1915-
Executive, General Motors

Difficult Times.

Lifetime of Preparation.

Immediate Problems.

Smaller Cars.

The Iranian Crisis.

Bleak Future.

As Murphy approached the mandatory retirement age, the future did not look as bright as recent results might have indicated. The downsizing program was reaping diminishing returns, and that called for a massive reworking of the entire GM line. The estimated cost of the redesign program was $40 billion over five years. All in all, Murphy had been a competent, if not brilliant, chairman. He was probably not the man to deal successfully with the assortment of problems that GM faced at the time, but it is doubtful that the consensus style of management at GM could have produced any other.

Source:

George S. May, "Thomas Aquinas Murphy," in The Automobile Industry, 1920-1980, edited by May (New York: Bruccoli Clark Layman/ Facts On File, 1989).