Ford Motor Company Analysis - Research Paper Example

Brief History Ford Motor Company inception started way back in 1903. The founder of the company was Hendry Ford. The company has grown to be the mostsuccessful both locally and internationally. Ford Motor Company mission and vision statement The mission of the company is to work as a team and develop as a world leading company in automotive and other related products and service. To speed the development of customer values and needs, to work together successfully as a team, provide effective financial services and improvement of the balance sheet (Nelson and Quick, 2012). Social responsibility The company is deeply concerned about the community within its business operation. Ford motor company operates in many parts of the world. For example, in Australia the company developed a program that provides support to the community within their plants. Community support and corporate initiatives have been Ford Motor Company responsibility since its inception after 1903. The founder of the company, Hendry Ford supported employees working for his company by providing educational support; he did this by building schools. Additionally, the founder believed and supported environmental sustainability. The founder’s legacy has been taken over by the company (Corporate Social Responsibility, n.d.). Market and Market Share Competition and Key Rivals General Motors is the main competitor of Ford Motor Company in the U.S. General Motors is the biggest manufacturer of trucks and cars. Well known brands for General Motors are Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Opel, Daewoo and Holden. The company has both local and international operations. However, Ford Motor Company has recently gained more market shares in the U.S. The increase in market share was attributed to consumer preference of their fuel efficient engines. Some of the vehicles of Ford Motor Company in the U.S. that boosted its market share are Fusion, Escape and F-series. Additionally, Ford Motor Company performance currently is well, this evidenced from its rise in New York Stock Exchange by 3%. However, its major rival is down by 16%. The main problem of GM currently is the recalls the company made because of defective ignition switches (Blanc, 2014). International Rivals Ford is faced with serious competition internationally from Toyota, Nissan, General Motors, Honda and Chrysler. The fact is that, most of the competitors’ brands are cheaper and fuel efficient than Ford Motor Company brands. However, recently, the company showed improvement internationally with an international operation contributing to 35% to stock prices (Trefis Team 2010). Organizational Leadership Ford Motor Company depends on employees for delivery of their vision by building the best products to meet customers’ needs. The company is doing the best by investing on the workforce, improve their technical skills, recognize them for success of the company and strengthening their leadership skills. Part of the strategies of the company is to encourage their workforce to invest on their careers. Additionally, the company is also assisting the employees to improve their leadership skills, attain the current and future targets at the same time working on the company’s assignments. In addition, ford Motor Company is developing the future workforce. The company requires more skilled personnel specialized in the technical field of study (Leadership Development, 2013). Macro Environment Analysis Legal factors The company encourages its employees to work by the laws and forward any information regarding infringement of laws. Additionally, all manufactured vehicles must be inspected by relevant government authorities. Social values Ford motor company is putting into consideration the community they operate on. They are also considering the environment and committed to protecting it. For example, Ford Motor Company in Britain created a program known as Ford Britain Trust. Schools and other projects are funded through the program (Corporate Social Responsibility, n.d.). Economy The company has come long way; they have been affected by economic difficulties just like the other companies. However, they have worked hard to maintain their business while other companies were collapsing. Technology factors Ford motor company was the first to integrate mobile technology in cars. The system allows the driver to play music by issuing voice commands. The system also reads text messages aloud without interference of driving (Ramsey, 2014). Management Planning is done by implementing the elements of the organization such as missions, vision and corporate plans. Planning Ford Motor Company is based on its mission and vision statement. For example, the company’s plan is to work as one team to achieve organization goal of profitability and growth. Organizing The CEO heads Ford Motor Company. The board members oversee the performance of the CEO and other top management team. Controlling The organization analyses the previous performances to ascertain some of the weakness so as to make a correction. For example, Ford Motor Company realized that the cost of its operation inclusive of the workforce cost and plant cost were more than its competitors. They had to terminate and cut the number of employees to minimize the cost (Gadiesh and Gilbert, 2001). Marketing Price Ford Motor Company manufactures and sells a wide variety of vehicles, such as cars, trucks, SUVs, wagon and others. Customers can choose any vehicle they prefer based on the cost and model. Place Ford motor company market share in North America is strong and the company is doing their best to maintain and increase