...Managing Organizational Change 1 Managing Organizational Change HRM 587 1 Managing Organizational Change Proposal For my topic, I will examine cultural changes within Ford Motors and Toyota from their inception to current day and their impact on company performance. Ford Motors was 2 established earlier than Toyota and was a driving force for innovation in the automotive industry. Post World War II Toyota built on Fords early concepts and took innovation and efficiency to new levels in the decades that followed. Henry Ford founded Ford Motors; early on they focused on process and developed the Ford System. “They took all the elements of a manufacturing system - - people, machines, tooling, and products - - and arranged them in a continuous system for manufacturing the Model T automobile.” (Strategos, 2012.) The Ford system focused on improving systems and processes to drive greater productivity and reduce errors. With the advent of labor unions and prosperity, conditions changed, but Ford failed to compensate for these changes. (Strategos, 2012.) Toyota later embraced Fords concepts and built upon them to create the Toyota Production System. Early on Ford focused on systems and process, the Toyota Production System expanded on those concepts by also focusing on people as a key resource. Taiichi Ohno was a key architect of the Toyota Production System and studied the Ford Production System early on. (Mann, D. 2005) I personally find this topic to be extremely...
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...Course Project Proposal The ideal of this project proposal is to compare and contrast General Motors and Ford which have undergone fairly substantial change in the recent past; and how they handled the pressure of change. Lapratt04@yahoo.com HRM-587-12043 Managing Organizational Change Professor Joseph Phillips Due September 7, 2014 Abstract Ford and GM experienced serious issues during the pre and post TARP causing them to restructure and change how they do business. Each of them reacted to these pressure differently. Ford Motor Company as one of the greatest automobile manufacturers of all time started under the leadership of Henry Ford in Detroit, Michigan. His first production was in 1903, the Model A, with an under the floor engine selling for $850. In the first season it sold 1,708 cars (HISTORY of Ford Motor Company, 2014). Whereas General Motors was founded in 1902 by William Durant, who saw that the automobile would one day replace the horse-drawn carriage. The company did not really catch on until 1908, and at first, it was just a Buick holding company. At the end of 1908, however, GM had acquired Oldsmobile, and in 1909, they bought Cadillac, Elmore, and Oakland. The early 1900s were a difficult time for auto manufacturers; the market crash of 1907 adversely affected a lot of small companies, which relied on the banks for credit. Durant saw the economic downturn as an opportunity; he bought smaller car makers, as well as companies that built auto accessories...
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...Business Case (The Ford Pinto) There was strong competition for Ford in the American small-car market from Volkswagen and several Japanese companies in the 1960's. To fight the competition, Ford rushed its newest car the Pinto into production in much less time than is usually required to develop a car. The regular time to produce an automobile is 43 months but Ford took 25 months only (Satchi, L., 2005). Although Ford had access to a new design which would decrease the possibility of the Ford Pinto from exploding, the company chose not to implement the design, which would have cost $11 per car, even though it had done an analysis showing that the new design would result in 180 less deaths. The company defended itself on the grounds that it used the accepted risk-benefit analysis to determine if the monetary costs of making the change were greater than the societal benefit. Based on the numbers Ford used, the cost would have been $137 million versus the $49.5 million price tag put on the deaths, injuries, and car damages, and thus Ford felt justified not implementing the design change (Legget, C., 1999). This was a ground breaking decision because it failed to use the common standard of whether a harm was a result of an action on trespass or harm as a result of an action on the case (Ferguson, A., 2005). From reading this case, we realize the company did not apply the managing ethics competency in building its goals and structure. Managing ethics competency involves the overall...
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...THE CHANGE PROCESS IN GENERAL MOTORS AND FORD This brief analysis reflects on the change management processes employed by the two motor companies; Ford and General Motors. The references discussed in this paper were a source of information that provided knowledge into the 2 major corporations and the transformational changes that they underwent in an effort to ensure their profitability and viability. Both GM and Ford underwent major decline and loss in stock some few years back and even as one filed for bankruptcy (GM) the other hard not to, and succeeded. Both companies needed to make some changes in an effort to recover. In an article by Terry Corbell, as he points out the 7 lessons that other businesses could learn from the Ford motor Company, he infers that If a business is performing in a mediocre fashion, chances are the company needs an overhaul. A culture change, if you will. And for a positive case study in change-management, Ford Motor Company qualifies (Corbell, 2013). Ford has had similar endorsements; ever since after being hired, CEO Mr. Mulally managed to notably install a competitive, sustainable business model that pulled Ford from the brink. Durbin and Krisher seem to agree with this assessment even as they also voice some doubts. Mulally has transformed the company into a simpler, nimbler organization that's ready to react to change more quickly, but experts are not so sure the change will last. Management experts say it's easy to talk about a willingness...
