...on Ford Business 480 April 26th 2014 STRATEGIC AUDIT ON FORD MOTORS INC. Welcome to the presentation on Ford Motors Inc. This paper was written by Eddie E. Joseph. He is a student at National University currently working on his undergraduate degree. This BUS 480 course started on Tuesday, April 8th 2014 and will conclude on Sunday, May 4th 2014. As a senior working on a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Eddie looks forward to the challenges that he will face. Like the challenge presented in this strategic audit on Ford. This paper is broken up into segments, and organized in different sections within that segment’s topic. This paper will try to answer all questions about Ford in the most thorough way possible. Without further ado, let’s break down the current situation. I. Current Situation- Ford has been around for many years, spanning multiple countries. As a global heavy hitter, Ford has sustained a lucrative business practice in the motor industry, even outlasting the economic depression. When reviewing the present day stats, Ford will still prove to be one of the premier automotive companies in the United States and continue to expand around the world. A. Capital Structure- Ford has come a long way in recent years. After a difficult year like 2006 -- where Ford halted...
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...Week 3 Assignment Write a 2-page paper (plus cover sheet and reference page) that addresses the pros and cons of each research method with respect to both a new product launch and a revised product launch. Explain why there are different research needs for a new product versus a re-launch. Select from the following products: a mp3 player, a magazine, or a vehicle. Abstract The new product launch phase is a critical part of the total new product development process. Done well, a launch helps a new product rapidly establish itself among its target users, gain market share and enhance the company's brand position. Done poorly, a launch can negate all the time, money and human capital that went into developing the new product if it fails to achieve commercial success. Marketing experts estimate that two-thirds of all new products fail within two years. Many factors contribute to this high failure rate, including products that do not match customer needs or experience unforeseen competitive countermoves. In addition, each year it becomes more difficult to break through the noise generated by the thousands of existing products and line extensions. Drive it Like you Stole It! For this assignment I have chosen vehicles. Not just any vehicle. I have set my goals on one of the best marketed vehicles with the least amount of advertisements I know about. The Mustang Shelby! When Ford decided it wanted to give a rebirth to one of the best muscle cars ever created it knew just...
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...Ford Motor Company: An Analysis of Employee Motivation and Morale Table of Contents Overview 2 Introduction 3 Clues from History 3 Ford & the Other Guys 6 Innovation & Motivation 8 The Family 12 Cutbacks 13 Conclusion 15 Works Cited 16 Overview The purpose of the following paper is to inform the reader about possible techniques of behavior modification in an attempt to solve motivational problems with workers at Ford Motor Company. Information on the company’s history, current and future outlooks, and human resource problems will lay the foundation to apply proven methods of increasing motivation. The paper is concluded with a look into the effects of cutting costs on employee moral along with a summary of proposed methods for solving the loss of motivation at Ford. Introduction Ford Motor Company has been an American icon since the very early years of the 20th century. From the Model T’s, which were assembled by hand in 1903, to today which includes Aston Martin, Land Rover, Lincoln, and several other products, along with the signature Ford brand-name products, Ford Motor has been making cars and, more importantly, making incredible profits. With amazing innovations by Henry Ford and his successors, a product which appeals to the American people, and incredible tenacity, Ford has grown to be the world’s third-largest automaker and one of the top-ten most profitable corporations in the world. Being one of the world’s most powerful and profitable...
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...The Case of the Ford Pinto By James Abstract Product harm crisis can be defined as a sudden break in a product’s life cycle (Siomkos, G.J and Kurzbard. J. 1994). In 1971 the Ford Motor Company created a product harm crisis with the introduction of the Ford Pinto. The Ford Pinto is known to be one of the most dangerous vehicles ever produced in automotive history due to several serious design flaws. This paper will identify the factors that contributed to the product harm crisis, compare and contrast the findings of various studies on a product harm crisis and finally synthesis the research findings and provide a post mortem recommendation to the Ford Motor Company on how the Ford Pinto product crisis should have been handled. The Case of the Ford Pinto In 1968 the Ford Motor Company decided to market a vehicle that was small, inexpensive and would appeal to all car buyers. The Vice President of Ford Motor Company at the time was Lee Iacocca. Mr. Iacocca approved the plan for the Ford Pinto based on the parameters of the car weighing 2000 pounds and costing $2,000.00 dollars (Danley J. 2005). By placing these parameters on the car’s designers, they were limited from the beginning and ended up with a failed product. The key factors that contributed to the product crisis included the Ford Pinto being rushed to production in twenty five months, the timeframe to production causing designers and producers of the car to cut corners and finally...
