"
Looking at Ford's history, it is easy to see why Iacocca claimed that Ford was largely responsible for creating the American middle class. (Iacocca, p. 2). It is unquestionable that Ford ushered in a reasonable wage for a reasonable work-week. He not only doubled the wages for his workers, but greatly exceeded the wages offered for similar work by competitors. In addition, by giving his workers adequate time-off and a shorter work week, Ford helped usher in current American notions of leisure time. On the production side of things, by resisting pressure to develop an automobile for the upper-class, Ford helped create the current standard of living for the American middle class. It was because of Ford that automobile ownership became a standard for middle-class Americans.

Unfortunately, Ford was also responsible for other elements linked to the idea of the middle class in America. For example, many middle-Americans continue to associate…...

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Works Cited

Baldwin, Neil. Henry Ford and the Jews: The Mass Production of Hate. New York: Public

Affairs, 2001.

Ford, Henry. The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem. Whitefish Montana:

Kessinger Publishing, 2003.

The Taurus and Aerostar were star performers in their respective segments, as were the F-series trucks. The Explorer took advantage of the growing SUV market.
The company's modern-era market share peaked in the mid-90s, and has come down steadily over the past decade and change. By the mid-00s, Ford was in financial trouble and undertook the leveraging of its assets in order to get the company through a multi-year restructuring program. The company's struggles, however, have continued in recent years. The company has had a net operating loss every year since 2005 and lost $14.4 billion in 2008.

The company today continues to struggle. Although it had some successful product launches in the early part of the decade, its strategy to saturate the market and occupy all segments has failed to keep out competition. As a result, Ford is increasingly dependent on successful launches. They have not been able to keep…...

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Works Cited:

The Henry Ford Museum website. Retrieved May 12, 2009 from  http://www.hfmgv.org/EXHIBITS/HF/ 

Ford.com website. Retrieved May 12, 2009 from http://www.ford.com/about-ford/heritage/vehicles/modelt/672-model-t

No author. (1937). Fordism vs. Unionism Time Magazine. Retrieved May 12, 2009 from  http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,758013-1,00.html 

Birsch, Douglas & Fielder, John H. (1994). The Ford Pinto Case. Retrieved May 12, 2009 from  http://books.google.com/books?id=qIlPURPTx30C&dq=ford+pinto&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=z_TpBo5soi&sig=gkXWzsLBYGEha2fDCmfcvccoNPI&hl=en&ei=Ph0JSvqtDY6JtgfT6sjmCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7#PPR11,M1

History Of Henry Ford
This report attempts to provide some insight into the life and times of one of the greatest entrepreneurial spirits this nation has ever known. This paper is about Henry Ford who may be best known for his contribution to capitalism through his automobile manufacturing corporation, the Ford Motor Company. The report will focus on his life and career and also present facts about his cars and company.

Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 in Greenfield Township, Michigan and died on April 7, 1947. Ford is best known for creating the very successful Ford Motor Company and also for influencing capitalism in the United States of America. Henry Ford married Clara Bryant in 1888. It is a little known fact that the automobile called the Edsel which eventually turned out to be a major flop for Ford and his company was named for his only child who…...

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Works Cited

Cutlip, Scott M. The Unseen Power: Public Relations, a History. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum Associates, 1964.

Morris, Lloyd. Not So Long Ago. New York: Random House, 1949.

Phelps, William L. Autobiography, with Letters. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1939.

Henry Ford

Henry Ford about the Model T. Ford: 'You can have any color you like as long as it's black.' What attitude does this reveal towards marketing?
Henry Ford was the founder of the Ford Motor Companies and he played a major role in horseless transport systems. Since youth he was interested in mechanics and not his father's farm and he grew up to manage assembly lines in production of the Ford vehicles. (Greenwood, 1998)

The first T. model Ford was built in 1908 and when production started it was in all colors, and also it was extremely affordable to all Americans. And that was Ford's aim: to make his product not only available but accessible to all. And to cut down costs everywhere. Which is why in 1914, he reverted the T. model to only black vehicles. They were only produced in black after his famous quote "You can have any…...

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Bibliography

Byrne, J.A., 1998. Going where the Money is. Business Week.

