Organizational Performance Biographies Examples

Description of the Company

Ford Motor Company is noted to be “committed to developing great products for customers around the world” . As emphasized from their official website, their foundations of success are anchored in three (3) relevant targets: great products, strong business, and great world. To ensure that Ford manufactures the best in their products, the company focuses on quality, safety, conformity to sustainability standards, and innovativeness .
An overview of Ford’s products reveals that they focus on manufacturing the following: (1) cars: Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, Mustang, C-Max, and Taurus ; (2) crossover and SUVs: Escape, Transit Connect, Edge, Flex, Explorer, and Expedition ; (3) trucks and vans: Transit Connect, F-150, Transit, and Super Duty ; and (4) the Lincoln: 2014 Lincoln MKS and 2015 Lincoln MKX .

Source: Auto Sales, 2015

Organizational Performance Determinants
Organizational performance was simply defined as evaluating “how well (i.e., how effectively and efficiently) organizations are doing in achieving their goals in their mission statements” . As such, measurement of performance is premised on the accurate definition of mission and vision statements, as well as explicitly communicated targets or goals. Therefore, determinants of organizational performance differ depending on the stipulated goals. In terms of measuring the organizational performance of Ford, the following determinants are to be expounded: efficiency and process reliability, human relations and resources, as well as innovation and adaptation to the environment.

Efficiency and process reliability

The determinant focuses on manufacturing the company’s products at the least cost; yet, without sacrificing product quality. As emphasized, one of the foundations for success in offering great products is quality, to wit: “Improving quality is a daily priority at Ford. From design and manufacture to sales and service, Ford always aims to increase customer satisfaction” . When customers are satisfied, a good referral and word of mouth to prospective customers enable Ford to generate more revenues and higher financial profits. Concurrently, the process reliability determinant is synonymous with commitment to produce safe vehicles and prevent accidents to happen due to low product quality.
One of the indicators of process reliability is the rate of recall. From the article written by Gorzelany (2014), the author disclosed automakers with respective recall rates. The list was topped by Mercedes-Benz USA with the least recall rate of 0.14 from the time frame 1980 to 1985 and the highest recall rate was garnered by Hyundai Motor with 1.15 recall rate . Ford Motor Company has a 0.93 recall rate, placing them 9th in the list of 15 . Recent news revealed two recalls which reportedly covers “220,000 vehicles, one for its large sedans and the other on its novel city delivery van” .
The vehicle safety determinant revealed from Ford’s performance evaluation summary disclosed the following information, summarized as Table 1 below. From the table, it could be deduced that the number of U.S units recalled from 2012 to 2013 increased; while the 0.93 recall rated noted above was confirmed, accordingly.

Source: Ford Motor Company, 2015

Human relations and resources
Ford Motor Company reported having as much as 187,000 full time employees . The organization has 13 different departments and the human resources department is tasked with eight (8) major functions: compensation and benefits, HR business operations, HR labor operations and labor affairs, learning and development, occupational health and safety, clinical operations, corporate travel, as well as global security and fire . As learned, Ford pays its employees 2% above market rate . Likewise, based on 135 votes, the personnel at Ford rated job satisfaction was extremely satisfied .
The financial resources of Ford could be assessed through highlights from the company’s financial statements, as summarized in Table 2 below. It could be deduced from balance sheet items that the company had exhibited steady growth for the three-year period under study, from 2011 to 2013. However, net profits reflected a significant drop from $20 million in 2011 to only $7 million in 2013.

In addition, Ford’s performance evaluation of financial health was aptly captured through Table 3, as shown in the next page. From the table, the first item, ‘things gone wrong’ determinant per 1000 vehicles has manifested an increased rating, which is a negative impact for Ford. Other indicators exhibited minimum change from the previous year’s levels. The satisfaction with dealer or retailer for Ford brand in the U.S. declined by one point; while overall customer satisfaction rating remained similar within 2012 and 2013 levels.