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...The record player and record were invented by Thomas Edison in 1877. Its first name was the phonograph. The first words ever recorded were “Mary had a little lamb”. The first record was made of paraffin paper and a embossing point to record sound. Using a metal cylinder with tin foil wrapped around it to produce sound. Later vinyl replaced the paper and a needle or stylus was also adapted to fit into the groove of the record. In 1963 William Powell Lear invented and patented the 8-track tape and its corresponding player. Then it was introduced to the public in 1966 when the Ford Motor Company introduced as the cutting-edge automotive accessory for the Ford Mustang (Techtarget.com). 8-tracks began to quickly replace the LP’s due to their portability and they would not warp or skip. During the 60’s the compact cassette was introduced to the public, it was not so much of a music playback system instead; it was used for personal recording and as dictation machine. Then during the 70’s cassettes became very popular when record industries such as Mercury saw the growing potential for their businesses. Later in the 80’s with the invention of the Sony Walkman portable player, and boom boxes; cassettes were the most popular formats to playback music. In the 70’s a music lover frustrated that vinyl records were easily damaged James T. Russell began developing a method to record music onto a photosensitive platter that would be read by a laser (ehow.com). But it was not until...
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...logical thinking. The open air of writing was always intimidating to me. However, during my 11th grade English class, I realized I was capable. It wasn’t black and white, but rather all the colors imaginable. It was this realization that really helped me progress as a writer. A shift in paradigm made all the difference. My strong points in writing are usually fact-based works, such as research papers. My love of research branches off from my love of logic. It either is… or it isn’t. If I can choose the topic of my writing, I usually achieve a better result. Interest in the topic is what really drives me to do well with the matter at hand. I could write ten pages in a heartbeat about Ford Mustangs, but...
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...Timothy Dixon Leadership Paper Saint Leo University Instructor: Amy Heath Leadership Paper This research paper will be concerning the differences and comparison of two iconic business leaders. Mr. Murdoch and Mr. Iacocca both have made names for themselves in the business world in their own way. It is my pleasure to convey the background and leadership styles of both leaders. Rupert Murdoch background Mr. Murdoch was born March 11, 1931 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. His nationality is Australian-American. In his early years he was raised by a publicly prominent Lady Elisabeth Murdoch and Australian newspaperman Sir Keith Murdoch. “The young Murdoch was educated at private schools and Oxford University in England” (Johnson). He worked as an intern at the London Daily Express under the leadership of Lord Beaverbrook. It has been said that the London Daily Express was the main influence in Murdoch’s development; where he learned to embrace the idea that newspapers were meant to entertain, not educate. After his father’s death in 1953, Murdoch returned to Australia to oversee the operations of the Adelaide News and Sunday Mail. His hands-own commitment and extraordinary approach enhanced movement, and soon was able to add the Perth Sunday Times and additional newspapers in Sydney under his tutelage (Johnson). Furthermore in 1973 Murdoch moved into American newspapers market with the purchase of San Antonio Express. Rejected in his attempts...
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...Ford Motor Company Analysis Introduction Ford Motor Company was originally founded by Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan on June 16, 1903. Ford Motor Company has a very glamorous history. Since it was found in the early 1900’s, Ford positioned them as the reformer of the car manufacturing industry. Their mission was clearly stated in words, “began a manufacturing revolution with its mass production assembly lines”. And they rendered the corporate strategies matching with their goal in later years. “They introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. Henry Ford's methods came to be known around the world as Fordism by 1914”. (“The Ford Story”) http://www.thefordstory.com/ the combination of attractive product design with the efficiency in manufacturing brought them not just profits, but popularity and reputation. Some of their famous classic designs like Model T, 500hp GT, Mustangs, Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), Taurus and the best-selling F-series truck are still sold well. But Ford has been on the downhill since the beginning of the 21st century. Because of the crush of the bad economy and flawed management strategies, Ford suffered a lot and the previous ranking is now after Toyota and General Motor. It’s quite a burden to the CEO, Alan Mulally, who was elected as the new CEO in 2006 after Bill Ford stepped down...
