INDUSTRIAL REPORT

ON
FORD MOTOR
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Today’s society is warm with urbanization and demonstration effect. With a

view towards it, there are drastic changes coming up in all sectors even in the

automobile industries. The following information gives an insight about it.

In the present context the companies operate on the principle of natural

selection – “Survival Of The Fittest”. Only those companies will succeed which at

best match to the current environmental imperatives – those who can deliver what

people are ready to buy. But real marketing does not involve the art of selling what

the manufacturers make. Organizations gain market leadership by understanding

consumer needs and finding solutions that delight consumers. If customer value and

satisfaction are absent, no amount of promotion or selling can be compensate.

Hence the aim of marketing is to build and manage profitable customer relationship.

This is a part of the strategic marketing done by every company to achieve it

objectives and goals. To maximize the profits and longterm plans every organization

has to follow a strategic planning.

 Marketing is much more than just an isolated business function – it is a

philosophy that guides the entire organization towards sensing, serving and

satisfying consumer needs. The marketing department cannot accomplish the

company’s customer relationship-building goals by itself. It must partner closely with

other departments in the company and with other organization throughout its entire

value – delivery network to provide superior customer value and satisfaction. Thus

marketing calls upon everyone in the organization to “think customer” and to do all

they can to help build and manage profitable customer relationship. Marketing is all

around us, and we need to know that it is not only used by manufacturing

companies, wholesaler and retailers, but also by all kinds of individuals and

organizations

There are four major, powerful themes that go to the heart of modern

marketing theory and practice, they are:

1. BUILDING AND MANAGING PORFITABLE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS.

2. BUILDING AND MANAGING STRONG BRANDS.

3. HARNESSING NEW MARKETING TECHNOLOGIES IN THIS DIGITAL AGE.

4. MARKETING IN A SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE WAY AROUND THE GLOBE.

What marketing is what it does and what it offers?

“Marketing is a social and managerial process whereby individual and groups

obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and

value with others.”

“Marketing management is the process of planning and executing the

conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to

create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational goals.”

“Marketing offers some combination of products, services, information, or

experiences offered to a market to satisfy a need or want”

 Marketing is an orderly and insightful process for thinking about and planning

for markets. The process starts with researching the market place to understand its

dynamics. The marketer uses research methodologies to identify opportunities, that

is, to find individuals all groups of people with unmeet needs or latent interest in

some products or service.

The marketing process consists of the following:

1. Analyzing marketing opportunities.

2. Developing marketing strategies.

3. Planning marketing programs

4. Managing the marketing efforts.

Before taking any decision and achieving the goals, it has to make

analysis of what to do, how to do, when to do, where to do and who is to do it.

This is nothing but strategic planning. Goals indicate what a business units

wants to achieve whereas strategy is how to get there.

Marketing strategies in simple terms are the complete and unbeatable

plans designed specifically for attaining the marketing objectives of the firm.

Marketing can be called as a game plan for achieving its goals. Strategy choice

will depend on whether the firm or the marketer plays the following roles:

 Market leader

 A challenger

 A follower

 A nicher

The identification of objectives, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, is an

essential backdrop to strategy formulation. Goals have a quality and time frame

attached to them. These are typically spelt out in terms of financial return, market

share, market presence, etc.

 Thus, the concept of market oriented strategic planning arises with the link

between the products the link between the products the manufacturer is dealing in

and the market conditions. In this direction, our study deals only with the marketing

strategies i.e. promotional strategies of the Ford automotives.

OBJECTIVES
Primary Objective:
To know the influence of various Marketing Strategies, Promotional Activities
towards the customers of four wheelers(cars).

Secondary objective:

• To know the effective factors for preferring 4 wheelers(CARS)

• To know the factor of awareness of the cars.
• To Study and analyze the Promotional Strategies of Ford
• To know whether the customers are satisfied with the offers given by the
dealer.
• To know which kind of offers can attract the new customers.
• To find the area to be improved
• To find out satisfaction of the customers.
• To find the reasons for the dissatisfaction
• To study the channel levels involved in the promotion of Ford
• TO study and analyze the customer's perception regarding the
usefulness/utility of Ford cars.
• TO study and analyze the distributors perception regarding the
promotional and distributional strategies of Ford.

