Ford

Ford

Professor Marsha Porter

BUS 499: Business Administration, Capstone

May 16, 2010

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. 

1. Define and discuss Ford's business-level strategy.

Business-level strategy is an integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions Ford can use to gain a competitive advantage by exploiting core competencies in specific product markets. The commitment that Ford has promised its customers is called One Ford plan. They intend on using this to transform the business. This is the mission and vision of Ford…

One Team:

People working together as a lean, global enterprise for automotive leadership, as measured by

Customer, Employee, Dealer, Investor, Supplier, Union/Council, and Community Satisfaction

One Plan

* Aggressively restructure to operate profitably at the current demand and changing model mix

* Accelerate development of new products our customers want and value

* Finance our plan and improve our balance sheet

* Work together effectively as one team

One Goal:

An exciting viable Ford delivering profitable growth for all

2. How can the company's value-chain activities be better linked to create value for the company?

Value chain analysis allows Ford to understand the parts of the operation that create value and those that do not. With understanding these issues, Ford earns above-average returns when the value it creates is greater than the costs incurred to create that value. The value chain shows how a product moves from the raw-material stage to the final customer.

The activities...