A Strategic Analysis of Ford Motor Company

Discussion

The scope of strategic management entails the ability of business organizations to be able to assess the internal and external environment of business operations and thereby identify the manner in which the various available resources and competencies may be utilized. Ford Motor Company, more commonly known as Ford, is an American multinational automobile company, with its headquarters in Dearborn (Weiss, 2014). The company was founded in the year 1903 and since then, it has developed the scope of its business operations to large scale manufacturing of different types of automobiles, using highly innovative technological resources. The following sections of the report will conduct a strategic analysis for the company.

Balancing of Duties for Social Responsibilities and Sustainable Business Practices

Owing to the increasing impact of environmental concerns like global climate change, waste management and depletion of fossil fuels as faced by the automobile industry, it is essential for organizations operating in this industry to be able to develop sustainable business practices and perform corporate social responsibility activities. In the case of Ford Motor, it has been identified that the company is focused upon meeting the interests of the various shareholders of the company including the government, employees, local communities and customers (Shareholder.ford.com, 2021). For this reason, the company has integrated sustainable business practices within the scope of its operations so as to remain responsible towards the environmental social and governance concerns.

Identification of Policies, Principles and Practices for Executing Company Strategy

One of the most identifiable strategies that have been adopted by Ford Motor includes their commitment towards the development of sustainable business practice that have minimum negative impact upon the environment as well as the local communities in which the organization operates. In this regard, it may be stated that the policies adopted by the organization involve the procurement and utilization of 100 per cent renewable energy for the manufacturing and distribution processes throughout all the plants of the company (Shareholder.ford.com, 2021). Furthermore, the company has also strategized towards the development of new range of products in the market of electric vehicles. Such a product development strategy would in turn ensure that the organization is able to reduce the emissions from the use of its products as well as ensure their responsibility towards the environment and the local communities.

Rewards and Recognition System Promoting Strategy Execution

One of the most important factors contributing towards the execution of the strategies adopted by the organization in an efficient manner is the generation of adequate engagement and interaction from the part of the employees and other members of the organization. In this regard, it may be mentioned that the rewards system within the scope of the organization plays an important role in ensuring the generation of high levels of motivation among the organizational members in order to drive their business operations and functions towards the achievement of overall organizational goal and objectives (Corporate.ford.com, 2021). Furthermore, it may also be mentioned that the organizational culture also lays an important role in determining the extent to which the business organization may be able to integrate the interests of the organizational members and thereby enhance their performance through a system of rewards and recognition. In this regard, it can be identified that the various factors of the organizational culture of Ford motor include diversity and inclusion of the employees as well as the development of positive and integrity behavior and activities of the organizational members.

Balancing of Duties for Social Responsibilities and Sustainable Business Practices

Competitive Forces in the Industry Environment

The consideration of the technological resources available to a business organization is particularly essential in determining the extent to which it may be able to remain competitive, especially when it comes to the automobile industry. The recent technological trends affecting the business operations and competiveness of Ford Motor may be identified to be the ones pertaining to sustainable business practices (McKinlay & Starkey, 2017). Furthermore, the technological resources required for the product development strategy of electric vehicles also play a major role in determining the competitiveness of the company among major rivals in the industry such as Toyota, Volkswagen and the like.

Competitive Capabilities for Strategy Execution

The competitive capabilities for the purpose of executing the strategies adopted by the business organization involves the identification of the various internal resources that are available to the company. In this regard, it may be mentioned that a resource based view may be able to provide the organization with a clear perception about the extent to which it may be able to remain competitive in the market (Onori, Serrao & Rizzoni, 2016). Significantly, the major competitive capabilities of the company can be identified to be its financial resources, positive brand image and identity in the market, superior quality of technological resources available as well as the availability of a highly skilled and talented workforce.

Globally Competitive Industry

Considering the ongoing process of globalization through the economy of the world, it may be said that in order to enhance the competitiveness of the business organizations in the global market, it is essential for them to be able to expand the scope of their business operations in different regions across the world. In this regard, it may be identified that Ford Motor has been able to conduct business operations through the development of manufacturing plants in different parts of the world. This also requires efficient cross-cultural management within the organization so that the various processes and operations may be conducted successfully.

Strategic Options Available to the Company

The strategic options available to the company may be identified to be the following:

1. Product development in terms of the manufacture of a new range of electric vehicles
2. Competitive pricing strategy in order to make the products offered by the company affordable to the customers
3. Development of social media marketing strategies in order to enhance the engagement and interaction with the customers

Conclusion

From the above discussion regarding the strategic management of Ford Motor, it may be identified that the factors operating in the internal and external environment of business operations in turn enables the organizations in effective strategy formulation processes to meet the overall organizational objectives. However, the execution of these strategies also involves several factors such as the motivation of the employees and development of effective performance management systems.

References

Corporate.ford.com. (2021). 2021 New Hire Benefits Summary. Retrieved 25 April 2021, from https://corporate.ford.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en-us/documents/careers/2021-benefits-and-comp-GSR-sal-plan-1.pdf

McKinlay, A., & Starkey, K. (2017). Between Control and Consent?: Corporate Strategy and Employee Involvement in Ford UK. In A Flexible Future? (pp. 157-168). De Gruyter.

Onori, S., Serrao, L., & Rizzoni, G. (2016). Hybrid electric vehicles: Energy management strategies.

Shareholder.ford.com. (2021). Ford Motor Company - Environmental, Social, and Governance. Retrieved 25 April 2021, from https://shareholder.ford.com/investors/esg/default.aspx

Weiss, R. P. (2014). Corporate security at Ford Motor Company: from the great war to the cold war. In Corporate security in the 21st century (pp. 17-38). Palgrave Macmillan, London.