Management at Ford Motor Company

After the inception of Ford Motor Company in 1903 and the introduction of the first models including Model T, Henry Ford realized that the structure of the firm would not provide the mass production required to meet market demand.  In order to achieve the desired production level, Ford sought a change in management style and brought in Winsor Taylor so that he would introduce possible solutions for the same (The Saylor Foundation, 2018).  Taylor introduced the participative leadership, which included observing the workers and determining the production method that would be time-saving and efficient.  This was based on Taylor’s theory of management whose with the notion that productivity of individual employee would be improved if the tasks that they are assigned properly suits their strengths and personal capabilities. This change led to increased speed in production process but to meet the required level of production, Ford continued improving on the process in various areas (The Saylor Foundation, 2018).  

Secondly, as the firm expanded into international market through acquisition, it faced many challenges due to increased competition and reducing market share. In 2006, the CEO of the firm, Bill Ford and the great-grandson of the company’s founder, handed over the leadership of the firm to Alan Mulally. The performance of the firm was declining and meeting the market challenges was difficult (Caldicott, 2014). This required systematic and essential changes so as to improve the situation in terms of business practices.  Mulally introduced a management style closely related to visionary leadership, where many efforts were invested in formulation of a clear vision for the brand and getting all the stakeholders to share the vision. This also involved increased employee engagement though effective communication, which can be illustrated by Mulally’s decision to move his office to where engineers in the firm were based so as to have a hands-on approach in management (Caldicott, 2014). The changes were able to improve the performance of the firm since it provided a great turnaround.  While other firms were being bailed out by the government, Ford under Mulally’s leadership was able to obtain the needed funds to put the company back on track (Caldicott, 2014).  Since then, the firm has been able to regain credibility among investors since its performance in the market has been improving.

Under the guidance of Allan Mulally, the senior management in Ford Motors was able to steer the organization into a more credible investment in relation to investors’ interests.  The management was able to guide the firm throughout the cultural shifts programs and this influenced how various teams in the company were structured, the fostering of collaboration and the flourishing of innovation (Mullar, 2012). Employees normally look to managers to understand the effects of coming changes on their work. The most recent change in the firm was a change in the leadership around the globe, in line with a redesigning of the firm’s operations to achieve long-term success (Myers, Hulks & Wiggins, 2012).  The role of the leadership was to prepare the firm for these changes, where the senior leaders leaving the organization had significant contribution.  These leaders were able to help employee anticipate the coming change and any risk that would arise from it. Leaders must ensure that there are little disruptions in the performance of employees during introduction of change and the challenge of uncertainty.  In addition, leaders must prepare employees to embrace though diversity, different ways of acting and innovating (Myers, Hulks & Wiggins, 2012). The introduction of new leadership in Ford was bound to bring cultural change as the new leaders sought to change the reception of the firm’s product in the market especially in oversee markets where losses were being experienced.  Change preparation requires collaboration and a culture in which ideas will be shared in a favorable environment. This is because human resources are the driver force that brings everybody closer towards the desired results (Myers, Hulks & Wiggins, 2012).

Ford Motor Company use of vendors as a strategy can be traced to the Aligned Business Framework agreements that it entered with various suppliers. The aim of these agreements was to have strong collaboration and sustainable business model that would drive profitability and development of technology for the two parties (Ford Motor Company, 2017). Creation and maintenance of such a strong and mutually beneficial relationship with different vendors assist the firm to minimize costs, enhance quality and make sufficient progress toward the set sustainability goals. Strategic vendor relationship is important for a firm that wants to maintain its hold on the market, since vendors normally have relationships with customers that are more intimate (He et al. 2014).  A strategic partnership with vendors will ensue that the values of a firm are portrayed at the various levels of relationships in the market. The use of the company’s spokes person, who engages in public relationships efforts, is a strategic way for the firm to uphold its values in the market and hence, improve its public image.

An innovative idea that can positively impact the employees and customer of Ford Motors Company is to align the employees to a strategy that is customer-focused. This would require employee engagement at the various levels of operations in the organization, since employees who are actively engaged become loyal towards a firm (Taylor, 2011). They will always be able to go the extra mile in making sure that a company’s success is assured.  When people in an organization have fell they belong to the workplace, they like to be associated with it and also provide improved customer services.  Employee engagement will have a positive correlation with satisfaction of customer needs and the overall better productivity of the firm. The employees will interact with customers and generate emotions and hence, positive customer relationship (Taylor, 2011).  The customer relationship through interaction will define the brand.

Ford Motor Company has been able to embrace the various changes that have occurred in the internal and external environment. Willingness and flexibility in embracing change has enabled the firm to adapt to an increasingly competitive environment with constantly changing customer needs (Myers, Hulks & Wiggins, 2012). The introduction of new leaders and culture whenever the firm is undergoing challenges has been driving acceptance of changes, and this makes the firm ready for uncertainties in future.  The building of partnership with vendors in the global market will enable the firm the firm to note the change in customer needs, competitive environment and the best actions that can ensure market strategies change accordingly. As the company continues its focus on innovation, it will manage to meet the needs of the customers as they change, and adopt competitive strategies (Myers, Hulks & Wiggins, 2012). Failure to innovate will make the firm to lose its competitive edge and hence, its market-share in the global market.

Reference

Taylor, B. (2011). Customer Driven Change: What Your Customers Know, Your Employees Think, You Managers Overlook. Cork: Book. 157

Myers, P., Hulks, S., & Wiggins, L. (2012). Organizational change: Perspectives on theory and practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 77-79

He, Y., Lai, K. K., Sun, H., & Chen, Y. (2014). The impact of supplier integration on customer integration and new product performance: the mediating role of manufacturing flexibility under trust theory. International Journal of Production Economics, 147, 260-270.

Franklin Institute, (n.d). Case Files: Henry Ford. Retrieved from: https://www.fi.edu/case-files/henry-ford

The Saylor Foundation, (2018). Scientific Management Theory and the Ford Motor Company. Retrieved from: https://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Saylor.orgs-Scientific-Management-Theory-and-the-Ford-Motor-Company.pdf