Company, F.M., n.d. modelt.ca. [Online]

Available at:  http://www.modelt.ca/background.html 

[Accessed Saturday Feb 2012].

Ford
There are a number of reasons why firms might prefer to pay a wage above the point where quantity and supply of labor are balanced. The issue is best understood by remembering that a firm is not the economy overall, so firm outcomes are differentiated from economic outcomes. Furthermore, labor mobility is substantially constrained in this world, certainly much more so than capital, so there is unlikely to be true equilibrium in the labor market. Firms know these things, so they set their strategy accordingly.

One reason a firm would pay above this equilibrium is that the firm wants to retain workers. Turnover is expensive, especially when there are high training costs. These costs must be priced into the cost of labor (Twiname, Samujh & Rae, 201). Thus, the combination of a low wage and high training costs could prove to be higher than the cost of high wage and lower…...

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Works Cited;

Abdullah, H. (2013). Tech giants, private prisons big players on immigration reform. CNN. Retrieved may 6, 2013 from  http://edition.cnn.com/2013/03/11/politics/immigration-lobbying 

Twiname, L, Samujh, H. & Rae, S. (2011). Accounting for the costs of recruiting and training. Cambridge Business and Economics Conference. Retrieved May 6, 2013 from  http://www.gcbe.us/2011_CBEC/data/Linda%20Twiname,%20Helen%20Samujh,%20Steven%20Rae.doc

Heinrich F. Albert and publicly praised by the propaganda office of the eich Ministry of Economics, approved an enlargement of the Cologne plant as well as the construction of an assembly factory in Berlin-Johannisthal for trucks and passenger cars (Baldwin, 2001). Thereafter, in June 1938, as a direct signal of approval that Ford cars sold in Germany were finally being made entirely in Germany, the Nazi government placed an order for 3,150 custom-designed, three-ton V-8 trucks based on an assurance from Ford's headquarters that the vehicles were not being intended for military use (Baldwin, 2001). According to this author, "There was no danger of war on the horizon; besides, if the German consumer market did not warm overwhelmingly to the four-cylinder Ford 'Eifel' sedan, then the company needed to go with the demand for other vehicles" (Baldwin, 2001 p. 283). This rationalization of the economic benefits to be gained…...

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References

Baldwin, Neil. (2001). Henry Ford and the Jews: The Mass Production of Hate. New York: Public Affairs.

Black's Law Dictionary. (1990). St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co.

Bullock, Alan. (1962). Hitler: A Study in Tyranny. New York: Harper & Row.

Devine, Carol, Carol Rae Hansen, Hilary Poole and Ralph Wilde. (1999). Human Rights: The ssential Reference. Phoenix: Oryx Press.

Innovation
Henry Ford

Innovation of products and services:

'If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses' -- Henry Ford

Knowing the customer is critical when introducing innovative customer requirements. While conventionally-minded companies may survey customers, asking them what they think they want and need, ground-breaking companies try to anticipate consumer desire. That is what Henry Ford meant when he said: 'If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses'. Steve Jobs has also been praised for leading rather than following consumer's technological tastes, such as when he created smaller, portable music devices that could be easily carried when working out and did not 'skip' like old-fashioned CDs. The Apple iPad was much mocked, yet consumers lined up to buy this device that was smaller than a laptop yet larger than a PDA. When creating all of his devices Jobs famously distained market research (Barry 2011).…...

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References

Barry, Andrew. (2011). 30 best CEOs. Forbes. Retrieved November 3, 2011 at  http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052970204582404576214641280640346.html 

Chang, C.M. (2011). The creation of novel and marketable service ideas. International Journal

of Innovation and Technology Management, 8 (1) 113 -- 133.

Omachonu, Vincent K. & Norman Einspruch. (2010). Innovation: Implications for goods and services. International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management, 7 (2) 109 -- 127.

