...Memo To: Alan Mulally From: Travis Harper Date: March 6, 2012 Re: SWOT and Value Chain Analysis The purpose of this memo is offer the Ford management team advice and recommendations based on an internal and external analysis of the Ford Motor Company. A SWOT analysis will be conducted and the memo will outline and explain the processes involved with the analysis. A SWOT analysis will provide the decision makers of the company with information about the positive and negative aspects of both the external and internal environments currently facing Ford. The internal analysis will provide better insight into the strength and weaknesses of the company, and the external analysis will recognize opportunity and threats presented by the external environment. In addition to the SWOT analysis, the memo will provide an analysis of the primary and support activities that make up Ford's Value Chain, which is a systematic way of examining how these activities create customer value. External Analysis The external analysis was conducted by scanning and evaluating Ford's external environment. It is important that both the general and specific sectors of the Ford's external environment are scanned in order to identify the opportunities, which are positive trends, and threats, which are negative trends, facing the company. When analyzing the general environment of Ford, the economic sector should be a major focus for the company. A major aspect of Ford's decline has been due to poor economic...
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...Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, And Threats Assessment Company Overview Ford Motor Company, (NYSE: F) originally established by Henry Ford in 1903 is a producer of cars and trucks, based in Dearborn Michigan. The Company has other diversifications worldwide, which also includes small stakes in other brands such as Aston Martin and Mazda, plus an arm for the financing of vehicles. Its Automotive Sector includes Ford North America, Ford South America, Ford Europe, Ford Asia Pacific Africa. In the U.S. Ford North America engages in the sale of Ford and Lincoln branded vehicles, designs, manufacturers, both develops and purchase of parts associated with these activities and is a seller of these parts for the repair of its vehicles. Ford Motor Credit includes a variety of vehicle related financing, leasing and insurance. With a total revenue of 136.26 billion in U.S. dollars, (1) Fortune Magazine ranks Ford as the 25th largest corporation in the world. Location Of Factor Internal Strengths Type Of Factor Favorable Unfavorable Weaknesses Strong Executive Management Did not take Government Bailout Money Production based on world platforms Stable UAW Relationship Reliance on Profits from North American Market Weak sales in Europe, South America and Asia Pacific High Debt to Equity Ratio Pension Fund Liabilities External Opportunities Threats New Products Emphasis Green Technologies Finance Group Profits Partnerships...
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...The Ford Motor Company established itself as one of the preeminent auto companies worldwide with a long, refulgent history of automobile development for over one hundred years. As one of the leading vehicles manufacturers and prestigious brands in the world automobile industry, Ford’s solid brand management is its major strength. In 2014, Ford stands as the second largest automobile manufacturer in the United States and fourth largest in the world (Forbes). Furthermore, the firm ranks eighth among the largest American corporations in the 2014 Fortune 500 companies list. In the past decade, Ford succeeded in building credible and reputable auto products – its vehicles are visible on the roads throughout the United States. The company has garnered a loyal customer base and reputation through its quality goods and services. In fact, due to its mature US market and loyal customer base, Ford ranked second on a best car brand perception survey about customer satisfaction and brand loyalty (Consumer Reports). Ford endured despite the major financial hits of the 2008 recession because of its extensive knowledge of US market and consumers, and its great reputation in its home market for reliability, performance, and durability. In fact, Ford has leveraged its strong market position and brand name to intensify its competitive advantage and expand into international markets in over two hundred countries. As a result, Ford has achieved magnificent profits, especially in major developing...
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...Strengths • Global Company – Ford is a global company with manufacturing in the North and South America, Germany, England plus joint ventures with Japan and Nissan. The Ford (Family Tradition-CEO 100 Years) has owned and managed a major hand in the company. • Bill Ford Jr. introduces major cost cutting measures at just the right time 2003. New ideas turn out good for the company -Reverse Engineering on Taurus Made in Best in Class • • Voip --Saves money on phone costs. Use of telecomm through Computers Ford remains Innovator in the Industry: • • VideoConferencing to hold meetings across the country in several locations simultaneously saving travel costs and reducing time to market • Computer Aided Design Engineering Portal allows design engineering to collaborate on CAD designs and to share information, ideas, and prototyping plans F-150 State of the Art Facility with totally wireless assembly • Capitalized on profits enjoyed 2001-2004 by reinvesting in the company It reduced overheads, cut product expenditures and slashed warranty costs. At the same time, it boosted revenues by targeting incentives and increasing the mix of high-profit vehicles, such as sports utility vehicles (SUVs) with four-wheel-drive packages" (Taylor 10). Weaknesses • • Struggling with sales due to weak designs. 1st Quarter loss in 2009 of $1.4 billion. Opportunities • Capitalize on the fact that they are the only auto co. of the big three that did not have to take a buyout and are not facing bankruptcy...
