...In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit. This event signified a conscious decision on Ford's part to dedicate his life to industrial pursuits. His promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893 gave him enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on internal combustion engines. These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of his own self-propelled vehicle-the Quadricycle. The Quadricycle had four wire wheels that looked like heavy bicycle wheels, was steered with a tiller like a boat, and had only two forward speeds with no reverse. Although Ford was not the first to build a self-propelled vehicle with a gasoline engine, he was, however, one of several automotive pioneers who helped this country become a nation of motorists. After two unsuccessful attempts to establish a company to manufacture automobiles, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated in 1903 with Henry Ford as vice-president and chief engineer. The infant company produced only a few cars a day at the Ford factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit. Groups of two or three men worked on each car from components made to order by other companies. Henry Ford realized his dream of producing an automobile that was reasonably priced, reliable, and efficient with the introduction of the Model T in 1908. This vehicle initiated a new era in personal transportation. It was easy to operate, maintain, and handle on rough roads, immediately becoming a huge success. ...
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...2010 Ford Motor Company and Cruji Management Consulting (B) Outlines Introduction Requirements Methodology and analyzing: * Descriptive statistics * Mathematical approach Findings Recommendation Introduction: Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation and one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. Based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Metro Detroit, the automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated in 1903. One of Ford facility in Canada is St. Thomas Assembly plant in Ontario. Opened in 1968 it produces the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car. In early May 1998, the company was concerned that 5 tug operators, each costing $100,000 annually over three shifts, was too many. A management consultancy company; Colin Cruji was hired to study and analyze the utilization of the tug operators and see if Ford could eliminate the number of tug operators per shift which were five operators for each shift at the time, keeping in mind that the current level of garbage collection should not be affected. In this report, an analysis will be conducted to determine the percentage of capacity utilization for each tug operator, the actual time they work , and whether or not its recommended to eliminate the number of tug operators while keeping the same standard service. Observations: After two weeks, Colin was still observing the tug operation at Fords St. Thomas assembly...
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...communication (Gunaskeran, Patel & McGaughey 2004, Persson 1991). These factors can make creating and sustaining competitive advantage in supply chain management (SCM) a complicated and difficult task (Cavinato 1992, Persson 1991, Mehrjerdi 2009). A range of measures of supply chain competitiveness have been developed throughout SCM literature. Bhatangar & Sohal (2005, pg. 445) stated that there are “no stable set of measures that can be used for assessing the performance of the supply chain” (Lee & Billington 1992, Gunaskeran et al 2004). The pair constructed a framework (see Appendix A) that categorises and combines many of the concepts developed in the literature surrounding the competitiveness of supply chains. Gunaskeran et al (2004) also developed a framework for measuring performance in terms of strategic, tactical and operational levels of supply chain activity (See Appendix B). Developments in the perceptions of SCM are moving from a basic, purely cost approach to one of value-adding and non-cost measures such as customer satisfaction, asset utilisation, quality, flexibility, time based performance, and innovation (Cavinato 1992). Furthermore, what was once inter-functional total cost is now being considered to some as inter-firm total cost, and is seen as an area of opportunity in the quest for competitiveness in value-added management (Cavinato 1992). Cavinato (1992) suggests a more holistic total cost model that...
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...The Ford Motor Company’s Supply Chain Management Landon Orchard 292 Windermere Court West, London, Ontario, Canada 519-661-7006 Landon Orchard is currently an undergraduate business management major at Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio North Central Ohio APICS Chapter Full-time undergraduate student The Ford Motor Company’s Supply Chain Management 2 The Ford Motor Company’s Supply Chain Management ABSTRACT The influx of foreign automobiles that flood the United States market is higher than ever before and American companies are struggling to adapt to this decrease in market share. Ford is one of the organizations that has restructured its supply chain strategy to better integrate suppliers into their system reducing cost and making delivery more efficient. INTRODUCTION Background of Ford As European and Asian car manufacturers continue to make advancements on the American markets, Ford's market share will decrease even further. One of the processes that Ford must improve is its supply chain management. By being able to speed up and better interact with suppliers and consumers, Ford will regain lost market share by communicating customer needs between themselves and their suppliers and acting upon these requests quicker and more efficiently. The Ford Motor Company has been the focus of supply chain operations analysts lately as they have begun to revamp their supply chains and how they interact with suppliers and customers. Ford has been a leading...
