attempt to lessen the consumption of fuels and simultaneously reduce the negative impact caused to the environment (Ward, Tanaka, Short, & Steiner, 2008). Contextually, the massive manufacturing and using of cars are increasing the traffic system rapidly in every street of global environment. Due to immense pressure from the traffic, the environment has to witness harmful consequences related to sound and air pollution by the noise produced and CO2 emissions caused by automobiles. It is in this context that the consequences of environmental degradation, as led by automobiles, accumulatively give rise to global warming (Ward, Tanaka, Short, & Steiner, 2008). It is in this respect that emphasis is put on the growth in the consumption rate of cars in world transportation; the International Energy Agency has predicted that the demand for fuels along with the consequential release of pollution will rise substantially in the upcoming decades. As can be depicted from the chart below, the obtained statistics until 2050 provides an estimate that the rate of CO2 emissions is quite likely to rise rapidly with vast differences over decades. This, in turn, is quite likely to result in a greater degree of environmental degradation which certainly requires attention from the worldwide automotive companies (Ward, Tanaka, Short, & Steiner, 2008). In other words, the obtained statistics apparently indicates the need for more efficient cars for the future generation which can be quite beneficial in reducing the predicted growth rate of CO2 emissions and thus result in a healthier environment. With this concern, various automotive companies along with governmental and social institutions have targeted to manufacture environment friendly technologies to be used in cars with the sole intention of lowering emission rates and non-renewable energy such as fossil fuel consumption trends. Source: (Ward, Tanaka, Short, & Steiner, 2008) Success Factors of the Environment Strategies in Global Automobile At present and also in the future market, automobile industry should develop certain effectual strategies for making cars efficient by taking worthy account of all environmental issues. With the sole intention of manufacturing or launching efficient cars in the global market, the primary factor mostly considered by the market players is the quality of the car. It is in this context that with technological changes towards more efficient eco-friendly technologies, the customers in the cars market are feared to face hindrances in terms of quality aspects. Hence, companies have been observed to provide crucial significance towards car qualities as a major success factor (Shah, 2000). In the current scenario of the automotive market, it can be apparently observed that quality has led many companies to attain their objectives to satisfy the needs of the customer. Another factor which has been considered to be a vital success factor in the car market is product cost. This tends to affect the marketing strategy as well as consumer’s requirements to a large extent. It is in this context that the newly developed strategies concerning highly efficient technology products, which, on the one hand, are environmentally friendly and, on the other hand, are cost-efficient, have emerged as another major concern for car manufacturers as well as customers (Shah, 2000). The automobile industry also considers innovation and modern technologies as the primary factors for attaining success. This is because the development of the global environment made human being to change their life styles. As a result, the needs for their products also changed, including the market demands for new innovative and modern technologies. Consequently, various new models can be viewed in the global market along with their unique efficiencies. In this regard, the importance of Research and Development (R&D) functions carried out by these companies increased with immense rapidity and is currently observed to acquire a significant position in the car manufacturing process. There are other various factors which should be considered by the automobile industries and can be identified as flexibility of the manufacturing process to allow changes engaging lesser time and costs maintaining in accordance with the rapidity of innovation strategies. With the growing competition in the similar context of environmentally friendly technology enhancements, acquiring adequate and updated market knowledge, sustainable and community-oriented business reputation, efficient distribution networks and information system in the manufacturing and marketing units have emerged as quite significant success factors. These factors further assist the industries in recognizing the market trends, according to which the car should be launched to satisfy the consumer needs along with developing the automobile sector with enhanced efficiency (Shah, 2000). Recent Trends in Environmental Technological Implications While introducing the innovative and modern technology along with the rise of economic conditions, environment is being affected by the use of natural resources and high level of pollution. With