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...SWOT Analysis Ford John Smith MGT/521 January 9, 2012 Daniela Schultz, MBA SWOT Analysis Ford Located in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, Ford Motor Company is an American automaker and the world's fifth largest based on worldwide vehicle sales. The company was incorporated on June 16, 1903 and founded by 40 years old Henry Ford. Among the few companies to survive the Great Depression, the company would also become one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world. Additionally, the company is the largest family-controlled company in the world, for over 100 years the Ford Motor Company has been in continuous family control. In 1899, Henry Ford founded the Detroit Automobile Company. The company failed, and in 1901 was reorganized as the Henry Ford Company. In 1902 Ford had a falling out with his financial backers, and left the company with the rights to his name and 900 dollars. Henry M. Leland was brought in to manage the operation and their name changed from The Henry Ford Company to Cadillac, and went on to be a successful manufacturer of automobiles. Henry Ford is known to have adapted practices that were not popular in those days. Their famous “Model T” and the unique innovation of interchangeable parts in moving assembly lines that make it possible to assemble cars at low cost and high reliability are what the Car Maker is known for. The company established an impressive financial track record almost throughout the 20th Century except for...
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...Ford Motor Company not only survived the financial crisis of 2008/2009, which had pushed General Motors and Chrysler into bankruptcy, but also emerged as a robustly competitive member of the world’s leading auto producers. However, Ford’s ability to sustain its strong financial performance depends critically on the state of the world’s automobile industry (Grant). Synopsis of the Case: The automobile industry soared in early 1920’s and became primary industry which drove US economy during that time and Ford had built the largest factory in the world which corroborates the growth and state of auto industry and since then it is having huge impact on US economy. Relevant Factual Information about the Problem The downfall of auto industry in 2008/2009 suffered losses to such an extent that General Motors and Chrysler, two of the Big Three players, filed for bankruptcies. Financial crisis was not the only reason, high supply and less demand was one of the prominent reason for the financial crisis. This decline in industry revenues and profits in 2008 promised a major industry restructuring. (Grant) Explanation of Relevant Concepts. A SWOT analysis on the Ford gives more insight and effective solution to sustain the financial performance and have an edge over competition. Strengths: Ford has strong position in US market and it is the second largest auto-maker in US. It was described as the “most important industrial company in the history of the United States” by Forbes...
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...Ford Motor Company: Strategic and Operational Plans Eric R. Scott Management 521 September 29, 2014 Alisa Fleming Ford Motor Company: Strategic and Operational Plans The Ford Motor Company is one of the first automotive companies in the United States and the world. Today Ford is the second largest U.S. automaker and fifth largest vehicle seller in the world. The Ford Motor Company manufactures and sells a wide variety of automobiles, trucks, buses & automotive related parts. Using the SWOT analysis format, we will look at Strategic and Operational plans that are critical to the future of the company. Strategic Plans Increasing global market share is the first strategic plan the Ford Motor Company, as an organization must focus on. Drawing on their strong engineering capabilities, Ford has been an innovator in the automotive industry and will need to continue to be a leader. Producing some of the most technological advanced vehicles, Ford has been a leader in their industry. Today Ford is focusing on hybrid & highly fuel efficient technologies to gain an advantage over their competitors. Specifically Ford has been developing Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) that use ECOnetic innovations. ("Company Spotlight," 2010) Offering significantly improved gas mileage as well as low operational costs; Ford vehicles attract customers worldwide. Looking towards emerging markets, Ford will also increase their global market share through their manufacturing, distribution...
