Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Impact of organization culture
Impact of organization culture
Impact of organization culture
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Ford Motor Company Strategic Audit
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to give a brief detail of the strategic audit of Ford Motor Company. The method of research used was Internet research by topic. In addition to the class textbook audit example used, other written references in the area of Ford Motor Company were used, in order to develop the subject more in detail. This topic was selected among a series of topics of general interest in the area of strategic audit for a corporation, as a class requisite. The different aspects of development and research studies findings are discussed in detail or briefly. The subject of “Strategic Audit of a Corporation” is what this paper is about. Some of these topics are briefly discussed.
Ford Motor Company
The current situation of the Ford Motor Company, revenue of $44 billion, 6 percent above second quarter 2006. The company net income of $750 million, or 31 cents per share, for the second quarter of 2007. Profit of $258 million, or 13 cents per share, from continuing operations excluding special items. There was a significant year-over-year improvement for all automotive operations. Ford Motor Credit pre-tax profit of $112 million. Cost reductions of $600 million; $1.1 billion through the first half of 2007. There was automotive gross cash at June 30, 2007 of $37.4 billion.
Ford Motor Company sales and revenue over the last three years has fluctuated tremendously, 2005 was 176.8 billion, 160.1 billion and for the year of 2006 and 172.5 billion for 2007. The current return on investment is -10.4 as of 2007.
Ford Motor Company current mission statement is “committed to provide personal mobility for people around the world”. With that in mind their vision is to become the world’s leading Consumer Company for automotive products and services. By improving everything they do, the company provide superior returns to their shareholders (Vision, Mission, Values).
"Ford Motor Company's objective is to deliver a total return to shareholders in the top quartile of the S&P 500 over time”. The company will meet this goal by the transformation into the world's leading consumer company for automotive products and services which make attractive dividend yield and growth in their share price (Ford Motor Company increases fourth-quarter dividend by nine percent).
Over time, Ford business strategy has responded to the challenges of the motor industry. The corporate culture of Ford management is establishing strategic business units that complement the company's global scale and structure.
Overall, General Motors has had five profitable years with increasing sales during the same period. GM has also paid a fixed dividend to its shareholders over the same period. The one-year, which was below average for GM, was 1998. During this period, GM was restructuring its top management and operations and also incurred a union strike of 54 days. However, GM did return to better performance in 1999 and 2000. GM overall was able to attain a fixed dividend of $2.00 per share and increase the shareholders value over the past five years.
Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 by Henry Ford. The company remained a private company until January 1956, when public sale of the common stock was first offered. The company mainly manufactures passenger cars, trucks, and commercial vans. They have also been able to produce automotive parts and accessories. Company headquarters are located in Dearborn, Michigan
A primary source referring to the financial success of the Ford Motor Company as well as the financial policies administered.
Ford uses a global area division organization design, setting up subsidiary companies for the different countries/regions that it is operating in....
Until recently, the Ford Motor Company has been one of the most dynastic of American enterprises, a factor which has both benefited the company and has brought it to the brink of disaster. Today Ford is the second largest manufacturer of automobiles and trucks in the world, and it’s operations are well diversified, both operationally and geographically. The company operates the worlds second largest finance company in the world, and is a major producer of tractors, glass and steel. It is most prominent in the US, but also has plants in Canada, Britain and Germany, and facilities in over 100 countries.
So the discussion on internal and external analysis clearly defines that where the competitive advantage of Ford Motors is and where it is lacking. People who have durability as their first priority will go for Ford but they lack in some of their strategies which the management should consider and work on it. We also came to know that Ford is an innovative company from the very first and also serves local demands with the help of related and supporting industry. But in some points they have taken wrong decisions which compel them to sell some of their brands to others. The good news is they are doing hard job to maintain their performance regarding their star and cash cow products to remain in the competition.
Even though a myriad of tools and techniques learnt in the Strategic Cost Management and Strategic Business Analysis courses are not fully exploited in this essay, it is generally recognised that those techniques are useful for a corporate to formulate strategy, do strategic planning, control costing and quality, as well as eventually elevate its values, regardless the nature and size of organizations.
Ford’s research and development capabilities act as strength to the company as customer wants and needs constantly change. Ford currently operates fifty-six research and development centers focused on improving the quality of Ford’s vehicles. Also, Ford invests billions of dollars every year to improve quality, performance, and overall customer satisfaction.
Ford- focused differentiation, medium pricing, breadth of product line is high. A strength is their pick-up truck market share, a weakness is perceived reliability and styling on some of the lines.
Many economic factors exist that impact the development of Ford Motor Company's strategic plan and it’s no small task to project how some of these factors might change as the strategy is being realized. Consider the prospect of expansion into a new market like China or Mexico. Economic changes like currency devaluation will make Ford’s product more expensive to their target market potentially reducing overall sales revenue. Oil prices as we’ve seen in the U.S. economy can also play a big factor as large vehicles become less desirable and more fuel efficient compact cars gain market share.
With about 187,000 employees and 62 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and
Ford adjusts production plan but still loosing money in North America. Automotive Digest Weekly. Retrieved June 4, 2008 from http://www.automotivedigest.com/weekly.shtml#6
Imagine that you are not that rich or not very poor. The very next day you are driving off the lot with a brand new Model T by Henry Ford. The car that is affordable for everyone to buy and it being safe to drive everyday and everywhere. Henry Ford led to the best car manufacturer in the world. The world knows this company because of how Henry Ford got his company to where it is now, how it is a unique company, and it rebounded time and time again. Ford was and is the greatest car company. It is here to stay.
“What is a marketing audit? Quite simply, it is a detailed analysis of the elements that constitute or influence a company’s efforts to profitably market its products- today and in future when both market and products may undergo radical change” ( John, Alexander, & Theodore, 1969). The marketing audit helps to understand the fundamentals of a company’s marketing planning process. Auditing is not only conducted not only at the planning stage and also conducted during various stages until the implementation of the marketing plan.
The Ford family still controls the company through multiple voting shares, even though it owns a much lower proportion of the equity. Ford’s business strategy is the integrated cost leadership/ differentiation strategy; this involves engaging in primary and support activities that allow the company to simultaneously pursue low cost and differentiation. This strategy is flexible and enables Ford to use technology to control the production of a variety of products in moderate, flexible qualities and with a minimum manual interaction, whose goal is to eliminate cost verse product variety. Cost leadership is a strong strategy, but it can be undermined by the frequent changes in technology, the imitation of cost advantage and the loss of focus on consumers. Ford’s differentiation strategy focuses on developing a unique product that consumers are willing to pay for, and the combination of these two strategies enables Ford to stay on its core competencies.