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...Describe how either Taylor or Ford changed organisational management and workplace practices. Critically analyse how they continue to influence contemporary organizational behaviour Student ID: Word count: 1976 Submission Date: 1 1323413 20/01/2014 Understanding Organisational Behaviour IB1230 ID: 1323413 Introduction “In the past the man has been first; in the future the system must be first.” Frederick Winslow Taylor. In the late 19th century, Frederick Winslow Taylor, known to many the forefather of scientific management, sparked the automation revolution, the third great transition in the history of humanity (after the Neolithic Revolution, a result of the development of agriculture around 6,000 B.C and the industrial revolution in the 18th century) (Souza, 1999, p.1). However, it can be argued that Taylor’s greatest contribution to capitalism was not the revolution itself, but how Taylorism brought about the era of competition and syncretism with contrasting or corresponding concepts on organisational management and workplace practices, particularly Fordism, which arguably extended the dynamics of Taylorism centered on the use of assembly line. This essay will examine how Fordism developed organisational management and modified workplace practices by exploring known historical application of its principles and theories. Thereupon, it will further analyse how elements of Fordism still exist in modern management sciences, taking example...
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...NAME OF THE BOOK - Odour Of Chrysanthemums. NAME OF THE AUTHOR - David Herbert Lawrence (D H Lawrence). SOURCE - eBook. No. of Pages - 11. PUBLISHERS DETAILS - Published in "The English Review" Magazine, in June 1911 by editor "Ford Madox Hueffer". He was also an author of various books written under the name of "Ford Madox Ford". ABOUT THE AUTHOR - David Herbert Richards Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was born in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England. He was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter. His notable works include Novels (Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love, Lady Chatterley's Lover), Short Stories (Odour of Chrysanthemums, Daughters of the Vicar, The Man who loved Islands), Play (The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd), etc. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation. In them, Lawrence confronts issues relating to emotional health & vitality, spontaneity, and instinct. In his later years he continued to write despite his failing health. In his last months he wrote numerous poems, reviews and essays. He died at the Villa Robermond in Venice, France, in March 1930, from complications of tuberculosis, after being discharged from a TB sanatorium. DESCRIPTION OF THE STORY - "Odour of Chrysanthemums" focuses on a dramatic moment in the life of Mrs. Elizabeth Bates and the accidental death of her husband, Walter Bates. The story goes on telling...
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...Perspectives Paper Part I: Please provide answers to the following: 1. Identify the relevant facts of the Ford Pinto case: In 1970 Ford introduced the Pinto, a small car that was intended to compete with the then current challenge from European cars and the ominous presence on the horizon of Japanese manufacturers. The Pinto was brought from inception to production in the record time of approximately 25 months, where a normal car usually takes 43 months. This showed an expedited time frame for the Pinto. On top of time pressure the team was also required to follow a limit of 2000, that meaning it could not exceed $2000 in cost and it could not weight more than 2000lbs. When it came to routine crash testing of the Pinto, it was revealed that the Pinto’s fuel tank often ruptured when struck from the rear at a relatively low speed. This was because the fuel tank was positioned between the rear bumper and the rear axle, and when impact was made studs from the axle would puncture the fuel tank, spilling gasoline that could be ignited by the sparks. In crash testing 11 vehicles, 8 of the cars suffered potentially catastrophic gas tank ruptures. There were several possibilities for fixing the problem, but given the restrictions of limit of 2000, they made no changes. The most controversial reason for rejecting the production change was because of Ford’s cost-benefit analysis. Ford believed that the cost of rebuilding the Pinto to make it safer were far more expensive than the cost of...
