Can GM and Ford Make it Alone?

 When deciding on what to write for my final in regards to the International Management Behavior course, I took a long hard look at my prior work experience and how it related to the subject at hand and came up empty.  I am sure, given that, in today's global climate, almost everything we do or every product we use has global influences and those products were developed, marketed and influenced using those behaviors that are described in detail in the Lane text.  But what does that mean to me?  What do I take away from this course?  How are my purchasing decisions and future management decisions going to be impacted by this course?  What are the odds that I will one day be managing a project in some far away country with co-workers with whom I share no known shared traits with?  How will they respond to me?  How will I respond to them?  While I am positive that my days at Target Corporation were shaped and influenced by people with direct hands on experiences in this type of atmosphere my duties at store level were not.  Given these unknowns and my absolute lack of experience in these situations lead me to look at my other interests and what influences today's global atmosphere has on my personal fascination with the automotive industry.  Being 35 years of age and intrigued by this industry and cars in general since I was a child, I am amazed at just how global the automotive industry has become and will remain in the future.  I can still recall when it was very much an us vs. them industry and Buy American was on tips of everyone's tongues.  But today that has changed and it is my opinion that GM and Ford will need to continue to evolve and train its management ...