Henry Ford had started his dream company with only 10 people back in 1903 with the vision to alleviate the private transportation gap. With $28,000 in cash received from 12 different investors and a converted old factory, Henry Ford had established the now multinational company Ford Motor Company.
| Company Name | Ford Motor Company |
| Incorporated In | 1903 |
| Mission Statement | “Our mission is to strengthen communities and help make people’s lives better. Our purpose is to drive human progress through freedom of movement.” |
| Vision Statement | “Our vision is to become the world’s most trusted company, designing smart vehicles for a smart world.” |
Company Overview
Ford’s initial attempt at an automobile manufacturing company began as the Henry Ford Company back in 1901. He then decided to leave the company with full rights over his name which then went on to become the multi-billionaire company it is today. Today, it is known as Ford Motor Company.
In 2019, the company generated 40.3 billion dollars, selling 1,425,000 vehicles worldwide. Trailing behind General Motors (GM), Ford Motor company has 14.1% market share as of 2019. GM has been Ford Motor Company’s biggest competitor for as long as anyone can remember.
Besides GM, Ford Motor Company has close competition with industry giants like Toyota, Volkswagen, Tesla, Nissan, etc. Ford Motor Company strives to gain a competitive edge over its competitors by allocating its resources and combining the various technologies to make vehicles that are in line with the current market trends.
Mission Statement
The Ford mission statement is, “Our mission is to strengthen communities and help make people’s lives better. Our purpose is to drive human progress through freedom of movement.”
Mission Statement Analysis
An interesting point to be noted is that Ford Motor Company’s mission statement also serves as the company’s vision statement. However, let us look at the core values highlighted in the aforementioned statement:
- building strong communities in order to improve the lives within these communities globally and locally.
- incorporate innovation and technology to drive progress in humanity
- give everyone the freedom to be able to use affordable transportation
The Ford Motor Company bolsters its strong purpose in lifting the community to move towards a better and more beneficial tomorrow. It partakes in many pro-bono and non-profit opportunities in order to assuage the hardships that are prevalent in people’s lives.
The “help make people’s lives better” component of their mission statement is evident in the company’s many contributions in social activities. Some notable contributions in 2019 include 13.3 million dollars donated to provide better education, 40.2 million dollars generated to improve community lifestyles, and 8.8 million dollars investing in introducing new ways of safe driving and movement.
The organisation is very deep rooted in maintaining its people-oriented purpose by using innovation and effective tools to improve existing technology every day. It wans to be in line with the everchanging trend in this demanding automobile industry and “drive” progress among people to adopt these newer and more surefire methods.
It does this in order to make the human race more comfortable in an attempt to better their standards of living. This is seen in the company’s mny generous contribution in education, grants, spreading knowledge on driving safely, and developing the community and be more relevant.
When Henry Ford began his journey, he wanted to establish transportation as a basic tool for all. Well equipped with the knowledge on how to build functional and practical automobiles, Ford began producing just a few cars a week with a small group of two or three workers. With a successful manufacturing assembly line, the company has been able to become the multinational global giant it is today.
Thus, as it was exposed to newer and better technology, Ford Motor Company has been able to focus its strategies on promoting safe driving through its advanced automobile designs that ensure this. With the new “for the people” approach, the company has been able to position the brand as a pioneer automobile that builds useful products contributing to improved standards of living for all.
Vision Statement
Ford Motor Company’s vision statement is, “Our vision is to become the world’s most trusted company, designing smart vehicles for a smart world.”
Vision Statement Analysis
Ford Motor Company emphasizes more of its energy towards the vision statement. Over the 117 years, Ford’s strategic positioning focuses on attaining the leading performance in the automobile industry.
Ford Motor Company highlights three key factors in its vision statement:
- becoming the only brand people choose for their preferred transportation brand
- achieving a target audience around the globe.
- designing vehicles that are technologically advanced
When the world “world” is used in the mission statement, it manifests the company’s strategic goals to become the leading brand globally as well as locally. They want to be able to reach out to the global automobile industry where Ford Motor Company is a brand that promotes constant competition.
