Before recalls, safety director was low in GM hierarchy

DETROIT (AP) — To understand how General Motors allowed a problem with a small part to balloon into a crisis, look at the organization chart.

As of early last year, the director of vehicle safety was four rungs down the ladder from the CEO, according to a copy of the chart obtained by The Associated Press. Finance, sales and public relations had a direct path to the top.

"What's a higher priority than product safety?" asks Jonathan Macey, Yale University management and law professor and author of a book on corporate governance. "The organization chart does obviously reflect a company's priorities."

That structure — as well as what new CEO Mary Barra has called a culture that valued cost savings over safety — is likely to be a prime target in a report expected this week from former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas. He was hired by GM to investigate why the company took more than a decade to recall millions of cars with a defective ignition switch that has now been linked to at least 13 deaths.

Ford and Chrysler, GM's main Detroit competitors, have safety directors higher on their charts than GM does.

Management experts interviewed by the AP say safety ranks higher at other companies as well, especially food, drug and chemical makers. At some, the safety chief has direct access to the CEO.

It's unclear if the report will discuss the role of top managers in the crisis. Up to now, no evidence has emerged to suggest that top GM executives knew about the switch problem before late last year.