INDUSTRIAL PROFILE

One of the fastest growing industries in the world is automobile industry. This
automobile industries even has its influence on the Indian market. Probably
automobile industries occupy a large market share in the worlds market as well as in
the Indian market. Nearly 18% of the total national income is being incurred from the
automobile industry. From this we can estimate how important is the automobile
industry in the improvement of GDP of a country. In India automobile industry has a
growth rate is at the average of 10-12%.

INDIAN AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY SINCE 1947:

Its fascinating drive through history, which begins as a story of isolation and
missed opportunities to one of huge potential and phenomenal growth.
India’s fixation with socialism and planned economies had a crippling impact
on the automotive industry in its formative years. The goal at that time for
independent India was self-sufficiency. Issues like quality and efficiency were simply
not considered.
Dependence of foreign technology was banned and manufacturers were
forced to localize their products; import substitution became the order of the day.
Though we learnt to localize, the cars we made were all outdated designs with little
or not improvements for decades. The automotive industry stagnated under the
government’s stifling restrictions and the Indian car buyer was saddled with cars of
appalling quality and even then there was a waiting list that at one point stretched to
eight years!
This attempt at self-reliance failed miserably because of the industry’s
isolation from the best technology. The Japanese and later Korean auto industries
were also highly protected in their formative years but they never shut the door on
technology. Instead, they relentlessly tapped the best talent pools in the world to
absorb the know-how to produce good cars.
One of the most important chapters in the Indian automotive industry’s history
was written by Maruti. It marked the Indian government getting into the far business
in the early 1980’s, a radical shift in thinking after decades of treating cars with
disdain. The Maruti 800 went on to become the staple car of India and put a nation
on wheels. This little car set a benchmark for price, size and quality and structured
India as small car market.
It wasn’t till 1993 that things really started to change for the Indian car buyer.
With the liberalization of the economy, a host of international carmakers rushed in.
But most of them were in for a shock as Indian customers rejected their product.
Indian customers refused to allow the glitter of prestigious brands blind them to the
outdated and overpriced products they were offered. The Indian consumer wanted
super value, and rewarded the brands that delivered it, handsomely. Hyundai and
Maruthi delivered, and profited.
The period also saw the emergence of the Indian players like Tata Motors and
Mahindra & Mahindra. They rose to the challenge of the MNC’s and responded
brilliantly with the Indica and the Scorpio. This was ironically due to the license raj
that forced Indian carmakers to be innovative and develop products frugally. India’s
frugal engineering skill has now caught the world’s imagination, and an increasing
number of carmakers are preparing to setup major capacities here.
India is changing. And changing fast. It’s moving forward. India’s largest-
selling car is not its cheapest car, the 800. It is the Alto. People’s aspirations are
rising and so are their mistakes, have got their finger on the pulse of the market. Get
the right product and the rewards are handsome.
The Indian auto industry is today bubbling with promise and confidence. It’s
been a long journey but to see where the Indian car industry is going. We have to
see where it has been.

AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY IN PRE-INDEPENDENCE:

The first motorcar on the streets of India was seen in 1898, Bombay had it
first taxicabs by the turn of the century. In 1903, an American company began a
public taxi service with a fleet of 50 cars. For about 50 years after car arrived in
India, cars were directly imported.
Before World War I, around 40,000 motor vehicles were imported. During the
years between the wars, a small start for an automobile industry was made when
assembly plant were established in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.
The import/assembly of vehicles grew consistently after the 1920s, crossing
30,000 units by 1930. It was during the end of the war that the importance of
establishing an indigenous automobile in India was realized. Premier Motors,
Hindustan Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra set up factories in the 1940s for
progressive manufacture rather than assembly from imported components. The cars
they chose to make were the latest in the world when they were introduced in India
in the formative years of the industry.

POST- INDEPENDENCE:
The government clamped down on imports and foreign investments.
Companies like GM and Ford packed their bags and left. India’s clock, thereafter,
stood still while the world raced on ahead. It would take nearly 50 years before the
Indian auto industry could catch up with the rest of the world again.