Leadership of Henry Ford-Ford Motor Company. It gives a corporate and organizational history. It discusses the company's culture as a result of Ford's influence and includes comments of leadership theories.
LEADERSHIP OF HENRY FORD: THE FORD MOTOR COMPANY

As the twentieth century drew to an end, Time magazine named the Model T. The "automobile that defined the twentieth century from start to finish" (Alvarado 9). Henry Ford's Model T. mass production methods, and wage price theories revolutionized American industry. He was extraordinarily influential and respected because he made a product that met a public need (Lewis 1). Ford had an immeasurable impact on American life. "hen he got his Model T. rolling in 1908, the horse disappeared so fast that the conversion of acreage from hay to other crops is said to have caused an agricultural revolution" (Stewart 108). By the 1920's, it was rarely possible to find a farm where…...

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WORKS CITED:

Alvarado, Rudolph and Sonya. Drawing Conclusions on Henry Ford.

University of Michigan Press. June 2001; 9-12.

Biography Resource Center. © 2000 Gale Group.

http://search.biography.com/print_record.pl?id=21494.

There is little indication in Ford's financial statements that things are going to improve any time soon. The company actually hailed the 14.2% market share in North America as "the lowest market share decline in the past ten years" (Ford Motor Company, 2009).
Ford's financial position is nothing short of awful. The company's condition has deteriorated steadily over the past five years, and its performance relative to industry peers is generally poor.

Appendix a

Ford Motor Company

Financial Ratios

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Industry

Analysis

Liquidity Ratios

Current Ratio

1.67

1.7

1.51

1.8

1.75

1.1

Good

Quick Ratio

1.56

1.59

1.41

1.68

1.63

0.8

Good

Efficiency Ratios

Inventory Turn

15.87

15.16

15.73

14.93

13.42

7.6

Good

Receivables Turn

1.47

1.47

1.4

1.54

1.49

8.1

Poor

Avg Collection Period

Fixed Asset Turn

5.12

4.76

4.43

4.34

3.97

Total Asset Turn

0.67

0.62

0.57

0.66

0.58

0.8

Bad

Leverage Ratios

Total Debt Ratio

1.08

0.98

1.01

0.95

0.94

LT Debt Ratio

0.71

0.6

0.61

0.44

0.44

LTD to Total Capitalization

1.12

0.96

1.02

0.9

0.88

Debt to Equity

n/a

48.62

n/a

19.05

15.95

1.46

Poor

LTD to Equity

n/a

29.95

n/a

8.93

7.42

47.3

Poor

Coverage Ratios

Times Interest Earned

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Cash Coverage Ratio

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

Profitability Ratios

Gross Margin

6.4

11

1.5

13.2

16.3

16

Bad

Operating Margin

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

1.7

3.03

Poor

Net Margin

n/a

n/a

n/a

0.9

1.7

1.77

Poor

ROA

n/a

n/a

n/a

0.5

1

1.39

Poor

ROE

n/a

n/a

n/a

10.7

17.4

5.24

Poor

Return on Common Equity

n/a

n/a

n/a

10.7

17.4

orks Cited:

MSN Moneycentral. (2009). Accessed April 8, 2009 from http://moneycentral.msn.com/detail/stock_quote?Symbol=f&getquote=Get+Quote

No author. (2009). Henry Ford's $5-a-Day Revolution. Ford Motor Company. Retrieved April 8, 2009 from http://www.ford.com/about-ford/heritage/milestones/5dollaraday/677-5-dollar-a-day

No author. (2009). Ford Executive: Automaker doesn't need Bailout. NPR. Retrieved April…...

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Works Cited:

MSN Moneycentral. (2009). Accessed April 8, 2009 from  http://moneycentral.msn.com/detail/stock_quote?Symbol=f&getquote=Get+Quote 

No author. (2009). Henry Ford's $5-a-Day Revolution. Ford Motor Company. Retrieved April 8, 2009 from http://www.ford.com/about-ford/heritage/milestones/5dollaraday/677-5-dollar-a-day

No author. (2009). Ford Executive: Automaker doesn't need Bailout. NPR. Retrieved April 8, 2009 from  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102665356 

No author. (2009). New Fiesta Boosts Ford of Europe Market Share. Ford Motor Company. Retrieved April 8, 2009 from http://media.ford.com/news/fordofeuropefebruary2009salesrelease.htm

