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Ford's in a Fix

In: Business and Management

Submitted By xkind3r
Words 660
Pages 3
This case discusses the different organizational changes that Ford Motor Company had to make in order to face competition from companies entering the car market.
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational company incorporated in 1903 by Henry Ford who changed the way of life for many people, with his practical and affordable cars. The moving assembly line and mass production techniques that he invented set the standard for worldwide industrial practice in the first half of the 20th Century.
Henry's intention was to produce the largest number of cars, to the simplest design, for the lowest possible cost. When car ownership was confined to the privileged few, Henry Ford's aim was to "put the world on wheels" and produce an affordable vehicle for the general public.

After years of declining sales, other companies such as General Motors or Chrysler took the opportunity to make serious inroads into Ford's dominance. Thus, Ford was forced to change its corporate culture and after the drawback that hit Ford Motor Company by producing more and more of particular product without customizing the product, they changed their strategy and become more employee centered. They choose to adopt human relation model to handle their employees in the best possible way so that an organization can get flexible in dealing with change and every give respect to the employees by making them communicate and coordinate their point of view. That lead to an important improvement of efficiency.

But this organization didn’t prevent the closure of factories and strategies to keep the costs low. Then, Ford tried actively to decrease the number of suppliers the company dealt with directly. Rather than help developing strong price competition among suppliers for individual components, there was a shift toward longer-term relationships with suppliers who would provide entire vehicle

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