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...Lefkoff BMGT 350-0101 16 September 2014 Ford Motor Company SWOT Analysis Strength: Ford Motor Company’s strength lays in its ability to use internal resources such as knowledge and reputation to maintain its dominancy in the automotive industry. Ford has managed to survive depressions, recessions, and internal breakdowns to become one of the biggest automaker in the world. What sets Ford apart from its competitors is the amount of knowledge it has acquired in the automotive industry for over a hundred years. In the business world, time plays an enormous role because it separates the weak from the strong. Ford is able to maintain its popularity by introducing new and innovative ways to produce and sell automobiles. Ford started with the assembly line, which revolutionized the automotive industry making it faster, cheaper and safer to manufacture vehicles. Then, it continued with the introduction of dealerships all around the United States enabling accessibility to transportation, which was soon to be the fastest growing industry in the world. Knowledge is key in any business, and Ford recognizes the strength and advantage it has over its competitors, by simply being in the business longer and learning from the past. Another major strength Ford has is its reputation. Ford is recognized for its unparalleled ability to speak to the American people. When people think about cars and America, they immediately think Ford. Why? Ford has branded itself as the father of the automobile...
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...Running Head: Ford Motor Company and the Toyota Motor Corporation Ford Motor Company and the Toyota Motor Corporation AIU – MGT680 Abstract Two major automakers are Toyota and Ford. This paper will compare the two companies to better understand the contributions to for success of each company. This paper will include a SWOT analysis which identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to these companies. It will also include a plan of action for one weakness to turn them into strengths. It will discuss the current issues being faced by each company and how it affects the global operation because of the importance. Ford Motor Company and the Toyota Motor Corporation Ford Motor Company was started by Henry Ford in 1903 (Heritage, 2014). Toyota Motor Corporation was started by Kiichiro Toyoda in 1935 (50 Years, 2014). While each firm has been able to develop a relationship between the political and economic forces within their communities, they also understand a strategic plan is important and will guide them to an effective relationship within their communities. This type of plan will help the two firms build brand name as both firms have successfully done. The following table will illustrate the main issues Ford and Toyota are facing. It briefly explains the current position or view of each company to help better understand who the two firms view their community responsibilities. Issues Ford Toyota Legal, Social and Economic Environments Follows...
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...SWOT analysis of Ford and Toyota SWOT ANALYSIS “Opposition is an inevitable part of change and one that can significantly impact your community organizing. However, if you know how to take stock of the opposition inside and outside of your effort or group, you are more likely to plan and act effectively.” That's where SWOT analysis comes in. SWOT can help you handle both ordinary and unusual situations in your community health or development initiative, by giving you a tool to explore both internal and external factors that may influence your work. SWOT analysis, founded by Albert Humphrey, is a compacted planning method used to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in a business or in a project. SWOT analysis can be used for product, place, industry or person. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that objective. There are lots of advantages of using SWOT analysis. When a single person is considered, it is a useful technique for understanding his Strengths and Weaknesses, and for identifying both the Opportunities open to him and the Threats he faces. When SWOT analysis is used in business context, it helps you carve a sustainable niche in your market. it can helps to uncover opportunities for the business. And by understanding the weaknesses of the business, threats can be managed and eliminated that would...
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...Ford`s Outsourcing Problem Ford Motor Company is an automobile Multinational Enterprise established in Detroit in 1903. Ford has been sustaining heavy profit losses in its European operations due to the economic downturn affecting most of Europe. The “company now expects Ford Europe’s pre-tax loss for full year 2012 to exceed $1.5 billion” (http://media.ford.com/images/10031/3Q2012_Financials.pdf, 2012). “Business refers to any type of economic activity in which goods or services are supplied in exchange for some payment” (J. Morrison 2010) and in this case Fords European vehicle sales market has been saturated through less demand for its products. Ford said European car sales across the industry were the lowest in 20 years (BBC News, 2012). The main losses are being sustained within Europe in which Ford operates in 51 different European markets. Ford`s strategy is likely to be offshoring manufacturing of the Transit Van, meaning the closure of its South Hampton Factory with immediate redundancies of 500 employees with closing parts of the Dagenham Plant which will push redundancies to 1400. Although is this likely to be the answer? What will be the effect upon the microeconomic factors? Especially the level of job losses of stakeholders, including suppliers and employees, further down the chain. Is it ethnical of Ford to simply offshore production to a cheaper labour area such as Turkey or is this just a simple case of how Britain’s Manufacturing industry is further...