reference to the trend persisting in the present scenario, it can be stated that the increasing frequency of launching cars in the global automotive market is substantially giving rise to the environmental issues in terms of CO2 emissions, sound as well as water pollution. This indicates that manufacturing of inefficient cars has a harmful impact on the environment. Contextually, economic activities can be altered through the imposition of trade liberalization. However, certain pressure induced by trade liberalization upon the automobile industry can be examined to contribute towards the achievements of car manufacturers in satisfying the demand of the market to a considerable extent. For instance, import of automobiles to European countries has been introduced with modern technologies which can help to reduce the emission rate and likewise minimize the consequences of pollution with due emphasis on strengthening the trade liberalization policies and motivating the manufacturers to develop highly efficient eco-friendly technologies. For the benefit of the environment, trade liberalization can certainly bring about changes in the production unit of every company. The changes of the companies represent the use of modern technology in its manufacturing units, which is eco friendly and can serve the environment without affecting it negatively. Additionally, trade liberalization can also play a significant role in enhancing the environment by importing eco friendly environmental goods and services or through techniques with cleaner production (University of Manchester, 2007). Illustrations The above mentioned strategies state the condition of the environment as being highly affected by the emission of CO2 along with the increasing consumption of non-renewable energy. The automobile industry can be identified to consider a few certain steps to develop cars to be more efficient by causing lesser harm to environment. This particular fact can be evidently identified with regard to the strategic performances of three leading car manufacturing companies, namely Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motors and Hyundai Motors. Ford operates as a renowned automobile brand from United States. Owing to the shift in market trend towards renewable and eco-friendly technologies, Ford can be identified to adopt certain beneficial steps so as to decrease CO2 emissions and simultaneously enhance customer experiences with sustainable quality assurance. Therefore, the steps adopted by Ford in developing its manufacturing units can be identified as highly inclined towards addressing the sustainable issues concerning the usage of compressed natural gas, flexible fuel vehicles, electrical vehicles, hybrid electrical vehicles, fuel efficiency and hydrogen. For measuring the environmental impact, Ford further initiated two primary steps, i.e. setting up the Environment and Public Policy Committee and the Strategy Review Committee with the sole responsibilities of developing, examining and altering the strategic considerations by the company so as to preserve its sustainability. For the betterment of the environment, Ford also introduced bio-fuel natural gas vehicles, flexible fuel vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles for the market to satisfy the demand for innovative products and simultaneously to save the environment from being affected by pollution (Hastings, 1999). Toyota, another leading brand in the global automotive industry, is also considered to be a sustainable manufacturer of eco-friendly cars. With its intention to minimize the rate of carbon footprints as well as preserve natural resources, the company attempts to introduce five-year plans. The fourth five-year plan of Toyota considers the primary aspects such as environmental issues and corporation development with due consideration towards its functions associated with design, production and sales (Asia Productivity Organization, 2003). The planning of environmental issue includes fuel efficiency, emission rate and noise pollution caused by the vehicles, and reduction of environmental concerns such as CO2. In order to comply with these objectives, Toyota strategically emphasizes making use of CNG, LPG, and electricity in running the vehicles. It is worth mentioning in this context that Toyota won Energy Star awards for its initiatives taken towards the sustainability of environment from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the year 2010, which depicts the governmental support to such manufacturers making the essentiality of efficient cars more apparent (Sribd, 2012). Hyundai is a South Korean automobile company and one of the pioneers in emphasizing the environmental sustainability as a major function of its corporate social responsibility. In order to address the issues of environment allied with the manufacturing of cars, Hyundai won the Pacific Basin Economic Council (PBEC) in the year 2002 with the introduction of its manufactured car with LPG, CNG and hydrogen gas which help in reducing emission of CO2 and pollution rates along with reducing the consumption demand for natural gases (Hyundai, 