BROADBANDING ERA:
 In January 1985, the government announced its famous ‘broad banding’
policy which gave new licenses to brad groups of automotive products such as two
and four-wheeled vehicles.
Through a liberal move, the licensing system was very much intact. A
manufacturer had to submit a phased-manufacturing programme to the Ministry of
Industry specifying the indigenization progress and allowing for almost complete
indigenization within five to seven years. The biggest hurdle was the foreign-
exchange clearance required for these projects. Except for MUL, which had direct
access to policy-makers, every other manufacturer still faced a series of obstacles.
Several new products were launched during this period. All three traditional
carmakers added new models to their ranges – Standard Motors returned to the car
business after 10 years, when in 1985 it introduced the Standard 2000, a Rover SD1
body with the old two-litre Vanguard engine. HM bought in a 1972 Vauxhall Victor in
1985, transplanted its ageing Ambassador engine into it and the Contessa was born.

THE BIRTH OF THE AMBASSADOR:

In 1957, a small tail fin was added on either side of the rear fenders, along
with a new, dimpled hood, and the car was re-christened the Ambassador Mark I.
The car cost Rs.17,000. In 1963, it underwent a frontal facelift with a closely
checkered grille and was named the Ambassador Mark II. It would be another 12
years before the Ambassador got a facelift. In 1975, another minor facelift to the
same grille and a much bigger frontal facelift turned out as the Mark III. The Mark IV,
launched in 1979, was the last of the Mark cars.
The Ambassador Nova was launched in 1990, followed by
Ambassador 1800 ISZ three years later. The Nova was the last Ambassador
powered by the 1489cc petrol engine. In 2004, HM launched the cosmetically-
revised Ambassador under the Avigo name. Designed by Mavendra Singh, the retro
look Avigo had classic touch internals like a centrally mounted console, beige-
colored seats and wood finish interiors.

THE CONTESSA YEARS:

The Hindustan Contessa, launched in 1982, was one of the few luxury cars
manufactured in the country in the 1980s and 1990s. It was based on the 1970s
vintage Vauxhall victor. While it was initially launched with the 1489cc engine found
in the Ambassador, the Contessa was soon given the Isuzu engines. There were
three versions of this car - 1.8GLX (Isuzu petrol), 2.0DLX (Isuzu diesel) and the rare
2.0T (Isuzu diesel, turbo). The last Contessa rolled out in 2002, phased out by the
demand for cheap Japanese cars.
Some of the leading Indian auto players in Indian automobile industry are:

➢ Premier,
➢ Tata
➢ Mahindra and Mahindra
➢ Maruthi
➢ Hindustan motors

Premier:
The story of premier is the story of one mans vision, Seth Walchand
Hirachand. He not only give India its first car factory but also the country’s first
aircraft factory – Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and the country’s first modern ship
yard, Hindustan Shipyard Limited

Building India’s first auto factory

Seth Walchand Hirachand has first started the trails to establish an Indian car
manufacturing plant in Indian for which he went to U.S.A. where three largest car
manufacturing companies are located. He wants Indian company to be completely
independent, with Indian management capital and employees, paying royalty or
technology transfer payment to western countries.
After approaching General Motors they insisted on part ownership. Seth
Walchand then moved to second largest automaker Ford; Henry agreed, but
delegated the project to Ford of Canada, which refused. Finally the third largest
automaker Chrysler agreed and singed in an agreement in Bombay in 1940.

The arrival of FIAT:

