Ford Motor Company Free Essays

1.Discuss at least three criteria the company should use to decide which of the four listed options is best and the reasons why each criterion should be used. Based on the case study (what would you do?) it listed four options for the Ford company, here are the three criterion the company should use to decide which of the four listed is best and the reasons why each criterion should work and be used. We will write a custom essay sample on Ford Motor Company or any similar topic only for you Order Now The first rule for testing these 4 options is the reason for being in business to make a profit, which is what the stock holders expect. The next judgment would be to examine the options and weigh the profitability of each or a combination of them. The next standard would be longevity or measuring what options would sustain the Ford Motor company for years to come. Let’s look at option 1 that suggests closing older plants to realign production and sales. The criterion is you don’t want to produce more product than you can sell in this case it is cars. Ford Motor Company has been losing money for years particularly in its North American operations. According to Mandy Bennett’s Ford Motor company 2004 annual report â€Å"The Ford Motor Company has had many (Bennett, 2004) disappointments in the past several years†. These criteria should be examined and applied just as Mr. A Mulally (CEO of Ford Motor company) negotiated with labor unions to successfully slash more than 30,000 jobs, and close factories. Ford spent $700 million on severance packages and paid layoff expenditures for union workers. This in turn gave Ford a cash cushion to float on for the time being while working out long term profitable plans. (S Holmes, 2006) 2. Discuss at least three examples of how the company should build in flexibility to back-up its decision-making process. One way the company should build in flexibility is to use the options listed in the case study and invest in all of the ideas. By Making small investments in all four options at the same time it will provide the flexibility to back up the each option. Like a fail safety net, the better an option works the more money and resources can be added to it. The options with the least progress can be minimized or relinquished. For example put four managers in charge of the four plans with an equal amount of budget to get the job done and roll out the plan. (Williams, 2010) 3. Discuss how an effective action plan can be created and how progress can be monitored. Developing and effective action plan would be to list the detailed steps or the how to get the job done type manual. Hire the right people who could get the job done proficiently, provide them with the appropriate means and time frame to get the work done. The next step would be to track or monitor the plan to make sure the results are profitable. According to the Management text the best thing to do is set up proximal and distal goals. Proximal goals are short term and distal goals are long term main goal (Williams, 2010). This would be perfect for the flexibility plan discussed in discussion two, hiring four teams and setting up a tracking progress to decide which plans to further fund. 4. List at least three steps that make-up a workable plan explain why each is important. There is a television show that use to come on years ago called the A-team and one of the main characters (Hanabal) use to say after a successful mission† I love it when a plan comes together†. That phrase describes a workable plan; it is when everything comes together in one direction manifesting the complete goal. This all starts with the top managers creating structural purpose declaration and deliberate objectives. Middle managers coming next with premeditated plans that they bring about with specific objectives to inspire there staff. The last step ends with the first level managers who develop and carry out the operation of the plan by using policies and procedures. The policies are standing plans that specifies the overall course of action that should be taken in reaction to a particular event or condition. Procedures are also standing plans that indicate the specific steps that should be taken in response to a particular event (Williams, 2010). 5. Discuss the option combination of options you selected as the best course of action for Ford Motor Company and detail your reasons for selecting that option or combination of options. I would definitely choose a combination of options for the best course of action for the Ford Motor company. Based on my research and text reading it is better to have flexibility and back-ups, so I prefer to combine options to create a flexible plan platform. The combination I selected is to close down older plants in an effort to realign production and sales, to move the company to produce only smaller cars, eliminating or sharply reducing the SUV and truck lines, and The fourth option is to sell the entire PAG group, letting someone else figure out how to make money selling so few vehicles a year. The first option of closing old plants to realign production and sales is a smart move. It allows the company to produce fewer cars and shift the supply and demand curve to their favor in their business. What I mean by that is by producing fewer cars the price can decrease and more people can buy more cars. The law of supply states that the supply increases as prices increase and decreases as prices decrease, at a lower price, more people can afford to buy more goods and more of an item more frequently, than they can at a higher price. This will allow the next option to fall in line as well by moving the company to produce smaller cars saves the company money in the cost to make the smaller cars. Gas prices are at an all-time rise so people would appreciate this. SUV and truck lines are becoming more and more costly to consumers and producers alike. Producing smaller cars can also have a positive effect on the supply and demand law. Supply and demand states that at lower prices, people tend to buy some goods as a substitute for others more expensive. Lastly Selling the PAG group, this approach has worked for Ford in the past. It works and takes a huge expense off of the company. How to cite Ford Motor Company, Essay examples Ford Motor Company Free Essays Henry Ford Henry Ford was one of America’s greatest businessperson, the founder of Ford Motor Company and the man largely responsible for mass production in the American economy. This achievement led Ford to becoming a rich and famous man. Ever since Ford was a child, he had a dream to become an engineer and to manufacture cars. We will write a custom essay sample on Ford Motor