Would the company’s strategic moves restore its competitiveness and financial performance?

Would the company’s strategic moves restore its competitiveness and financial performance?

Ford Company Analysis

Case Written Assignment

Ford Motor Company: Would the company’s Strategic Moves Restore its  Competitiveness and Financial Performance?

By 2020, Ford Motor Company (Ford) sold and manufactured vehicles globally, and employed over 200,000 people worldwide in 70 plants producing midsize cars, SUVs and pickup trucks. Ford was moving toward manufacturing “smart vehicles for a smart world,” under the leadership of President and CEO Jim Hackett. Ford’s world plan encompassed: (1) A winning portfolio; (2) new propulsion options; (3) a high-level autonomous business built on the most trusted self-driving systems; and (4) cloud-based mobility experiences that deliver recurring revenue. Ford reported falling sales and stock prices.

Automobile and truck industry dynamics in 2020 have continued to be intense until today: global rivalry has increased and in the United States market it was increasing due to imports, from foreign automakers that had begun to reap the benefits of locating manufacturing operations in North America (and other major markets of the world) to shorten supply chains and reduce logistics costs, and from upstart companies that solely produced electric vehicles (EVs).  Oil prices fluctuated widely in 2020 due to oversupply and sharp downward spikes in demand. Oil prices have continued to affect the markets. Consumers in developing economies primarily demanded smaller automobiles; consumers in developed economies preferred larger crossovers, SUVs and trucks; globally, consumers were deterred from making any durable goods purchases due to layoffs and furloughs, reduced disposable incomes, geopolitical events, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The automobile industry has been changing dramatically and Ford and its competitors have been crafting and executing new strategies in the global market.

 

Please use the following outline for your assignment. (Formatting guidelines for your paper are detailed at the end)

Outside research beyond the written case is encouraged and expected.

OUTLINE

  1. Introduction: Brief description of the industry at the time of this case.
    • Description of the Industry (Domestic and Global: Industry Competitors, Industry Dominant Economic Features, Market Size, Market Growth Rate, Industry Trends). You could create a Summary Table in the appendix with all the pertinent indicators of Ford and its competitors for 2020 – 2021
  1. Macro-Environment External Analysis (PESTEL analysis of the industry). This should include not only local but global factors as well.
    • Political factors for the industry
    • Economic conditions for the industry
    • Socio-Cultural forces for the industry
    • Technological factors for the industry
    • Environmental forces for the industry
    • Legal and regulatory factors for the industry
  1. SWOT Analysis for Ford
    • Strengths
    • Weaknesses
    • Opportunities
    • Threats
  1. Financial Analysis

Conduct a thorough financial analysis for Ford based on its revenue, profit and key financial ratios. (horizontal and vertical analysis including CAGR) Evaluate the financial performance of Ford using:

5.1. Revenue (based on the years provided in the case) — and its trend using CAGR calculation and what the trend implies

5.2. Net income [or Net loss] (based on the years provided in the case) — and its trend using CAGR calculation and what the trend implies

5.3. Key financial ratios (include at least 3 key financial ratios, such as D/E ratio (i.e. Total liabilities / Total stockholders’ equity), ROE (i.e. Net income (or Net loss)/Total stockholder’s Equity), Current Ratio etc.) — and their trends and what they imply

5.4. What is your conclusion on Ford’s overall financial performance?

Employ the tables/exhibits provided in the case.

6.0. Overall Strategy Recommendations

What are your strategic recommendations for Ford’s based on the different analysis you conducted

Macro External

5.1.- PESTEL,

5.2.- SWOT,

5.3.- Financial) in this paper.

Please integrate all the functional areas such as:

5.4.- accounting, marketing, finance, management (strategy, international business, operations) and information systems; in your overall recommendation.

FORMATTING Guidelines for the Paper:

Please find below the requirements for your case written assignment. A rubric was designed for this assignment which you should review and follow. The report needs to be submitted as an MS Word file; its length is limited to a maximum of 7 pages (1.5 spaced, 12-pitch font, with 0.5-inch margins; please see below for more details).

  1. You should
    • number all your pages,
    • have a cover page — does not count for the page limit,
    • have a table of contents (with page numbers) — does not count for the page limit,
    • have a References section (do not cite the case itself) — does not count for the page limit,
    • have an appendix (if needed) — does not count for the page limit.

(Notice that these do not count towards the 7-page maximum.)

  1. The paper should have a professional appearance. Please use the following guidelines:
  • Sections and sub-sections of the report should be clearly titled and numbered as shown in the outline.
  • No grammar or spelling errors.
  • You are encouraged to use tables, graphs, charts, figures etc. in your paper. I think using them is a great way to present your analysis, and they are used extensively in the business world. Each should have a title and number. Also, you should place them in the appendix, you can refer to them with their numbers in the main text. As mentioned before, appendix does not count for the page limit.
  • Pages should have 0.5-inch left, right, top and bottom margins.
  • Please use 1.5-line spacing.
  • Please use 12-pitch font.
  • Please use portrait layout.

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR THIS CASE ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENT:

  1. Skim the case rather quickly to get an overview of the situation it presents.
  2. Read the case thoroughly to digest the facts and circumstances.
  3. Carefully review all the information presented in the exhibits.
  4. Apply the concepts and techniques of strategic analysis you have been studying to answer the case analysis assignment questions.
  5. Support your diagnosis and opinions with reasons and evidence: Prepare answers for the questions included to guide your case analysis. Following the outline provided please include your reasons, sources and number-crunching evidence to support your diagnosis.
  6. Develop an appropriate action plan and set of recommendations: Diagnosis without corrective action is not productive. A manager should convert his/her analysis into decisions that will produce the desired outcome. The final and most important step in preparing a case analysis assignment is to come up with specific recommendations. Proposing realistic, viable solutions is much better than suggesting casual off-the-top-of-your-head ideas. You need to argue why your recommendations are better than other possible courses of action.