In 1951, PAL singed up with Fiat to assemble the Fiat 500 in India. In 1952,
the tariff commission spelled out future for the auto industry – indigenize or get out.
Companies like Ford and GM, which had assembly operations in India, packed their
bags and went home. But fiat decided to stick it out and committed itself full-fledged
manufacture of the Millicento in 1954. In sep 1964, PAL and FIAT launched the Fiat
1100 DELITE in India.
The biggest customers for PAL’s were Bombay’s taxi drivers. The Padminies
were easy for maintenance in terms of spares and labour cost, low on running cost,
easy to drive and reasonably tough. It was everything that a taxi driver wants.
TATA Motors:
Established in 1945, Telco or the Tata Engineering and Locomotive
Company, as its full name suggests, started out making steam locomotives for the
Indian Railways. Telco’s tryst with vehicle manufacture came in 1945 when it signed
a 15-year agreement with Daimler-Benz AG of Germany to manufacture commercial
vehicle. The director in charge from the Tata side was Sumant Moolgaonkar.
This period was a shared birthing time for the Indian commercial vehicle
industry – Premier Automobiles in league with Chrysler, Hindustan Motors with
General Motors and Ashok Leyland with British Leyland – which all started truck
production around the same time.
Telco’s biggest triumph came in 1985 in the LCV segment. The Tata 407, a
brand new product from bumper to tail-light, was designed and marketed by Telco to
take on the technically superior Japanese products. The 407 immediately captured
70 per cent of the market.
The TATA SUMO, launched in 1994, turned out to be the success story of the
decade. The Sumo was conceptually a brilliant vehicle. And it was also a product of
the government’s eccentric excise duty regulations at that time.
1998 was a landmark year for Tata – it launched the Tata Safari. Unlike the
Sierra, Estate and Sumo that were designed and developed using rudimentary
manual methods, the Safari was made with modern manufacturing and design
processes to ensure new-found levels of quality and to take the company a step
closer to its ambition of becoming a global carmaker.

Yet, the most important landmark of 1998 was not the Safari. On 30
December 1998, Tata officially launched the much-awaited Indica. 2001 also saw
the company exit its joint venture with Daimler-Benz. In 2002, Tata launched the
Indigo saloon, based on the Indica platform. On 29 July 2003, J R D Tata’s birth
anniversary, the company was renamed Tata Motors Limited. The Tata juggernaut
continued to roll across the Indian auto industry with the launch of the Indigo Marina
in 2004.

MARUTHI:
It began with the promise of being the ‘People’s Car’. The car never went into
production and the company went belly-up in 1977. Six years later, it rose like a
phoenix from the ashes and changed the Indian automotive sector forever. The
company – Maruthi Udyog Limited. The story of Maruthi dates back to the 1970’s.
Indira Gandhi was the prime minister of India. Her son, Sanjay Gandhi, envisioned
the manufactured of an indigenous cost-effective, low-maintenance compact car for
the Indian middle-class. The Cabinet passed a unanimous resolution for the
development and production of a ‘People’s Car’. The name of the car was chosen
as ‘Maruti’

MANAGEMENT PROFILE:
ARVIND MATHEW – Managing Director and
President
Arvind Mathew is the Managing Director and President
of Ford India. He took this position in August 2005.

LUCY MILLAR – Vice President, Finance & IT

Lucy is the Vice President of Finance and IT at Ford

India. She took up this position in May 2005. She
reports to Arvind Mathew, President and Managing
Director, Ford India.

SCOTT McCORMACK – Vice President, Marketing,

Sales & Service

Scott McCormack is the Vice President, Marketing,

Sales and Service at Ford India. He took this position in
July 2006. Scott reports to Arvind Mathew, President and
Managing Director, Ford India.

NANCY REISIG – Vice President, Human

Resources

Nancy Reisig is Vice President, Human Resources at

Ford India. She took this position in March 2005. Nancy
reports to Arvind Mathew, President and Managing
Director, Ford India.

.
 History

Henry Ford (ca. 1919)

Ford was launched in a converted factory in 1903 with $28,000 in cash from twelve
investors, most notably John Francis Dodge and Horace Elgin Dodge who would
later found the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company. During its early years, the
company produced just a few Model T's a day at its factory on Mack Avenue in
Detroit, Michigan. Groups of two or three men worked on each car from components
made to order by other companies. Henry Ford was 40 years old when he founded
the Ford Motor Company, which would go on to become one of the largest and most
profitable companies in the world, as well as being one of the few to survive the
Great Depression. The largest family-controlled company in the world, the Ford
Motor Company has been in continuous family control for over 100 years.