Ford Motor
Introduction of the company - Ford

Ford Motor Business began in 1903 by Henry Ford and it has constantly remained within family group possession ever since that period. The business created and applied assembly line manufacturing from the launch of the Model T. In the year 1909, and created planes and automobiles for U.S. Allies in The Second World War. Ford has worked globally since 1904, in the event it opened a division in Canada to acquire entry to Commonwealth marketplaces. With regard to the initial half in the Twenty-first century, Ford continued to be the prominent automobile manufacturer in the marketplace it had successfully developed. In 1956, Toyota released its initial automobile in the United States of America, and started acquiring marketplace share. In hindsight this became the turning point within the U.S. marketplace, and since the Twenty-first century came to an end Ford experienced declining marketplace share coupled…...

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References

Barry, S. (2009). Extraordinary slowdown' in sales brings pounds 10.2bn loss; But Ford 'is set to break even in 2011. Western Mail. Cardiff UK. pp31-32.

Blitterswijk, M.V. And Karadzhov, R. (2011). Financial and Strategic Analysis of Ford Motor Company and Tata Motors. CBS - M.Sc. Finance and Strategic Management.

Dornbach-Bender, R., Slade, B. And Thorpe, J. (2009). Strategic Report for Ford Motor Company. Oasis Consulting.

Solid Works. (2010). Ford Motor Company: Little things can make a huge impact on quality. Partner Case Study: Solid Works with Varatech Sigmund.

4 the Competition
Ford Motors Company activates in a mature and highly competitive market and threats come not only from within the United States, but also from abroad. Due to globalization and market liberalization, the automobile manufacturers from Asia are easily capable to sell their products to the American consumer. Brands play a pivotal role in competition as customers tend to make purchases based on it. The competition is also intensified by the vast offering of substitute products, often materialized in public transports or personal automobiles running on alternative combustibles. Another source of rivalry is that the products often seem to look alike, and there are few features that offer one vehicle a point of difference.

The effects of the intense competition are various and often depend on the unique characteristics of the company, its served customers and the market where it operates. There are two most common outcomes. The first one…...

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References:

Brand, M., 2006, the Auto Industry View of Ford's Downsizing Plan, NPR,   last accessed on October 2, 2008http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5168201 

Nolan, J., August 7, 1997, the Battle of the Overpass, the Detriot News

Rioux, S.M., Bernthal, P.R., Wellis, R.S., the Globalization of Human Resource Practices, Development Dimensions International, Retrieved from   on October 2, 2008http://www.ddiworld.com/pdf/theglobalizationofhrpractices_es_ddi.pdf 

2008, Automotive News,   / last accessed on October 2, 2008http://www.autonews.com 

If Boca Raton, Fla. buys 32 Explorers, we need to let the entire municipal market know about it.
Foreign sales

The key to foreign sales is understanding that the Explorer will be a luxury item in much of the rest of the world. Ford Explorers may be driven by middle-class families and soccer moms in the United States, but the $30,000 price tag is going to make the Explorer an upper-class item in countries with a lower standard of living than the United States.

Naturally, to overseas upper-class drivers, the vehicles they drive are status symbols, and we must focus on the prestige element of owning an Explorer. We should look for luxury lifestyle magazines - foreign versions of the Robb Report, for example - and purchase adverting that focuses on the luxury features and prestige factor of owning the Explorer. Ads with American celebrities, who often are even more famous overseas…...

Ford Motor Company (herein referred to as Ford) has grown from a somewhat obscure automaker to one of the world's most recognized motor vehicle brands. Founded in the year 1919 by Henry Ford, the company's main business remains the production of trucks and cars. However, through some of its subsidiaries, the company also concerns itself with motor vehicle financing.
The Ford Motor Company: A Brief Overview of its Vision, Mission and Primary Stakeholders

Ford's mission according to Lewis et al. (2006) is outlined as:

We are a global family with a proud heritage passionately committed to providing personal mobility for people around the world. We anticipate consumer need and deliver outstanding products and services that improve people's lives.

I am convinced that the statement above successfully captures the company's purpose. In so doing, it also succeeds in outlining the firm's overall goals going forward. On the other hand, the company's vision according to…...

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References

Carter, C., Clegg, S.R., Kornberger, M. & Schweitzer, J. (2011). Strategy: Theory and Practice. London: SAGE Publications.