the market share. Additionally, the company also has significant market share in Europe and Asia. Product Ford main objective is to meet customers need by making consistent, safe and useful vehicles. Promotion The company has to provide all the information to the customers regarding the type of products and service they offer. They also have to increase the market share in the target market. Ford Motor Company maintains a wide variety of promotional strategies and advertising on TVs, Internet and magazines. Porter’s Five Forces of Competition Rivals The company is facing competition both in the U.S. and internationally. Some of its major rivals locally are General Motors, Nissan, Toyota and Honda. The international rivals are mainly Japanese cars such as Toyota. New entrants The threat from new entrant to the auto industry is quite low. Starting up a auto industry requires massive capital. Ford Motor Company has low threat from the new entrant. Buyers Ford Motor Company does their best to meet the customer’s needs and keep customers coming for more products. Customers are more important to the company because they provide revenue for sustainability of the company. Substitutes and compliments Substitutes are threat to the company because of a wide verity and accessible means of transport such as trains and buses. Suppliers The threat from suppliers is low because they are many. The parts needed to manufacture a car are different and many. Additionally, they can be sourced from anywhere due to availability of supplies in many parts of the world (Senna, 2013). SWOT Analysis Strengths • The brand name makes the company recognized in many parts of the world. • The market share of Ford Motor Company in the U.S. has recently improved far more than General Motors. • One of its products, Pick-up F-series has increased profitability of the company because it is valued by customers as the best truck. • The company’s marketing strategies has extended too some countries that are out of reach by other companies. Weaknesses • The company has had little penetration in emerging markets such as China and India. Competition is high in the industry forcing the companies to look for more capital for research and development. Opportunities • Environmental sustainability and fuel efficiency are significant in the current in auto industry. Ford Motor Company is considering this option. • Ford has remained the most stable automaker in the U.S. some of its competitors such as GM had to sign for bankruptcy. • Some of its brands are widely accepted in parts of Asia. Threats • Japanese brands are competitive in most parts of the world including the U.S. making it hard Ford Motor Company to attain a significant market share. • Financial problems of Ford are likely to affect its capital forcing it to seek financial assistances from the government (Senna 2013). Open System Analysis Manufacturing process of Ford Motor company products has revolutionized since its inception in 1903 by Hendry Ford. Raw materials required are mainly steel, tires and petroleum products such as plastics. Design of the product is done with the help of software such as computer aided design. Parts of the vehicles are brought to automobile assembly from different suppliers. Value Chain Analysis Ford motor company has started recently to work with the suppliers to improve relation and benefits on both sides. Marketing of the products is another significant value chain of Ford motor company. The company is working together with the dealers to improve its market share (Senna, 2013). Core Competencies Analysis Success of Ford Motor Company lies on its core competence. Some of the cores competencies pointed out by the CEO of Ford Motor Company are technology, safety standards, fuel efficiency and quality product. The company focuses on the above core competencies to develop great products. Additionally, they hope to meet environmental sustainability by looking for different fuel sources such as electric and hydrogen (Leadership Development, 2013). Strategy The current strategy of Ford Motor Company is based on its mission and vision statement, one Ford. The company is expanding its business plan globally to attain its goal and be successful. One Ford plan develops and consists of the following four points; restructure of the company to make profits and meet customers’ needs; Speed-up development of new products; finance of plan and improvement of the balance sheet and working as a team (Strategy, 2013). References Blanc M. (2014). Here’s why GM Is Trading At A Discount To Ford This Year. Retrieved from Corporate Social Responsibility (n.d.). retrieved from < http://www.ford.co.uk/experience-ford/AboutFord/CorporateSocialResponsibility > Gadiesh, A and Gilbert, J (2001).“Frontline Action,” Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. Leadership Development (2013). Sustainability 2012/13-Ford Motor Company. Retrieved from . Nelson D. & Quick J. (2012). Organizational Behavior: Science, The Real World, and You. Ohio: Cengage Learning Ramsey M. (2014). Ford to Swap BlackBerry for Microsoft in Car Technology System, The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from < http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20140224-708784.html> Senna A. (2013). Competitive Advantage Ford Motor Company. Retrieved from Strategy (2013). Sustainability 2012/13. Ford Motor Company. Retrieved from < http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2012-13/blueprint-strategy> Trefis Team (2011). Emerging Markets Momentum Drives Ford Above $20. < http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2011/04/08/emerging-markets-momentum-drives-ford-above-20/> Read More