FORD IN INDIA:
 Ford started its innings with the Mahindra-Ford joint venture formed in 1994,
which produced the Escort out of M&M Nashik plant. After meeting initial success,
sales of the Escort was finally replaced by the Ikon in 1999.
The Ikon marked a new beginning for Ford in India. It rolled out of the
Marajmalaingar plant near Chennai and by now, the company had parted ways with
M&M and was renamed Ford India Ltd in 1998. The Ikon was the first model by a
multinational to be developed specifically for India. Though it was based on the
Fiesta, it was a unique body style and was offered and was offered with an option of
three engines, including a diesel. The car was a big hit. The Ikon underwent several
face-lifts and price cuts to keep demand high. However, fresher competition and a
reputation for high-maintenance saw sales gradually decline. After the arrival of the
modern and highly-capable Fiesta, another made-for-India car, with state-of-the-art
engines, the Ikon has been marginalized. The Fiesta has picked up where the Ikon
left and is selling well.
Though the Ikon and Fiesta have been the mainstays of Ford’s production in
India, the company has had limited success with other models. The Mondeo,
launched in 2001, was a very talented car by was simply not suited to Indian
conditions and earned a reputation for being exorbitant to maintain.
The Endeavour SUV was launched in early 2004 and has sold well for its
niche. The Endeavour has recently been upgraded in 2007 and this has boosted the
appeal of the big SUV. In 2004, Ford launched the Fusion, which has received a
lukewarm response though the recent diesel variant has perked up sales.

Fortune Ford is an authorized dealer for Ford India Limited, who are one of
the leading manufacturers of top quality cars in India, with many variants in the
offering.

Fortune Ford is a 50:50%

Joint Venture set up between two well
known and reputed families in Hyderabad, the Modis and the Babu Khans. Fortune
Ford is a blend of experience and youth. The experience and good will that Mr.
Misbahuddin Babu Khan and Mr. Pramod Modi enjoy blend very well with the youth
and energy of the youngsters Bashir, Ashish, Nirav and Siraj to make Fortune Ford a
truly world class Ford Dealership.

Fortune Ford markets and services the recently launched truly European
Ford Fiesta, the ever-popular Ford Ikon Flair, the No non-sense car Ford Fusion and
the macho SUV the Ford Endeavour through its sales and service outlets at
Hyderabad. The sales outlet is located strategically at Somajiguda next to Eanadu.
We have two service centers, one at Chapel Road, Abids opposite Stanley College
and other one at Fathebagh, Santhnagar. These centrally located outlets provide
convenient and easy access to both the proud owners as well as prospective buyers.
The workforce at Fortune Ford is committed to excellence in serving all esteemed
customers.

The Sales Team is made up of dedicated showroom and field executives who
are professionally trained by Ford India Limited. They are adept at guiding the
customer through the entire sales process right from assisting in the choice of model,
colour and features to lending a helping hand in providing attractive buyback options
and also arranging finance at competitive rates.

The Service Centre is armed with the state-of-the art equipment and is in-line
with Ford's exacting Global standards. The service team is technically qualified and
trained to analyze and provide solutions adhering to Quality Care, in order to satisfy
even the most demanding customers.

The Fortune Ford dealership maintains a high standard of excellence in

sales and services by sending its personnel for training on a regular basis to Ford
India Limited, to update them with the latest technological advances in the
automotive sphere.

FORD MISSION AND VISION

Mission

Metro Ford will strive to provide a pleasant buying experience to all our
prospective Customers, from the time he / she expresses the interest to
purchase a Ford Car till the Car of his / her choice is delivered in perfect
condition. To provide after-sales-service which is prompt, efficient, convenient
and reasonable to ensure Customer’s delight. To provide a congenial working
environment to all Employees along with fair compensation and other welfare
benefits.

Vision

Metro Ford will keep in pace with Growth Plan of Ford India in providing the
required Sales and Service infrastructure for the convenience of prospective
Customers. To achieve the Customer Satisfaction and Market Share
objectives of Ford India in the Segment and in the Areas of operation.

CHAPTER 2
SWOT ANALYSIS

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is one of the largest automotive manufacturers in the
world. The company's automotive vehicle brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar,
Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. The company manufactures and
distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. The Ford Asia, Africa
and Ford Mazda operations recorded strong performance in fiscal 2005. Strong Ford
Asia, Africa and Ford Mazda could prove to be a significant revenue and profit driver
in the coming years. Intense competition from Japanese companies, however, could
lead to further deterioration in the North American operations of Ford.