Dyck, B. & Neubert, M. (2008). Management: Current Practices and New Directions. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Henry, A. (2008). Understanding Strategic Management. New York: Oxford University Press.

Lewis, P.S., Goodman, S.H., Fandt, P.M. & Michlitsch, J.F. (2006). Management: Challenges for Tomorrow's Leaders (5th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

World's Most Ethical Companies: Analyzing Ford Motor Company
The Ford Motor Company, herein referred to as Ford, is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of transportation vehicles, particularly luxury cars and commercial trucks. It was formed by Henry Ford in 1903 and has its headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. The company currently ranks second among America's largest automakers; and is fifth in Europe, and eighth in the world. Cisco Systems, one of its largest technological partners, acknowledges that the company's high-level moral consciousness in the treatment of its stakeholders has contributed to its success year after year. This text outlines the various ways through which Ford demonstrates its moral responsibility to different stakeholders and examines how these acts contribute to the company's overall success.

Ford's Moral esponsibility towards Customers

Organizations have a moral responsibility to ensure that customers receive value for their money and are kept satisfied through high-quality products. Ford goes out of its way…...

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References

Cisco Systems. (2007). Ford's Innovative Customer Relations Programs Increase Owner Satisfaction and Promise 20% Reduction in Annual Savings. Cisco Systems Inc. Retrieved 30 August 2014 from  http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac79/docs/wp/Ford_CS_1116.pdf 

Ford Motor Company. (2012). Sustainability 2012/13. Ford Motor Company. Retrieved 30 August 2014 from http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2012-13/people-workplace-health

Ford Motor Company News Center. (2014). Let the Sun In: Ford C-Max Solar Energi Concept Goes off the Grid. Gives Glimpse of Clean Vehicle Future. Ford Motor Company. Retrieved 30 August 20145 from -- ford-c-max-solar-energi-concepthttp://corporate.ford.com/news-center/press-releases-detail/let-the-sun-in

The Volvo Group. (2012). The Volvo Group Sustainability Report 2012. The Volvo Group. Retrieved 30 August 2014 from  http://www.volvogroup.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/VGHQ/Volvo%20Group/Investors/Financial%20reports/Sustainable%20reports/sustainability_report_12_eng.pdf

This should allow Ford to innovate and make pricing decisions that are not directly replicated. Firms in monopolistic competition often behave like monopolies in the short run, something that Ford will need to do to improve its bottom line. Eventually any tactic Ford adopts will be mirrored by its competitors, but the increased competition allows for Ford to implement strategy and not receive a direct and immediate response from its competitors.
4. Outline a rough competitor analysis. Directly competing against Ford is a large number of companies both domestic and international. Firms such as General Motors and Chrysler are direct competitors with similar cost structures, although their bankruptcies last year may change the nature of competition from these two firms. Foreign competitors include Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi and others. The Japanese firms tend to be more differentiated than Ford but retaining cost structures still in the mass market…...

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Works Cited:

Ford.com. (2002). Global manufacturing strategy gives Ford competitive advantage. Ford.com. Retrieved May 11, 2010 from http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=13633

Henry, J. (2010) Ford's high-tech strategy is bottom-up instead of top-down. BNet. Retrieved May 11, 2010 from  http://industry.bnet.com/auto/10003252/ford-high-tech-strategy-is-bottom-up-instead-of-top-down/ 

No author. (2007). Porter's five forces. QuickMBA.com. Retrieved May 11, 2010 from  http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml 

Urbany, J. & Dickson, P. (1988). Consumer information, competitive rivalry and price setting when ignorance isn't bliss. Advances in Consumer Research. Vol. 15. 341-347.

Looking at how cars were invented and reality quickly became the go-to transportation method for much of the world is fascinating.  While the automobile was invented in Germany and France, Henry Ford, who mastered automation and the mass production of cars, probably deserves much of the credit for the automobile’s early successes.  In fact, Ford’s focuses on wages and affordability probably deserve credit for the rise of the American middle class, suggesting that the history of the automobile and the history of the middle class are inextricably intertwined.

I. Introduction

A. Precursors....