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...Ford Motor Company: Management and Leadership Randall Bullard Randall Bullard, Yahoo Contributor Network Sep 11, 2009 "Share your voice on Yahoo websites. Start Here." More: Ford Motor Company Newsvine Effective Management Effective Managers FlagPost a comment Economic changes continue to transform the very essence of how business is conducted. A company must be able to recognize the paths they face and be able to poise themselves to confront any obstacles to achieve the goals they set. One would ask how a company can poise themselves to meet these demands and the answer to that would be simple, thorough capable management and strong leadership. The answer may be simple but achieving this can be a daunting task. What does it take to have capable management and what qualities make up a good leader? Ford Motor Company is one company that has taken these items to task and have produced results that illustrate the power of effective management and precise leadership. The company's ability to appoint qualified managers and leaders has allowed the company to rise from previous lows and mistakes to be poised for a bright economic future. To be successful Ford Motor Company is required to have both good management and good leadership. Looking at these two terms one would think that they are one and the same. Isn't a manager a leader? Isn't a leader a manager? Thought these terms seem to be one and the same, they can be truly different when taken in...
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...paper explores “The Ford Pinto Case” managing of business ethics. Numerous factors suggest within this research that Ford Motor Company was negligent and violated its code of ethics. To understand how relationships are affected a closer look at Ford Motor Company missions and values will align Team B’s personal values with Ford Motor Company. In this paper the study to examine are the role of people, products, and profits in the decisions made regarding the Ford Pinto. Key factors surrounding the Ford Pinto Case The death of Lynn Marie Ulrich, Dana Ulrich and Lynn’s sister, and Judy Ann along with many others was what brought the controversy of the Ford Pinto’s faulty gas tank placement to a climax. After so many unnecessary deaths the release of the Ford Pinto was the responsibility of Ford’s CEO Henry Ford II and Ford’s new president Lee Iacocca. Iacocca reduced the average production of a car from three and a half years to a little over two years. Iacocca was aware that during crash testing the Pinto’s gas tank exploded upon collision but was desperate to expedite the vehicle’s release on his deadline. After the discovery of the Pinto’s faulty gas tank, Ford’s president decided it would be costly to make changes in the Pinto’s gas tank location and its size. The Ford Pinto cost $2000 and making changes would increase its price thus possibly making it less desirable by small car buyers. Ford’s mission, values, and guiding principles If Ford had its current mission...
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...IMAGE CHANGE ANALYSIS INTRODUCTION: In many organizations today, change is becoming more common every day. Change is vital for the “survival” of many companies. In many situations change was not even talked about and those companies are no longer in business. Many companies are under severe economic pressure and change is inevitable. Change is the only way for some. In today’s society we have take-over’s, down-sizing, mergers, joint ventures etc. as companies try to grow. Some companies focus on the question “what do we do to make our company grow”. “How many employees are we going to affect?” Let’s focus on my former employer Ford Motor Credit. Their thoughts back in 2003 was total quality is a way of life. This was the main strategy in order to bounce back financially, and to gain their credibility back. A. The strategic change initiative allows us to focus on four areas. a. Initiate Effort or gathering support b. Launching or agreeing on an approach c. Executing or doing what it takes d. Gaining Momentum or communicating results APPLICATION ANALYSIS: The Company of Focus in this analysis is Ford Motor Credit. There was a point and time when Ford had lost its credibility with the many Americans. There were many lawsuits against the company. There was an ongoing issue with the firestone tires that were put on each Ford SUV. The claims were that the tires blew out and caused many deadly accidents. Ford had to adhere to the...