Strengths Weaknesses
Strong Ford Asia, Africa and Ford Mazda operations Weakening North American
automotive operations

Growing Ford Europe and PAG operations Tarnished brand image

Profitable financial services division Large unfunded pension and other obligations
Opportunities Threats
The way forward plan Rising raw material prices

Hybrid vehicles Increasing competition

Opportunities in India and China Low capital spending

Strengths

Strong Ford Asia, Africa and Ford Mazda operations

The Ford Asia, Africa and Ford Mazda operations recorded strong performance in
fiscal 2005. Revenues from Ford Asia, Africa and Ford Mazda reached $8,245
million
in 2005, up 18.5% over 2004. More importantly, this segment recorded an income
before taxes of $297 million in fiscal 2005, up from $82 million in fiscal 2004. Strong
Ford Asia, Africa and Ford Mazda could prove to be a significant revenue and profit
driver in the coming years.

Growing Ford Europe and PAG

The Ford Europe and Premier Automotive Group (PAG) recorded strong revenue
growth in fiscal 2005. The Ford Europe and PAG primarily include the sale of Ford-
brand vehicles in Europe and Turkey as well as sale of PAG brand vehicles (Volvo,
Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin). Revenues from Ford Europe and PAG
reached $60,258 million in 2005, up 11.3% over 2004. Ford Europe and PAG
accounted for 34% of total revenues. Growing Ford Europe and PAG has enabled
the company to offset revenue decline in the Americas division.Profitable financial
services division The financial services division, Ford MotorCredit, is largely
responsible for keeping the company afloat. In fiscal 2005, thefinancial
servicesdivision has recorded income before taxes of $5,891 million, upfrom $5,008
million in fiscal 2004. In contrast, the automotive division recorded lossbefore taxesof
$3,895 million in fiscal 2005, up from $155 million in fiscal 2004. As aresult, the
company was able to record a net profit of $2,024 million in fiscal 2005. Inrecent
years, the problems of automotive division have adversely affected the creditrating of
the financial services division. This has forced the financial services divisionto resort
to securitizing of retail auto loans, auto leases and lines of credit to cardealers on its
books for raising money. As a result, revenues of this division have fallen in recent
years. Yet financial services division continues to remain profitable. Ford Motor
Credit continues to offset losses of the automotive operations and enables
the company to remain in black.

Weaknesses

Weakening North American automotive operations

Ford's automotive operations in North America recorded a weak performance in

fiscal
2005. Revenues from automotive operations in North America fell by 2.4% to
approximately $80,600 million in fiscal 2005. Furthermore, automotive operations in
North America recorded a loss before taxes of $2,500 million in fiscal 2005, as
compared to an income before taxes of $684 million in fiscal 2004.

The weakening of automotive operations in North America is due to competition from

Japanese companies and a market shift away from fuel-guzzling light trucks such as
sports utility vehicles toward more fuel efficient vehicles. Ford relies more on truck
sales than other vehicle manufacturers. Truck sales accounted for 67.2% of its US
vehicle sales, whereas in case of most other vehicle manufacturers, truck sales
account for only 56% of total vehicle sales. Stagnating truck sales in the US, on
account of high fuel prices, has hurt Ford more than the others. Japanese
competitors
such as Toyota have also taken market share away from Ford. The company's share
of the US light vehicle market, the largest in North America, has fallen from 19.3% in
fiscal 2004 to 18.2% in fiscal 2005. Ford's automotive operations in North America
accounted for about 45.5% of total revenues in fiscal 2005. Any continued
weakening of automotive operations in North America would adversely affect the
financial and market position of the company.

replacing 13 million tires made by Bridgestone/Firestone. In 2001, Ford recalled new

Escape sports utility vehicle five times in four months owing to quality issues During
January 2005, Ford recalled about 792,000 pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles
because of a fire risk from overheating of the speed control switch. According to a
leading consumer magazine, an eight year old Toyota is as reliable as a three year
old Ford with 54 problems per 100 vehicles. Tarnished brand image has negatively
impacted Ford's sales in the US.

Large unfunded pension and other obligations

Ford has significant unfunded pension, health care and life insurance obligations. By
the end of 2005, Ford's total pension obligations, including the US and non-US
plans,
totaled $74,595 million, while pension assets (US and non-US) totaled $63,784
million, which resulted in unfunded pension obligations of $10,811 million. Total
health
care and life insurance obligations of Ford stood at $39,274 million at the end of
2005,
while the plan assets stood at $6,497 million, resulting in unfunded health care and
life
insurance obligations of $32,777 million. Unfunded pension, health care and life
insurance obligations would negatively impact the cash flow position of the company.