Company or any similar topic only for you Order Now He began to pursue his dream when he Introduced the Assembly line, by breaking down production into simple tasks. He lowered the skill level needed to work in a factory, which allowed enormous amounts of products to be produced at lower prices. During the sass’s, Henry Ford’s management skills and leadership of The Ford Motor Company expanded the economy by making cars available to all Americans and stimulating industries related to the automobile empire. One way Henry Ford expanded the economy was by making automobiles available to all Americans. His Motor Company helped him produce and manufacture tons of cars. In order to get his company running, he had to pay employees at a lower rate, but also made sure they were paid enough so expenses were affordable. The automobiles made Its Impact felt first In rural areas where cars were used for oaring. They were also used for pastime on the weekends and soon enough the cars were replacing existing transit that brought people to and from work in urban areas (Melodies). Automobiles spurred over many areas, but rural areas were first because of all the activities happening on the weekends. As well as, the number of people who used automobiles to get to and from work. As a matter of fact, â€Å"the convenience of the automobile freed people from the need to live near rail lines or stations; they could choose locations almost anywhere in an urban area, as long as roads were available to connect them to other places† ( History of Automobile). The automobile allowed people to live wherever they chose to rather than living in a specific area, Just so they could get to work or travel places. â€Å"As automobile sales increased, the demand for fuel led to a more systematic way of delivery, and In 1914, Standard 011 of California opened a chain of 34 standardized stations among the West Coast† (Melodies). This is implying that the demand for fuel allowed the automobile companies produce more so that they could get more consumers and increase the assure for all Americans. In fact, â€Å"three hundred men were now employed by the Ford Motor Company, and they were making twenty-five cars a day, and the company was supplying a sales force of 450 agencies across the continent† ( Titlists). The more men meant that more cars were produced, and the more cars produced intended that more cars were available to the employees and any other Americans. Ford’s Company later â€Å"increased the production of cars by building several models offering different amenities be sold simultaneously at deferent prices, the company’s ratters hoped to maximize their profits by appealing to a large number of car buyers† (39). By building more different models people had the option to choose what type of car they wanted to get. It also allowed an average American to decide whether to purchase a stylish car that less expensive, or a appealing car that was more class; however, with various models, even a simple car was made affordable by an average household. Overall, cars helped the workers and the Americans because it reduced the work they had to put into carrying parts to and from work and it allowed any people to live freely rather than living in an area where communication to work was accessible. Another way Henry Ford expanded the economy was by stimulating industries related to the automobile empire. For example, â€Å"oil and steel were two well- established industries that received a serious boost by the demand for automobiles† (Age of the Automobile). Many industries like the oil and steel were increasing production for more automobiles being produced. During this automobile era, â€Å"manufacturing became a highly mechanized process in which mass manufacturing was performed by unskilled workers and the assembly line cut down on human handling, and machines were designed to handle multiple tasks†(Bianca). In other words, quick development was a very important skill that unskilled workers had to master; however, this was made easy because a lot of the times machines did most of the work and the workers would have to put a little effort to make sure everything was right. This enabled Ford â€Å"to increase production from about 475 cars in a nine-hour day to more than 1,200 auto assemblies in an eight-hour day’ (Bianca). Due to more manufacturing of cars and more products of steel, rubber, and glass being created, Ford increased the production of the assembly lines. Having raw materials such as rubber and steel available in the market, â€Å"more people would buy raw materials and products, which stimulated public spending throughout. † This gave Ford a chance to another company called â€Å"The Ford Manufacturing Company, which was started to produce engines, running gears and other car parts† (Tilting, 41). Ford realized that in order for the cars to be perfect, he needed another company to aka all his cars stronger, so different industries with different productions parts were created to increase the production of automobiles even more. Although Ford’s ultimate goal was to increase the production of automobile, he also focused on the efficiency of the automobiles. His major concern regarding the efficiency was â€Å"mainly towards the strength and reliability, knowing that the metal he was using for certain parts, such as the gears, was too brittle, so he looked out for a stronger kind of steel† (45). Ford knew that if his gears or any other car part broke, the car would be selves, so he wanted to guarantee that his car would be stronger and more efficient than anything else on the market. Thus, Ford not only expanded the production of automobiles, but also other industries that played a major role in producing an automobile. Consequently, Henry Ford has played a huge leadership role because he made Americans lives better. He used many techniques that improved the economy. He did most of this by expanding his company so cars were available to Americans, and by stimulating public spending through many industries. The auto industry provided tit a large market of steel, rubber, glass and petroleum products. All of which were available to consumers in the market at any time. Cars made exploration of the world outside easier and more affordable, which motivated public spending for good roads. His production line manufacturing was widely used for efficiency because before to work or other parts of the city. Many even traveled really far Just to get to work, because trains were mostly the means of transportation before the automobiles (Melodies). Shortly after the inventions of automobiles, the lives of many Americans hanged and the production of cars increased. How to cite Ford Motor Company, Papers