The second component of the the statement, that is “most trusted company”, reflects on the company’s consistent approach in building vehicles while keeping with the current market preferences. Customers not only desire owning an affordable vehicle but also seeks to build their confidence in the vehicle’s safety features.
Thus, the brand image depicts that the company is invested in building vehicles that are safe to be on the road and diminish mishaps. This is a direct response to the market’s growing demand for safer electric cars that are safe to drive and is also beneficial to the environment. Hence, Ford Motor company is able to incorporate its resources to build vehicles that cater to these new trends.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Is Ford Motor Company Still Owned By The Ford Family?
Answer: Surprisingly, the family owns about 2% of the company. However, they still possess 40% of the stock and remain in control of the company decisions.
2. What Are Ford Motor Company’s Core Values?
Answer: The company has three core values: people, product, and profit. The people give them the strength to continue innovating, the product is the end result of their efforts, and the profits are an indicator of how efficiently it provides customers with the best products that they need.
3. What Is the “One Ford” Plan?
Answer: The One Ford plan is an innovative 4-point business strategy built and adopted by the company itself to achieve global success. This strategy highlights 4 key areas where they can restructure, accelerate development, adopt teamwork, and better finance departments in order to remain successful.
Final Words
Ford Motor Company treats the vision statement as the primary mission statement. However, the vision statement is lacklustre in depicting key factors that would otherwise attract more consumers.
The vision statement misses out on portraying CSR responsibilities in their core values. Moreover, it lacks in addressing the concerns of the stakeholders and rather speaks about becoming a “lean global enterprise”. Customers, employees, shareholders, etc. may not be able to relate to that. It is suggestible that they revisit their purpose and goals.
References:
1. Rosevear, J., 2020. Ford Motor’s Earnings Will Be A Disaster, But Don’T Panic Yet | The Motley Fool. [online] The Motley Fool. Available at: https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/04/26/ford-earnings-will-be-a-disaster-but-dont-panic.aspx
2. Panmore Institute. 2020. Ford Motor Company’S Mission Statement & Vision Statement: An Analysis – Panmore Institute. [online] Available at: http://panmore.com/ford-motor-company-vision-statement-mission-statement
3. En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Ford Motor Company. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Motor_Company
4. Pratap, A., 2020. An Analysis Of Ford’s Mission And Vision Statement. [online] notesmatic. Available at: https://notesmatic.com/2017/01/ford-mission-and-vision-statement-an-analysis/
5. Satterfield, D., 2020. Core Values: Ford Motor Company,. [online] Available at: https://www.theleadermaker.com/core-values-ford-motor-company/#:~:text=People%3A%20Our%20people%20are%20the,in%20serving%20our%20customers%20worldwide
6. Davis, 2020. Ford Mission Statement | Vision | Core Values | Business Strategy Hub. [online] Business Strategy Hub. Available at: https://bstrategyhub.com/ford-mission-vision-values/#:~:text=Ford’s%20Mission%20Statement,progress%20through%20freedom%20of%20movement.%E2%80%9D
7. Mission Statement Academy. 2020. Ford Mission Statement 2020 | Ford Mission & Vision Analysis. [online] Available at: https://mission-statement.com/ford/
8. The Balance Small Business. 2020. The Spirit Of Henry Ford Is Alive In Ford Motor Co. Mission Statement. [online] Available at: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/ford-mission-statement-2892363
9. Statista. 2020. Ford – Vehicle Sales Market Share In The U.S. 2019 | Statista. [online] Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/239614/vehicle-sales-market-share-of-ford-in-the-united-states/#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20Ford’s%20U.S.%20market,in%20the%20global%20automobile%20industry
More Resources:
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2. Starbucks: Analysis of Mission & Vision Statement
3. PepsiCo: Analysis of Mission & Vision Statement
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5. IBM: Mission and Vision Statement Analysis
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