Opportunities
The way forward plan

In the beginning of 2006, Ford launched a restructuring plan to improve the

performance of its automotive business in North America. This plan aims to make
the
North American business more customer-focused, product-driven and efficient. The
North American capacity is likely to be realigned to match demand, with 14
manufacturing facilities to be idled, resulting in significant cost savings and reduced
employment of 25,000-30,000 employees. Capacity will be reduced by 1.2 million
units, or 26% by 2008, which represents a majority of actions within the restructuring
plan's 2006-2012 period. 'The way forward plan' focuses on restoring Ford's North
American automotive operations to profitability by 2008.

Hybrid vehicles

By 2010, more than half of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products are expected to
switch
over to hybrid electric engines. Ford is planning to expand its capacity to produce up
to a quarter of a million hybrid vehicles a year. Demand for hybrid vehicles is
increasing worldwide owing to stringent emission standards, higher fuel prices and
growing environment-consciousness. Hybrid engines are more fuel efficient and less
polluting than conventional gasoline and diesel engines. Ford's focus on hybrid
electric vehicles could help in turning around its North American operations.

Ford reinforced its commitment to the Indian market during 2005 by launching the
Ford Fiesta. While in China, Ford sales were up 46% in 2005. China and India are
expected to drive global demand for light vehicles through much of this decade. Light
vehicle production in China is expected to increase from 4.3 million units in 2005 to
7.7 million units in 2010 while light vehicle production in India is forecast to increase
from 1.4 million units to 2.5 million units during the same period. Growing vehicle
markets in India and China would provide an opportunity for the company to diversify
its revenues.

Threats

Rising raw material prices

Steel prices, after declining by about 30% in 2005, have stabilized, but could rise to
higher levels if industry consolidation continues. The price of hot rolled steel coil rose
from $386 per ton in January 2004 to a high of $653 per ton in November 2004 and
thereafter fell to a low of $493 per ton in July 2005 owing to de-stocking in
inventories
and changeover of China from a net importer to a net exporter. Since then steel
prices
have stabilized and recovered some of the lost ground. Hot rolled coil prices
averaged
$579 a ton during the first four months of 2006. Demand outlook for steel has
strengthened in recent months owing to pick up in global industrial production and
restocking due to low inventory levels. Hot rolled coil prices are expected to average
$572 a ton in 2006. Ongoing industry consolidation in the steel industry, however,
could push prices to higher levels. In June 2006, for instance, Arcelor merged with
Mittal Steel to form the largest steel company in the world. High crude oil prices have
also led to an increase in polymer prices. Plastic materials are used extensively in
the automotive industry. Oil prices reached as high as $78.4 a barrel during July
2006. Recovering steel prices and rising polymer prices could adversely affect the
company's profit margins.

Increasing competition Ford's market share in the US light vehicle market has
declined from 22.8% in 2001 to 18.2% in 2005 thanks to competition from Japanese
companies among other reasons. Ford is facing intense competition from Japanese
vehicle manufacturers such as Toyota and Honda. Toyota's share of US light vehicle
market has risen from 10% in 2001 to 13% in 2005, while Honda's share has
improved from 6.9% in 2001 to 8.4% in 2005. Nissan, another Japanese competitor,
improved its market share from 4.1% to 6.2% during the same period. After
establishing a strong market position in the passenger cars segment, Japanese
companies are now eyeing the lucrative light trucks segment. Toyota, for instance, is
aggressively pursuing market share in the light trucks segment through its Tundra
range of trucks.

Japanese companies could lead to further deterioration in the North American

operations of Ford. Low capital spending Ford's capital spending, including research
and development expenditure, is lower than its competitors, which could affect its
competitiveness going forward. In 2005, Ford's capital spending was $1,766 per
vehicle, as compared to Honda's $3,193 per vehicle and Toyota's $2,937 per
vehicle. Consequently, Ford would be able to replace only 59% of its existing vehicle
range with new models during 2006-2009, while Honda would replace 93% of its
existing vehicle range with new models during the same period. Toyota, meanwhile,
is poised to replace 90% of its existing product range during 2006-2009. An aging
vehicle range would adversely affect growth prospects of Ford.
 CHAPTER 3
Marketing strategy and analysis:
analysis
A marketing strategy is a process that can allow an organization to
concentrate its limited resources on the greatest opportunities to increase sales and
achieve a sustainable competitive advantage.

