The Rise and Fall of Ford Motor Company Essay

When you hear the word “Ford” more often then not people are going to think of automobiles. This is not surprising because a man gave

Ford Motor Compnay HISTORY Henry Ford was an engineer from Detroit, Michigan who had an idea. By 1902, Ford had attempted several times to produce a gas powered vehicle, but with little capital, he realized that his attempts were futile. Ford approached a man by the name of Alexander T. Malcomson about the possibility of manufacturing an automobile. Malcomson, a friend of the family and wealthy coal merchant was reluctant at first but finally agreed with Ford, and decided to assit Ford financially with his endeavor. With Malcomsons investment and Ford's engineering skills a partnership was formed and in mid June of 1903, papers of incorporation for the Ford Motor Company were filed in Dearborn, Michigan.

Henry Ford decided to take the risk of pursuing his dream of machines when he left the family farm in 1879 to work at a car company in Michigan. He believed he had more of an interest in machines than he did in farming, but his father thought differently. Ford’s father wanted him to follow his footsteps on the farm, but unfortunately, it did not turn out in his

Henry Ford once said, “If everything is moving forward together then success takes care of itself”. Society has been revising how we live for centuries and still continues to do so. Naturally, we look for ways to improve humanity and make the world a better place to live. One critical contributor to the success of society in the 1920s was Henry Ford. Henry Ford’s ingenuity gave birth to something that would revolutionize society for years to come. This was the beginning of a new era. Henry Ford’s automobiles revolutionized civilization in many aspects. Innovations in technology and how it’s made impacted people’s lives in the 1920s and modern-day life.

Ford was raised on a small farm ran by his father outside of Detroit (Mitchell,1). As a child Henry was very interested in machinery. He always wanted a simpler way to do everything. “His Father would go to town and ask the children what they wanted. Henry's brother and sister would ask for candy but henry always asked for clock wheels.”

This paper will go into detail about the young life, career and adult life of Henry Ford. Henry ford’s young life, in this paper will consist of his childhood. The paper will then describe all of his education and early jobs. Finally, this paper will conclude with Henry Ford’s adult life and home life (what he did when he wasn’t working), his career’s work and the impact Henry had on American History. This paper should help the reader better understand the life of Henry Ford: Who he was? Who he is? And why he was so vital to our American History.

It begins with the author talking about the first appearance of Henry Ford’s greatness showing how the car industry can be so beneficial and the future for further development in technology. Then, the author talks about the turning point to Henry Ford’s sudden collapse of sells, when the Great Depression started he still wanted to create car products. So, he created a deal with other civilians as “ they were willing to give their labor in exchange for those products’. But no one would accepted his offer,” as it was too troubling for people at that struggle in life. (Curtis)

In 1908 Henry Ford had constructed the Model T; the time it took him to create this automobile was 13 days. Now eager to achieve more, Ford knew that he needed a place to construct these cars. He also knew that to sell mass amounts he would have to sell cheap, and buy parts and supplies even cheaper (Douglas, 25). The construction of the first Ford Motor plant used the world’s only conveyer belt. This was part of the Fords plan to build fast, when he constructed the assembly line cars were pumped out in as fast as 15 minuets, this was down from 19 days. Ford was able to make the automobile a car for everyman, a working man with a family.

The automobile didn’t look like much with a carriage body and a lever for steering. This car was what got Ford started on the way toward the automotive industry.1

“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” -Henry Ford Ford was created in 1903 by Henry Ford in Detroit, MI. He quickly revolutionize the development of the automobile as a product and he also was the visionary behind the assembly line for mass production, and in turn made it possible for automobiles to become more affordable for the average household. Ford had a strong belief in his mission statement, which defines the kind of actions that are needed to fulfill organizational goal. However, Ford also had a vision statement that helped drive its global organization to reach its higher performance levels. Both areas assist in the overall foundation that Ford’s strong beliefs stand on. Both mission and vision statement are factors that solidify the success and strategic direction in the automotive industry.

The Balanced Scorecard for Ford’s North American Business Unit Financial Objectives |Metric |2009 |2010 |2011 |Target | |Revenue Growth |Annual Rate of Growth |-19.02% |10.90% |5.67% |5.5% - 6.0% | |Operating Profit Growth |% EBIT/Sales |0.72% |1.11% |1.13% |= or >1.13% | |Solvency |Net Profit + depreciation/Total Liabilities |1.4% |4% |12.3% |13 -14.5% | |

Unit 5 Final Project: Ford Motor Company Executive Summary Ford Motor Company is an American automobile manufacturer founded and headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan but incorporated in the state of Delaware. The company was started by Henry Ford in 1903 and is historically famous for the creation and implementation of the assembly line in manufacturing processes. Ford’s mission is to produce and sell automobiles – cars, trucks, SUVs, etc – from the ones initially designed and engineered by Henry Ford all the way through the newer versions created in the last few years. (Profitable Growth for All, 2012)

A review of Ford’s 2010 Income Statement revealed the following information about the company’s profitability:

The Ford Motor Company Influences the 21st Century A man that went by the name of Henry Ford, once said, “I invented nothing new. I simply assembled the discoveries of other men behind whom were centuries of work…” The Ford Motor Company is an American continental automobile maker founded by Henry

contents 1.0 Introduction 3 2.0 Strategic Issues of Ford 4 3.0 The External Environment 5 3.1 PESTEL Analysis 5 3.1.1 Political Environment 5 3.1.2 Economic Environment 6 3.1.3 Social Environment 7 3.1.4 Technological Environment 7 3.1.5 Natural environment 8 3.1.6 Legal Environment 8 3.2 The Industry Porters’ Five Model 9 3.2.1 Buyer’s Power - Moderate 9 3.2.2 Suppliers’ Power - Low 10 3.2.3 Threat of New Entrants - Low 11 3.2.4 Threat of Substitutes – Slightly Moderate 11 3.2.5 Industry Rivalry - High 12 4.0 The Internal Environment 13 4.1 The Value Chain Analysis 13 4.1.1 Primary activities 13 4.1.2 Secondary activities 14 4.2 Analysis of Ford’s Core Competencies 16 5.0 Strategy Formulation 19 3.1 PESTEL Analysis In this section we analyse the political, economical, social, technological, natural and legal environment of Ford Motor Company.