An examination of the global strategy and cross-border operations of Ford Motor Company with SWOT analysis

Executive SummaryFord Motor Corporation has been suffering from declining market share over the past decade and has slipped in its global standings from one of the world's leading vehicle manufacturers. The company is plagued with internal problems, including political in-fighting and union dependencies. On the supply and operations side, Ford is battling with higher costs than overseas competitors and lack of solid supplier relationships. Ford also struggles with new product development, experiencing slow product turnaround times and lack of innovation and excitement in new designs, in a market that places a large part of its purchasing decisions on status.

To further compound the company's troubles on the demand side, Ford's biggest and most profitable markets, that for large vehicles such as SUVs, has experienced a global decline in recent years, largely due to the increase in gasoline pricing, consumer awareness of environmental issues, and increasingly restrictive legislation world-wide, all of which contribute to a growing demand for smaller, alternative fuel technology vehicles, markets in which Ford has historically struggled to generate profits.

Portrait of Henry Ford (ca. 1919)

English: Ford Motor Company Headquarters, Dearborn...

All Ford's models with EcoBoost engines are identi...

This report details recommendations to the board of directors of Ford Corporation on how to eliminate the company's current weaknesses, stop the sliding decrease in market share and return the company to profitability utilizing the concepts learnt from six case studies and examining Ford's weaknesses in the context of four International Business domains (Hill, 2005).

ContentsExecutive Summary21.Recommendations (Weaknesses)42.Implementation Plan92.1 Strategic Alliances92.2 Factory restructuring92.3 Product and market restructuring103.Conclusion114.References12Appendix A - Supply of Learnings14India's Changing Political Economy14Guanxi - Ties That Bind15Global Strategy at General Motors16Organizational Change at Unilever17Molex18Motorola's Global Cash Management System19Appendix B - Demand for learnings21SWOT Analysis of Ford Corporation21Appendix C23Profile of Ford Motor Company23Appendix D24My personal "wow" factor241. Recommendations (Weaknesses)Ford has always focused its product offering on the larger SUV and truck...