2002). The organization also focused on strategically partnering with its suppliers during 2007 to preserve sustainability throughout its supply chain process. Consequently, the Platinum Group Metals (PGM) recycling company was introduced, which strategically focused on developing efficient cars with the environment-friendly technologies in mind, and is principally used as catalyst to refine petroleum and perform purifying functions to minimize emission (Hyundai, 2006). Barriers to Effective Environment Technology Implications Even though the essentiality of efficient cars has been apparent in the recent industrial phenomenon, various barriers as well as limitations can also be identified in this respect. A major barrier for the organization focusing on gaining greater efficiency towards manufacturing eco-friendly cars can be evidently related to inter-governmental and inter-jurisdictional coordination, which can be described with relation to the arguments often taking place between the company and governmental bodies due to lack of communication and shared vision (Cheon, 2000). However, the efficiency in car manufacturing processes utilizing the eco-friendly technologies has also been criticized on various grounds. For instance, in most of the times it has been observed that cars using eco-friendly hybrid technology possess limitations in terms of durability, quality assurance and safety as well. A similar perspective can be identified to pertain to the current market scenario which deliberates the lacuna of light weighted vehicles in relation to the safety issues as it has been a major concern for car consumers for decades (SEI, 2007). Referring to the growing concern of car manufacturers, governmental bodies as well as worldwide customers to trade on eco-friendly cars with the sole motive to reduce environmental impacts and the perceived limitations of the applied technologies (such as the hybrid and light vehicle technologies), it can be stated that there is certain a larger need for more efficient cars in the global automotive market. Conclusion In the recent phenomenon of the automotive industry, the role of vehicles as a major cause for environmental degradation in terms of carbon emissions and uncontrolled consumption of natural fuels, the need for manufacturing eco-friendly and more sustainable cars have emerged as a crucial concern for industrialists, governments as well as common public. In this regard, the overview of the consumer is to incur less money per kilometer, which is often regarded as the degree of efficiency possessed by a particular automobile. Various precautionary measures are being considered, such as the pollution testing machines which help to measure the Carbon Di-oxide (CO2) emission rate by the car and likewise to develop an idea of the environmental impact with the sole intention to minimize pollution and other similar consequences (Blakemore & Smith, 2011). However, owing to the limitations identified in relation to the applied technologies in eco-friendly car manufacturing and essentiality of reducing carbon footprints, it becomes quite apparent that “cars should be more efficient.” References Asia Productivity Organization. (2003). Green procurement initiatives by Toyota motor corporation. Retrieved from http://www.apo tokyo.org/gp/e_publi/survey_gpp/japan_toyota_case.pdf. Blakemore, M., & Smith, N. (2011). Evaluation of consumer education, information and capacity building actions: Final report. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/strategy/docs/evaluation_consumer_education_report_en.pdf. Cheon, S. (2000). Emerging vehicle technology and implementation barriers. Retrieved from http://www.uctc.net/papers/626.pdf. Hastings, M. (1999). Corporate incentives and environmental decision making. Retrieved from http://files.harc.edu/Projects/Archive/Reports/EnvironmentalDecisionMaking.pdf Hyundai. (2002). Hyundai motor company annual report 2002. Retrieved from http://worldwide.hyundai.com/wcm/idc/groups/sggeneralcontent/@hmc/documents/sitecontent/mdaw/mdi2/~edisp/hw026555.pdf. Hyundai. (2006). Hyundai motor company annual report 2006. Retrieved from http://csr.hyundai.com/download/Annual_Report_2006.pdf. Johnston, D. (2010). 21st century technologies. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/41/16/35391210.pdf. SEI. (2007). A study on the costs and benefits of hybrid electric and battery electric vehicles in Ireland. Retrieved from http://www.seai.ie/News_Events/Press_Releases/Costs_and_benefits.pdf. Sribd. (2012). Toyota Motor Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/17426065/Toyota-Motor-Corporation. Shah, A. M. (2000). Critical success factors and effective strategies in the new environment. Retrieved from http://www.vikalpa.com/pdf/articles/2000/2000_apr_jun_31_41.pdf. University of Manchester. (2007). Automobile sector study. Retrieved from http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2006/december/tradoc_131427.pdf. Ward, D., Tanaka, N., Short, J., & Steiner, N. (2008). 50 by 50: Global fuel economy initiative. Retrieved from http://www.fiafoundation.org/50by50/documents/50BY50_report.pdf. Read More