Perform an analysis of Ford’s external and internal environments

Learning Goal: I’m working on a case studies case study and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Ford Motor Company: An Auto Company in Transition (Dess, 2021, C277)

NOTE: this assignment was written by the Management Department, and not your Instructor. Please outline the questions and align or organize your responses in an orderly and professional (business) way, like required by the grading rubric and Case Analysis Method associated with MANA 4322.

Purpose.

The individual written case analysis exercise is meant to assess:

1. Your critical thinking
2. Your understanding of businesses as interdisciplinary units
3. Your problem solving and decision-making abilities, and
4. Your effective communication and writing skills
5. Your core business knowledge

To this end, students are required to individually analyze a case and submit a written report for evaluation by the due date indicated in the syllabus.

Assignment.

You have are hired as an outside consultant to help Ford Motor Company return to its glory days, when either Henry Ford or Alan Mullaly ran the company. In doing so, you must produce a short report to Jim Hackett, Ford’s CEO, which conveys your observations of Ford’s current situation (situational analysis), and a proposal of strategic actions Ford should take to be the model automotive company of the 21st century. Thus, your task is to answer the following questions based solely on the information provided in the case:

1. Perform an analysis of Ford’s external and internal environments. As you do this, please make sure you organize your response by classifying external trends as opportunities and threats, and by classifying Ford’s internal environment as strengths and weaknesses. Because of the length of the report, select the most salient issues in your eyes. In addition, you must include at least three functional areas/value chain activities in your analysis of Ford’s internal environment (e.g., operations, marketing, and finance), and you must include issues regarding Ford’s financial situation.
2. Based on the external challenges (threats), positive external trends (opportunities), Ford’s limitations (weaknesses), and Ford’s strong suits (strengths) identified in point #1, provide 4 strategic suggestions for Ford’s executives to implement. In other words, combine opportunities/threats you identified, with Ford’s strengths/weaknesses in order to make suggestions on what decisions CEO Hackett needs to make. In your response, make sure you include both strategic actions related to business level strategy (how to compete) and corporate -level strategy (where to compete). Provide strong rationale for your choices.

Expectations.

The analysis of the case should reflect both your understanding of the material covered in the text as well as other insights you have gained from other functional area courses. You are encouraged to approach the case with an integrated multi-functional perspective of the organization and to explicate recommendations clearly and concisely in writing. There are multiple possible answers to the questions provided. Use the critical thinking and problem-solving skills you have developed through your university career.

Individual case analysis write-ups should be well reasoned and not trivial. Answers should stick to the facts in the case and analysis. Provide strong reasoning and evidence from the case.

All individual case analysis reports are due through the Assignments tab on Canvas. All case reports will be exposed to Unicheck, a plagiarism tool. The expectation is that you submit your own work. Plagiarism is serious and will be ajudicated. If your analysis is a copy of someone else’s work, you will earn a zero for your individual case analysis grade and you will be sent to the Office of Student Conduct.

Format.

The case analysis report should be prepared using single-space, Times New Roman 12-point font, and a 1-inch all-around margin. The case analysis report should be 4 pages or less in length.

Please provide a cover page (not counted in the 4 pages) with your name, the title of the case, the name of the course, the course section, and the date.

Any direct quotes form the case should appear in quotes and the page number should appear in parenthesis.

SOURCES

Dess, Gregory, Gerry McNamara, Alan Eisner & Seung-Hyun Lee. Strategic management: Text and cases, 10th ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Irwin.