Article Review: Green Operations Initiatives in the Automotive Industry

Question 1: What was the methodology employed by Nunes and Bennett?

Nunes and Bennett employed the existing literature and secondary data from the automotive industry to draw out the findings of the entire research (Nunes and Bennett, 2010 p398). The authors divide the methodology into two parts where the first area covers what other writers have written about the green operations initiatives in the automotive industry. The highlight of what other authors have written gives an introduction and clear indication that much has been covered in the automotive industry (Gonzalez, Sarkis, and Adenso-Diaz, 2008 p1036). The second part covers the analysed secondary data on the automotive industry. The authors go into detail covering the management and strategies employed in an automotive industry that contribute to its success.

Question 2: How does this study help other sectors of the automotive industry benchmark their practices?

This study helps other sectors in the automotive industry benchmark their practices against the competitors in the world. For instance, different continents that have the automotive manufacturing industries can use the study to adopt environmental creativities when assembling the units. Further, other industries can use the ideas presented in the study and customize them for their operations (Paulraj, 2009 p400). Inclusion of green ideas in different industries will help create a conducive environment for a sustainable development of the world as a whole.

Question 3: What did this article tell us about competitive strategies for improvement?

The article gives directions on competitive strategies for improvement through ideas (Green et al., 2012 p297). For instance, an organization needs to determine the objectives they intend to attain after considering what their competitors use to advance their firms. In addition, it is important to allocate some of the budget to the competitive strategies as it helps push the ideas presented forward. It is also important to consider the strategies in details by dissecting them (Simpson, Power, and Samson, 2007 p28). Through this, an organization will be in a position to understand their relevance and role they play in the firm, how to implement them and how to access their success rate after being employed.

Reference List

Gonzalez, P., Sarkis, J. and Adenso-Diaz, B., 2008. Environmental management system certification and its influence on corporate practices: Evidence from the automotive industry. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 28(11), pp.1021-1041.

Green Jr, K.W., Zelbst, P.J., Meacham, J. and Bhadauria, V.S., 2012. Green supply chain management practices: impact on performance. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 17(3), pp.290-305.

Nunes, B. and Bennett, D., 2010. Green operations initiatives in the automotive industry: An environmental reports analysis and benchmarking study. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 17(3), pp.396-420.

Paulraj, A., 2009. Environmental motivations: a classification scheme and its impact on environmental strategies and practices. Business Strategy and the Environment, 18(7), pp.453-468.

Simpson, D., Power, D. and Samson, D., 2007. Greening the automotive supply chain: a relationship perspective. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 27(1), pp.28-48.