Source: Ford Motor Company, 2015

Innovation and adaptation to the environment
Innovation is one of the major thrusts of Ford through encouraging of submission of creative ideas through their Engineering Ideas and Invention Submission Process . Their innovation programs are classified into four (4) major modules: medicine through Ford Endeavor, automotive prototyping process, body works of vehicles, and their assembly line . Ford was reported to be in the forefront of innovation efforts through pioneering the manufacture of vehicles in the assembly line. Since its inception, Ford continues to revolutionize the manufacture of vehicles to produce high quality, safe, and functional rides. In fact, in 2007, Ford reportedly offered the SYNC vehicles through partnership with Microsoft. As revealed, “SYNC offers a hands-free, voice-activated connectivity system with mobile phone integration, navigation and voice-activated access to entertainment. Ford has continuously updated SYNC since its introduction in order to help drivers keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road while remaining connected to their technology” .
Concurrently, Ford is reported to be committed to reducing the environmental impacts of the manufactured vehicles, as well as their operating processes. Their environmental strategies include reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reduction of other elements of environmental footprint (use of sustainable materials, minimize waste to landfill, as well as minimize “emissions of volatile organic compounds from our operations through the use of innovative technologies” . In addition, Ford designed strategies which focus on greening their products and operations. For instance, efforts to greening their products include life cycle analysis, implementation of Sustainable Technologies and Alternative Fuels plan, focusing of vehicle fuel efficiency as well as monitoring carbon emissions progress, use of sustainable materials, and development of electrified vehicles . Likewise, Ford acknowledged the importance of conserving water and has developed a water mandate with the following six (6) key elements: direct operations, supply chain and value chain, collective action, public policy, community engagement, and transparency .

Status of the Company Today

Ford is still very active in contemporary times. In fact, the organization captures the second highest market share in the U.S. automobile market . The following parameters, shown as Table 4, attest to the robust activity being enjoyed by Ford, as compared to General Motors, pegged as the leader in the industry.

References

Ford Motor Co. (2013). Retrieved February 3, 2015, from Yahoo Finance: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=f
Auto Sales. (2015, January 5). Retrieved February 2, 2015, from The Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html
Average Salary for Ford Motor Company Employees. (2015). Retrieved February 3, 2015, from PayScale: http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Employer=Ford_Motor_Company/Salary
Ford Motor Company. (2015). Advanced Intelligence Come Standard. Retrieved February 2, 2015, from ford.com: http://www.lincoln.com/
Ford Motor Company. (2015). Company Timeline. Retrieved February 3, 2015, from ford.com: http://corporate.ford.com/company/history.html
Ford Motor Company. (2015). Ford Cars - The Line Up. Retrieved February 2, 2015, from ford.com: http://www.ford.com/new-cars/
Ford Motor Company. (2015). Ford Crossover and SUVs - The Lineup. Retrieved February 2, 2015, from ford.com: http://www.ford.com/new-suvs-crossovers/
Ford Motor Company. (2015). Ford Trucks - The Lineup. Retrieved February 2, 2015, from ford.com: http://www.ford.com/new-trucks/
Ford Motor Company. (2015). Greening Our Products. Retrieved February 3, 2015, from ford.com: http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2013-14/environment-products.html
Ford Motor Company. (2015). Human Resources. Retrieved February 3, 2015, from ford.com: http://corporate.ford.com/careers/departments/human-resources.html
Ford Motor Company. (2015). Our Company. Retrieved February 2, 2015, from corporte.ford.com: http://corporate.ford.com/company.html
Ford Motor Company. (2015). Overview: Climate Change and the Environment. Retrieved February 3, 2015, from ford.com: http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2013-14/environment-overview.html
Ford Motor Company. (2015). Overview: Water. Retrieved February 3, 2015, from ford.com: http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2013-14/water-overview.html#water-strategy
Ford Motor Company. (2015). Performance Summary. Retrieved February 3, 2015, from ford.com: http://corporate.ford.com/microsites/sustainability-report-2013-14/review-performance.html
Ford Motor Company. (2105). Innovation. Retrieved February 3, 2015, from ford.com: http://corporate.ford.com/innovation.html
Gorzelany, J. (2014, March 26). Automakers With The Lowest (And Highest) Recall Rates. Retrieved February 3, 2015, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2014/03/26/automakers-with-the-lowest-and-highest-recall-rates/
Hur, Y. (2007). Organizational Performance, Turnover, and Human Resource Management: Focusing on Municipal Police Services. Retrieved February 3, 2015, from University of Kentucky: http://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1527&context=gradschool_diss
Woodyard, C. (2015, January 28). Ford recalls Taurus, two other models to fix defects. Retrieved February 3, 2015, from USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2015/01/28/ford-taurus-transit-connect-recall/22486237/