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...Introduction of Ford Company "We are a globally diverse family, with a proud heritage, that's passionately committed to providing outstanding products and services." The mission Statement of Ford reflects the success and the fame that the company has acquired after surviving strongly in the automotive industry all these years. True they are a globally diverse family, as they have their manufacturing units all over the world. The sales figure of the company holds strong even during the times of economic downfall, all mainly because of the high standards of strategic planning by the marketing team. Ford Motor Company was founded in 1902 and the legend is popular for its exceptional achievements. The most popular of the Car coming out of Ford Motors is the Mustang, to the large scale manufacturing of using moving assembly lines show us how Ford Motors has been setting standards in the fields of innovation and quality. For CEO Mr. Allan Mullaly in a statement given to the contact magazine said that one of his for priorities in the ONE Ford plan is "accelerate development of new products our customers want and value." This does not seem to be a surprise as now in the market lies in the customer's hands where he would want the best of the line of products and for the cheapest price. And in this era where the growth in globalization is sky rocketing it is the sole aim of car manufacturers to grab customers towards their business or they might end up closing their company...
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...regarding the future of the corporation I. Overview of Corporation For our final project I chose to study the automotive company Ford Motor company and to analyze their financials from 2006-2010 which was right before the massive economic recession. Ford was able to stay afloat during these rough years however this economic downturned caused one of largest competitors General Motors to receive billions of dollars in bailout money from the United States government. I chose to study Ford because I actually had started investing in their company in my own starting in 2006 and I wanted to study how Ford’s finances were positioned when I began investing and see if it was a great buy or I should have instead invested at the time in Toyota a large multi-national competitor that is based in Asia and also operate in the United States which I had thought about investing the money in back in 2006 however I choose Ford instead. “Mulally who was named president and CEO of Ford, in 2006, the famous American Ford Motor company is a leader in automobile manufacturing industry some of the most purchased products are the Ford Focus, Ford F-150 pickup and the Ford Mustang is always a must have with the sports car enthusiast. Ford Motor Company's family of brands includes cars, crossovers, trucks and SUVs from Ford, Lincoln and Mercury brands. Ford also has thousands of dealerships around the United...
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...Cisco Systems, a technology firm with more than 60,000 employees worldwide, has emphasized ethics in interesting ways. Until a few years ago, Cisco did ethics training and enforcement like many other firms by using organization-required sessions and procedures. However, Cisco now uses a constantly available ethics program through its firm communications, Internet, and even television programs similar to American Idol. To conduct its ethics awareness, Cisco enables employees worldwide to view the Ethics Idol via television on its intranet. Cartoon individuals present different ethical situations and then have “judges” give decisions. Employees vote on the best answer to each situation. More than 10,000Cisco employees participate voluntarily in these network analyses. Many employees look at the Ethics Idol after work rather than during business hours. After the employees vote, Cisco’s ethics office professionals then give the best answer linked to Cisco company standards and compliance requirements. Using these creative and entertaining means has enhanced awareness of ethical issues throughout the fi rm. A new ethics document has been updated regularly, and more than 90% of Cisco employees have become certified in reviewing the code of the fi rm. Merging ethics issues, technology, and regular interactive training has led to ethical understanding and behavior by Cisco employees. Other firms have similar programs, but Cisco’s efforts are a model of ethical training and engagement...
