Globalization Case

The world today is driven by globalization. Not paying attention to the signs and trends of the times an mean failure. With the economy of the world being as poor as it has been Ford has suffered. Ford cut jobs and closed plants in North America. They also discontinued some products. In Europe and other parts of the world they introduced new vehicles such as the Ford Fusion and other fuel efficient vehicles that are not in the U.S. such as the Ford Ka. They promoted the new vehicles with PR. They also launched the Ford One program. In addition to introducing new vehicles according to the Ford website sold wholesale vehicles "Wholesale unit sales and production volumes include the sale or production of Ford-brand and JMC-brand vehicles by unconsolidated affiliates. JMC refers to our Chinese joint venture, Jiangling Motors Corporation" (ford.com).

Companies must have a strategic plan must include the unpredictable. There is a need to adapt to changes(Stahl and Grigsby, 1991, p. 10). What Ford is doing now is adapting to change. They are developing new products and streamlining their production processes. Ford use to be focused on truck sales in the U.S. with the economy the way it is people are looking for smaller, fuel efficient cars. The new global strategy of Ford is to take some of the existing truck factories and turn them into car production facilities. Ford is going to sell the same cars globally. By doing this they will get the competitive advantage over their rivals. Bringing the smaller cars that they were selling in Europe to the U.S. will help then be successful again. Standardized cars being sold globally is the way of the future.

Stahl, Michael J and David W. Grisby. Strategic Management: Total Quality and

Global Competition. Blackwell Publishers Inc. Cambridge, MA. 1997

Schultz,