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...FORD PINTO CASE The Ford management has chosen to be unethical and morally unworthy to be trusted with the lives of its customers. Can you just imagine the number of individuals riding every day in the cars that they produced, who are unaware that they could be in an injury any moment? Ford management has chosen not to follow the safety guidelines and standards in producing such products because at that time, the government is still not that strict in implementing such rules. And because of their eagerness to meet the production schedule, they have reduced the time allotted for the rear-end impact testing just to introduce such product on the market on time. They disregarded their customer’s safety and the possibility of injury or death just for the sake of small profit or share in the market. Ford with its utilitarian perspective, which the decision not to recall such products or even warn its customers, served the greater amount of good to those who are affected, hose who will benefit from the profit it will get. It has also regarded its decision as to having no instinctive value even when it is showing obvious consequences. The cost-benefit analysis that was used by Ford was also to blame. The cost amounting to $137M versus the $49.5M estimated for the cost of injuries, deaths, and car damages has been the deciding factor for Ford not to implement the design changes that would have made the cars safer. Ford used the formula so as not to legally implement the changes. However...
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...Introduction The unfortunate tragedies involving the explosion of Ford Pinto's due to a design defect led to a main debate regarding the use of a cost-benefit analysis and the ethics revolving around the company’s decision to go further with the initial, defective prototype. Ethical Dilemma Ford was completely aware of the safety issues the prototype was facing, but solving the issue would cause great disadvantage for the company: production schedule had to be modified, resulting in delays to bring the new car on the market, and also production costs would increase. In this context an ethical dilemma raised, so two crucial issues were addressed: either go further with the production of Pinto regardless the defects and the danger to future customers, or delay the production and modify the original model to assure safety and reliability, regardless the higher costs? Ford’s decision was to continue the production of the defective design while basing it on a cost-benefit analysis. In this context another dilemma was created: should such an analysis be used in situations where defects could lead to death or cause tremendous harm, such as in the Ford Pinto situation? Utilitarianism Based on the information provided by Ford, the company assumed and decided that the most benefit would come from going ahead with the production of the initial design. Utilitarianism is defined as a normative, empirical philosophy that is based on the principle that “the right thing to...
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...Case: The Ford Pinto 1.) In my judgment, I feel that the management of Ford Company should be held morally responsible for Mrs. Gray’s death and Richard Grimshaw’s injuries. This is because Ford Company put the Pinto on the market to be sold. In that case, the managers were aware of the risk factors if indeed these cars did sale. Certainly, I do feel the Ford Company as a whole, should be held legally liable for the death of Mrs. Gray and the injuries of Richard Grimshaw. I strongly believe this because in the case it states, “Although the normal preproduction testing and development of an automobile takes about forty-three months, Iacocca managed to bring the Pinto to the production stage in a little over two years”. This simply shows the Pinto was clearly not ready to be on the market. The internal memos even showed that Ford crashed-tested early models of the Pinto before the production. The Pinto was tested over forty times and each test unfortunately results in a ruptured fuel tank. Since the crash tests models did not succeed, I do not understand why the Pinto was placed on the market. The management was unwilling to pay the minimal expense to redesign the vehicles. In that case according to the cost benefit analysis, it is morally wrong of them because they found it out to be cheaper to pay the lawsuits off from the deaths rather than paying for the safety makeover of the cars. The management of Ford was indeed forgetting about the life of a human and worrying about...
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...THE PINTO CASE A SHORT SUMMARY In the early 1960s Ford’s market position was being heavily eroded by competition from domestic and foreign manufactures of subcompacts. Lee Iacocca, then President of Ford, was determined to regain Ford’s share of the market by having a new subcompact, the Pinto, in production by 1970. Then Ford engineers crash tested an early model of the Pinto. They found that when the automobile was struck from the rear at 20 miles per hour, the gas tank regularly ruptured. Stray sparks could then ignite the spraying gasoline, engulf the car in flames and possibly burn the trapped occupants. Nonetheless, Ford management decided for several reasons to go ahead with production of the Pinto as designed. First, the design met all applicable federal laws and standards then in effect. Secondly, the Pinto was comparable in safety to other cars being produced by the auto industry. Third, an internal Ford study indicated that the social costs of improving the design outweighed the social benefits. According to the study it was estimated that a maximum of 180 deaths might result if the Pinto design were not changed. For purposes of cost/benefit analysis the Federal government at that time put a value of $200,000 on a human life. Consequently, the study reasoned, saving 180 lives was worth about a total of $36 million to society. On the other hand, improving the 11 million Pintos then being planned would cost about $11 per car for a total investment of $121 million. Since...