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...Alan Mulally, CEO, Ford Motor Company Dr. Lu Leadership and Organizational behavior- BUS520 November 7, 2011 Alan Mulally, CEO, Ford Motor Company Discuss the role of leadership and how it can impact organizational performance In order for any company to succeed, there needs to be an effective leader to lead the organization in the right direction. The leader must be someone who not only knows about the company and where it needs to go but also how to take its resources (its employees, its equipment) and put it together to come up with a winning formula. The role of leadership is very important and the goals that a company wants to meet will not be attainable without an effective leader. A leader needs to be able to motivate and influence its employees. This is especially true in today’s down economy and highly competitive environment. The organization must look upon its employees to assess the playing field, formulate strategies, and unite organizational managers to work towards the common goals of staying in business, making a profit, and continuously improve market share. In essence, the primary role of a leader in an organization is to draw the road map for the organization to execute – often, this may involve some changes to the way it ran its business in the past. Therefore, the leader is the critical actor in drama of organization change to achieve the goals (Schneider, 1994). To initiate change, an effective leader, manager, director will need...
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...design involvement from suppliers Ford has several thousand suppliers and operates in a more complex network. Well Dell has only about 50 suppliers. Meanwhile Ford needs several thousands of parts to produce a product while Dell needs less than hundred parts. Suppliers were picked primarily based on cost and little regard was given to overall supply chain cost. There are already lots of good component manufacturers out there. Ford should focus the field where it could create value such as introducing the best product in the market and set up partnership via key suppliers instead of developing the components or managing the component suppliers. With the partner relationship and involvement of suppliers in design phases, the key suppliers will feel more secure and will bring new design to Fords, will take initiative to manage JIT inventory, trouble shoot the quality issues on site and etc to ensure Win-Win. This will benefit Ford to reduce inventory, increase return on the asset and reduce the cycle time. Meanwhile Ford could put on more focus to the consumer to be able to forecast the demand accurately. • Supplier lack of up to date IT infrastructure: 1st Tier suppliers had well developed IT capabilities but not able to invest in new technologies at the Rate Ford itself could. And IT maturity decreased rapidly in lower tiers of the supply chain. While Ford need up to date IT infrastructure from suppliers to stay up to speed in managing their production operations. The lack...
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...Proposal Industry Background Ford Motors Corporation was started by Henry Ford. Born in Wayne County, Michigan, in an area that later became Dearborn, on July 30, 1863, Henry Ford was the oldest of six children. In April 1888, Ford married Clara Bryant, a local girl and the foster child of—like Henry—Irish immigrant farmers. In 1893, his only child, Edsel, was born. Success soon came to him as he took a position in 1891 as an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company and fairly quickly climbed the ranks. With his love for the outdoors and rural values, Ford might have easily remained in agriculture but something even stronger pulled at Ford’s imagination: mechanics, machinery, and understanding how things worked and what new possibilities lay in store. In the 1980’s, he focused particularly on internal combustion engines. Henry Ford called his first vehicle the Quadricycle. It attracted enough financial backing for Ford to leave his engineer position at Edison Illuminating and helped found the Detroit Automobile Company in 1899. The company faltered for a variety of reasons, and in 1901 Ford left to pursue his own work again. Later that year, the Henry Ford Company was born, but Henry Ford himself stayed with it only a few months. He left in early 1902 to devote more time to refining his vehicles. Ford recognized that with the right techniques, cars could be made affordable for the general public—and that the general public would want them. Ford focused on making the manufacturing...
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...Great Historians of Managerial Research According to Mary Parker Follett, Management is “the art of getting thing done through people.” ( There are many great individuals from our history that have had a grand effect on the art of Management. These individuals have changed the ideas of management from what it once was. It was important and is important now for management to change and evolve as the world changes and evolves. Some of the greatest Management Researchers and management developers are Frederick Taylor, Adam Smith, Henry Ford, Henri Fayo, Mary Follett and Max Weber (Pioneers of Management). These figures from our history have set the stage for management and developments now in the present and in the future. This research paper will not discuss how each of the previous men and women influenced or changed the science of management. One of the most prominent management developers is Frederick Taylor. His work was mainly in the late 1800‘s. Frederick Taylor had many ideas for researching new forms of management and applying these new ideas on subjects for more testing. His most prominent ideas were the “Time and Motion” idea, “A Fair Days’ Pay for a Fair Days Work”, and the idea of “Optimizing and Simplifying Jobs” (Frederick Taylor and Scientific Management). Taylor was also the first person to apply science to the idea of management. “Taylorism is also another idea that Frederick Taylor created that was backed by his own book. He used the scientific theory and...
