What differences are there in the planning done at different levels of management?
The main difference is that at the senior management level, they are concerned with the
entire organization. I am not suggesting that at the lower level front-line management,
they are not concerned with doing what is best for the company. I am only saying, that at
a front-line management level that they are concentrating most on their immediate
environment or area. One of the most important characteristics of a good company is
one who has the ability to implement a new strategic plan when conditions warrant.
When Tragedy Strikes
While an employee at Ford Motor Company, I worked through a real-life example of
strategic managers from all levels of management coming together. In the year 2000,
Ford Motor Company started receiving the blame for the tires on its Ford Explorers and
Ranger pickup trucks shredding, (blowing apart).
These tire malfunctions were causing
fatal accidents to the point of at least 200 deaths, including an entire family here in the
Midwest. The initial reports by the media were putting all the blame on Ford Motor
Company. They were focusing on the idea that the Explorer itself was of faulty design
because its center of gravity was too high. The speculations got worse when Ford Motor
Company's long-term supplier (Bridgetone-Firestone Inc.) started blaming Ford Motor
Company also.
Alex Taylor III, Fortune Magazine, Sep 18, 2000, Vol. 142 perhaps said it best, "It is
every CEO's worst nightmare-the crisis that strikes from nowhere, jolts customers as well
as suppliers and employees, sends the stock reeling, and threatens a company's good
name. How the boss reacts can define his or her tenure in the job and forever affect his or
her reputation." This quote is worth remembering because no matter what...