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...Appendix 2: Ford Pinto Case and Cost Benefit Analysis Edited by Richard Brooks In 1968 in response to strong foreign competition, Ford decided to build a subcompact car — the Pinto — on a 2×2×2 plan (2,000 pounds, $2,000, in 2 years). In pre-launch tests, Ford discovered that rear end collisions propelled the gas tank onto the real axle, which had protrusions that ruptured the tank and caused the car to catch fire. Yet Ford did Figure 1: Ford Pinto not modify the Pinto’s rear axle. Nor did it follow through on an idea to place a rubber bladder in the fuel tank. Why? The reason seems to have been that these changes would have increased the price, lowered sales and reduced profit. That reason is given credence in a cost/benefit study done on modifying the Pinto. So the Ford Pinto went on sale with dangerous design faults in the position of the fuel tank and nearby bolts, and the tendency for the fuel valve to leak in rollover accidents. Design and production was rushed and cost of the vehicle kept down to sell it at $2000. It sold well, until 1972 when four people died and one young boy was horrendously burned and disfigured; these are only a few of the incidents that resulted from the Pinto’s flaws, many more followed, costing Ford millions in compensation. The engineers were fully aware of the flaws, yet the company continued to sell the car as it was, without safety modifications. Ford applied a generic cost/benefit analysis to accidents based on National Highway Traffic...
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...THE PINTO CASE A SHORT SUMMARY In the early 1960s Ford’s market position was being heavily eroded by competition from domestic and foreign manufactures of subcompacts. Lee Iacocca, then President of Ford, was determined to regain Ford’s share of the market by having a new subcompact, the Pinto, in production by 1970. Then Ford engineers crash tested an early model of the Pinto. They found that when the automobile was struck from the rear at 20 miles per hour, the gas tank regularly ruptured. Stray sparks could then ignite the spraying gasoline, engulf the car in flames and possibly burn the trapped occupants. Nonetheless, Ford management decided for several reasons to go ahead with production of the Pinto as designed. First, the design met all applicable federal laws and standards then in effect. Secondly, the Pinto was comparable in safety to other cars being produced by the auto industry. Third, an internal Ford study indicated that the social costs of improving the design outweighed the social benefits. According to the study it was estimated that a maximum of 180 deaths might result if the Pinto design were not changed. For purposes of cost/benefit analysis the Federal government at that time put a value of $200,000 on a human life. Consequently, the study reasoned, saving 180 lives was worth about a total of $36 million to society. On the other hand, improving the 11 million Pintos then being planned would cost about $11 per car for a total investment of $121...
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...priced a GM product the less quantity demand by the consumer. A picture of this would indicate a downward slope in the demand curve. The law of supply states that quantities sold at a higher price will cause an upward slope in the curve and unlike the demand curve the price will remain high because this will increase revenue. In the example to the Chevrolet Camaro a slack in production may increase the price even more because of scarcity. The effect can even be sought for a specific color or equipment. According to USA Today, Chevrolet struggled in 2010 to meet the demand of the Chevrolet Camaro and buyers paid $500 to $2500 more than the suggested retail to have an opportunity to make their purchase. The Chevy Camaro has outsold Ford Mustang for the first time since 1985. In 2011 for the...
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...Johnson has also increased military spending to pay for American involvement in the Vietnam War. These large government programs combined with strong consumer spending, pushed the demand for goods and services beyond what the economy could produce. Wages and prices started rising and began working together in a continuing cycle to create inflation. President Johnson lost his re-election bid to Gerald Ford whose presidential leadership was a period of severe recession. High unemployment and inflation dogged him and he ended up being a one term President, losing the election to President Jimmy Carter in 1976. President Carter came into office after winning a close election and was immediately tested by economic forces over which he had little control. He faced numerous economic woes. The severity of the economic problems prevented the application of any lasting solutions having inherited many of the complex economic problems of his term. While he attempted numerous solutions, none of them worked and in the end, he failed to conquer the problems due to his management style, political infighting and the overall limits forced by the dire economic times upon government policies. Among other important issues that Carter faced, he was also hindered by three critical problems –...
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