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...CASE ASSIGNMENT Faced with an overwhelmingly complex situation, Alan Mulally has been brought in as Ford Motor Company's new president and CEO. As diverse global dynamics confront the company and competitive pressures continue to build, he has the challenging task of improving Ford's brand image and returning the company to profitability. Mulally has invited your consulting firm to advise his management team on restoring the company's reputation and viability. Assigned to the project, you have been asked to evaluate Ford's situation and prepare a report with the following content: 1. Define and discuss Ford's business-level strategy. a. How can the company's value-chain activities be better linked to create value for the company? b. How can Ford successfully position itself in terms of the five forces of competition? c. In what ways can the company effectively manage customer relationships to increase strategic competitiveness? d. What conditions and tools can facilitate Ford's efforts to produce differentiated products at relatively low costs? 2. Outline a rough competitor analysis. What can be learned about expected competitor behavior by using the model of competitive rivalry to understand Ford's situation? 3. What role will strategic leadership play in helping Mulally and the organization meet its strategic objectives? Be prepared to discuss your analysis and findings with your consulting team to formulate recommendations for Mulally. ...
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...518: Project Management Leadership Strayer University, Washington DC December 1, 2011 Abstract Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a collaborative alliance of people, systems, business structures and practices that harness the talents and insights of all participants to optimize project results, increase value to the customer, reduce waste, and maximize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication, and construction. Autodesk, Inc. used this approach when they built their LEED Platinum certified, award winning headquarters. The IPD approach was highly effective on this project, but it was not without its problems, especially with regard to changes in the project’s scope. The overall success of the project was due to several factors, including a clear vision for the project, identifying three types of scope changes in advance, and identifying what does not work. These topics will be explored in this paper. As project leader for the office building construction project, formulate a vision statement for the team project. Gray and Larson (2009) point out that the vision of a project is less tangible than the project scope. The vision is the image the team members hold in common about the project, such as, how will the project look when it is complete, how the team members will work together and/or how will the customers accept the project. They state that in its simplest terms, a shared vision answers what the project team wants to create. They also point out...
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...General Motors and Ford: Communicating the Change Managing Organizational Changes (HRM-587) DeVry University, Keller Graduate School of Management April 13, 2014 “When a company decides to make a major organizational change whether it's a new emphasis on customer service, quality management, restructuring or downsizing managers must get the message through to front-line employees, and enlist their support...or the changes will create more turmoil than progress” (Larkin, Tj and Sandar, 1994). It is important to note that the primary use of any communication in change is to create clarity. This is imperative in ensuring that everyone at least understands all the objectives that are being set forth to achieve. A well planned communication will help in the attitude of the people and thereby creating more for embracing with a lesser impact of resistance. It has been repeatedly proven that for any communication that is poorly planned and executed then there will be a great cause for high resistance from the people. Miller, 2011 describes the four ways of being effective when communicating change as: “Use face-to-face, two-way communication wherever possible, enable sponsors to demonstrate a real commitment to communication and be involved in the creation of the communication strategy, tailor messages to the receiver’s perspective then seek feedback and where possible, take it on board.” It is by no doubt that an email communication is easier to stage in getting around...
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...Feinstein Graduate School Managing Resistance to Change in Leadership Individual Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the MBA Degree Course: MGMT 5800 Effective Leadership Dr. Ron A. DiBattista Maheshwari Vansadia January 7, 2013 Summary In today's continuously changing environment organizations are subject to multiple changes that can be related to the organization's strategy, its structure, the employed technology and even more its employees (Desler 2007). Traditionally, managers and individuals with relatively higher positions in the organization are the ones who initiate change. They perceive it as being an opportunity to better serve the organization interest, enforces its mission and enable gaining competitive advantage over its competitors. However not all changes are successful. Managers with a traditional approach to change usually link change failure to “change recipients” resistance to that particular change (Ford, Ford & D'Amelio 2008). As defined in the online Oxford Dictionary « resistance is the refusal to accept or comply with something ».Thus, resisting to change implies stopping this change and preventing the organization from a forward progress. Change implies moving from known to unknown. The fear from losing its benefits, position, status is the main reason beyond resistance to it. Individuals would only accept and comply with an initiated change if it has a positive effect on...
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