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...SWOT and Business Analysis of The Ford Motor Company The purpose of this research is to assuming the role of a Fund Manager deciding whether to invest in The Ford Motor Company. By Identifying Internal and external stakeholders, wants and needs , Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of The Ford Motor Company. This to detriment whether the company is profitable and competitive in the automobile industry. Ford Motor Company SWOT Analysis Strength • Ford Motor Company is a Multi international Company with 90 plant and facilities selling vehicles in 200 markets. It is the second biggest plant in the world, with approximately 345,000 employees. (http://www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/ford-diversity-commitment) , (http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=7670) • The Ford Motor Company is the Fifth largest vehicle manufacturer in the world and the second in the U.S. with a total (Sales 2010) of 4,988,031 vehicles manufactured including Cars, land craft vehicles (LCV), Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HCV) and Heavy Buses. (Oica.net, 2011) (http://oica.net/wp-content/uploads/ranking-2010.pdf) • Ford Motor diversity in Ford Credit is a subsidiary of The Ford Motor Company that finance vehicles to customer and dealers to support Ford Motor Company sales. They also provide financing on Lincoln vehicles, offering: competitive rates, innovative products, flexible terms (http://www.fordcredit.com/companyInfo/profile.jhtml) • Ford Motor merges with Hertz Rent-A-Car...
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...Toyota and Ford Comparison L. Johnson MGT680-1203B-12 Abstract Toyota and Ford companies are two of the major players in the auto industry. Comparing the two companies helps to understand what contributes to the success of each. The SWOT analysis can be used to identify weaknesses and a plan of action to turn those into strengths. The current issues faced by each company affect how it operates globally. It is important for each company to understand how each issue affects its operations. Introduction Every firm creates a relationship between the political and economic forces within its community. Toyota and Ford understand the importance of developing a strategic plan that guides them on how to create effective relationships within the community. This helps with building brand name, which both companies have done successfully. Ford and Toyota’s current position on the main issues that they face and a SWOT will be done to show their current market position. Issues The following table will compare the current issues faced by Ford and Toyota. The current position/views of each company are briefly explained. The purpose of this table is to understand how Ford and Toyota view their responsibility to the community. Understanding the companies’ positions help to develop strategic plan suggestions. |Issues |Ford |Toyota | |Legal, Social and Economic...
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...challenges. Internal environmental challenges may be with employees, shareholders or board of directors or the overall culture of the organization. External environmental challenges may include economic, socio-culture, political, and technological environments, as well as customers, suppliers, competitors, financial institution, government and media. Ford Motor Company One organization that decided to take a step back and really analyze their organization by conducting an environmental scan was Ford Motor Company. The company completed a complete SWOT analysis in 2013 to understand where their business was today and decide how they would best get to where they want to be. Starting as the first American automotive company to manufacture and sell automobiles and automotive parts, ford is currently the second largest US automaker and the fifth largest vehicle seller in Europe and the world ("Strategic Management Insight Ford", 2013). Ford Motor Company is a worldwide, automotive retailer with a headquarters based in the United States. Ford’s annual revenue in 2012 was $134.3 billion with a profit of $5,665 billion. After deep analysis, Ford was able to determine a number of strengths and weaknesses both inside and outside of their organization. Strengths External strengths were that the company held...
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...Competitive Positioning: Ford Motors [Type the document subtitle] [This paper tries to analyse the competitive positioning of Ford on the basis of various business and strategic parameters which affects the profitability of Ford.] 2013 SilverSpark Microsoft 10/14/2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The company which is taken into consideration is Ford Motors which is an American multinational company. The study is about the company’s background, size, competitors, product life cycle, swot analysis, customer’s traits and the company’s positioning CONTENTS: 1. An Executive Summary..............................................................................2 2. Company & product background..................................................................2 3. Market analysis: Size, Competitors and Product Life .....................................4 4. SWOT Analysis...........................................................................................6 5. Customer traits and Segmentation ................................................................7 6. Positioning Strategy.....................................................................................7 7. Conclusion..................................................................................................7 8. References..................................................................................................8 COMPANY AND PRODUCT BACKGROUND: Ford Motors is an automobile...
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