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...they've been happy with. It doesn't take lots of fat tires or fancy styling to keep them happy, most want just plain old reliability and most miles per their money spent (not just for fuel, but ALL costs). “Do that and you're the winner” that's the Toyota method. Toyota system responds also more quickly than competitors. The chief engineer have the responsible for the product to marketing. There are a number of features to this system that make it customer oriented. * The Toyota system responds more quickly than competitors, allowing the company to correct any mistakes and react to market trends faster than competitors. * The system has a chief engineer responsible for the product from design to marketing. This may allow consumer research to function as a direct input into engineering specifications rather than become a secondary concern after the product is designed. * Since the corporate philosophy is to serve customers, consumer inputs are more likely to be used develop better new products. 2. In what ways is Toyota’s manufacturing system designed to serve customers ? Toyota's manufacturing systems that are designed to serve customers, including : * Employees, even on the assembly line, are trained to consider their output as a product that should satisfy the next employee (the "customer") who receives it. If everyone in the company is satisfied with the quality of the work received from others, it is more likely that the ultimate consumer will be satisfied...
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...August 25, 2013 Abstract The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the reasons social media marketing had become exceedingly popular with large businesses to entrepreneurs. To analyze the advantages and disadvantages of Social Media Marketing for business entrepreneurs; measure how Social Media Marketing is helping Pepsi gain more customer insight than it would have otherwise; measure how Social Media Marketing is helping Pepsi gain more customer insight than it would have otherwise; Research two (2) other businesses that have used Social Media Marketing to their advantage; Discuss how each of these businesses has utilized Social Media Marketing and provide examples with your discussion. Lastly, speculate what impact Social Media will have business over the next decade and identify what skills you need to improve to take advantage of the changes. 1. Evaluate the reasons Social Media Marketing has become exceedingly popular among businesses of all sizes. Social media marketing has become popular among business of all sizes. Companies use social media to expand products and services, and also to reach a larger audience. Not only will these products and services reach a domestic audience but also an international audience. Social media sites such as Facebook (www.facebook.com), Twitter (www.twitter.com), or YouTube (www.youtube.com) allow companies and entrepreneurs to market their products or services either for free or at fee based advertisement. Facebook is a global...
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...Benefit Segmentation: A Dedsion-oriented Research Tool RUSSELL I. HALEY been center M ARKETassegmentation has passessteadily moving towardresearch stage a topic of discussion in marketing and circles. Hardly a conference without at least one session devoted to it. Moreover, in March the American Management Association held a three-day conference entirely concerned with various aspects of the segmentation problem. According to Wendell Smith. "Segmentation l^ based upon developments on the demand side of the market and represents a rational and more precise adjustment of product and marketing effort to consumer or user requirements."^ The idea that all markets can be profitably segmented has now received almost as widespread acceptance as the marketing concept itself. However, problems remain. In the extreme, a marketer can divide up his market in as many ways as he can describe his prospects. If he wishes, he can define a left-handed segment, or a blue-eyed segment, or a German-speaking segment. Consequently, current discussion revolves largely around which of the virtually limitless alternatives is likely to be most productive. According to this ar+icle, mos+ techniques of market segmentation rely only on DESCRIPTIVE factors pertaining to purchasers and are not efficient predictors of future buyer behavior. The author proposes an approach whereby market segments are delineated first on the basis of factors with a CAUSAL relationship to future purchase behavior. The belief underlying...
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... NAME: SHAMEEL P.B REGISTER NUMBER:1579 DATE OF SUBMISSION:17-09-2012 | | Assignment front sheet | Learner name | ------------------------------------------------- Assessor name | SHAMEEL P.B | Anu Antony | Date issued | Completion date | Submitted on | | 16-09-2012 | 17-09-2012 | Qualification | Unit number and title | BTEC LEVEL 7 EDSML | Unit 13 : Managing Financial Principles and Techniques | | | Assignment title | FORD MOTOR COMPANY – A CASE STUDY | In this assessment you will have opportunities to provide evidence against the following criteria. Indicate the page numbers where the evidence can be found. | Criteria reference | To achieve the criteria the evidence must show that the student is able to: | | Task no. | | Evidence | 1 | explain the importance of costs in the pricing strategy of an organisation changes | | 1.1 | | 9 | 1 | design a costing system for use within an organisation resource | | 1.2 | | 17 | 1 | propose improvements to the costing and pricing systems used by an organisation | | 1.3 | | 21& 24 | 2 | apply forecasting techniques to make cost and revenue decisions in an organisation | | 2.1 | | | 2...
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