Also in contrast to Toyota, Ford boasts a heavily unionized workforce rather than stresses the need for employees to sacrifice for company success. Although both place a premium value on company loyalty, Toyota's method stands in sharp contrast to Ford's rewarding of its workers with long-term benefits and extensive retirement packages. This has proved a drain on Ford finances in recent years. and, although they aim at a similar car-buying audience, both companies have emphasized vastly different types of vehicles. Ford enjoyed its greatest success selling SUVs during the 1990s, while Toyota remained devoted to cars like the Camry, mid-sized family vehicles that are especially popular now, with the rising cost of fuel.
Today, while under the leadership of CEO Bill Ford (like Toyota, Ford is a family-dominated company in its upper echelons of management) "analysts fear Ford is not keeping pace with the aggressive models planned by rivals. And if gasoline prices stay high, Ford will remain vulnerable to the downturn in industry SUV sales, which generates a disproportionate amount of the automaker's...
The company recently admitted it had a bad habit of waiting too long to introduce new models, and adapting to changes in the current market environment like Toyota. But its most recent moves to cut costs have had little to do with new ideas, the improvement of the quality of the safety, design or fuel-efficiency of the vehicles. Nor has Ford adopted new marketing and management strategies, rather it has stressed "cutting capacity and reducing white-collar head counts, reducing costs," ideas as old and as American as "motherhood and apple pie" (Payne, 2005).
Works Cited
Flint, Jerry. (2 Aug 2005). "Ford's Fuzzy Future." Forbes.com. Retrieved 28 Jul 2007 at http://www.forbes.com/home_asia/columnists/2005/08/02/ford-gm-backseatdriver-cz_jf_0802flint.html
Toyota Production System Terms." (2006). Toyota Motor Manufacturing. Retrieved 28 Jul 2007 at http://www.toyotageorgetown.com/terms.asp
Mayne, Eric (5 Aug 2005). "Ford Fights to Save Future." Detroit Motor News. Retrieved 27 Jul 2007 at http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0508/07/A01-272014.htm