Any organization that wants to exchange its products or services in the market
place successfully should have a Strategic Marketing plan to guide the allocation of
its resources. A strategic marketing plan usually evolves from an organization’s
overall corporate strategy and serves as a guide for specific marketing programs and
policies. Marketing strategy is based on a situation analysis- a detailed assessment
of the current marketing conditions facing the company, its product lines, or its
individual brands. From this situation analysis, a firm develops an understanding of
the market and the various opportunities it offers, the competition and the market
segments or target markets the company wishes to pursue.

Marketing strategy is the complete and unbeatable plan, designed specifically

for attaining the marketing objectives of the firm/business unit. The marketing
objectives indicate what the firm wants to achieve; the marketing strategy provides
the design for achieving them.

For example, if the marketing objectives of a business unit stipulate that next
year, it should achieve a sales revenue of Rs. 1,000 crore and a net profit of 15
percent of sales revenue, it is the job of marketing strategy to indicate how and
wherefrom this sale and profit will come, which product lines/products/brands will
accomplish this task and how.

Marketing strategy forms an integral part of marketing planning. A marketing

strategy is most effective when it is an integral component of corporate strategy,
defining how the organization will successfully engage customers, prospects, and
competitors in the market arena. It is partially derived from broader corporate
strategies, corporate missions, and corporate goals. As the customer constitutes the
source of a company's revenue, marketing strategy is closely linked with sales. A key
 component of marketing strategy is often to keep marketing in line with a company's
overarching mission statement.

MARKETING AND PROMOTIONS PROCESS MODEL:

Development of marketing program requires an in-depth analysis of the
market. This analysis may make extensive use of market research as an input into
the planning process.

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This input, in turn, provides the basis for the development of marketing
strategies in regard to product, pricing, distribution and promotion decisions. Each of
these steps requires a detailed analysis, since this plan serves as the road map to
follow in achieving marketing goals. Once the detailed market analysis has been
completed and marketing objectives have been established, each element in the
market mix must contribute to a comprehensive integrated marketing program. Of
course, the promotional program element must be combined with all other program
elements in such a way as to achieve maximum impact.

Formulating the marketing strategy:

Basically, formulation of marketing strategy consists of three main tasks:

1. Selecting the target market,

2. Positioning the offer,
3. Assembling the marketing mix.

This implies that the essence of the marketing strategy of a firm for a
given
product or brand can be grasped from the target market chosen, the way it is
positioned and how the marketing mix is organized. The target market shows to
whom the unit intends to sell the products; positioning and marketing mix together
show how and using what uniqueness or distinction, the unit intends to sell. The
three together constitute the marketing strategy platform of the given product.

SELECTING THE TARGET MARKET:

To say that target market selection is a part of marketing strategy

development is just stating the obvious. It does not fully bring out the import of the
inseparable likage between the two. When the selection of the target market is over,
an important part of the marketing strategy of the product is determined, defined and
expressed.

Marketing targeting simply means choosing one’s target market. It needs to

be clarified at the outset that market targeting is not synonymous with market
segmentation. Segmentation is actually tee prelude to target market selection. One
has to carry out several tasks besides segmentation before choosing the target
market.
 Through segmentation, a firm divides the market into many segments. But all
these segments need not form its target market. Target market signifies only those
segments that it wants to adopt as its market. A selection is thus involved in it.
Marketing segmentation is a process that throws up not one but several
market segments. There may be segments that are sizeable and the ones that are
not so sizeable. There may be segments assuring immediate profits and the ones
that call for heavy investments in market development. There may also be segments
that show great potential, but display tough barriers to entry. As such, the question,
which segment/segments, the firm should select as its target market, assumes
crucial importance.

STRATEGIC MARKET SEGMENTATION:

Market Segmentation is “dividing up a market into distinct groups that (1) have
common needs and (2) will respond similarly to a marketing action”, which was said
by Eric N.Berkowitz, Roger A.Kerin, and William Redulius.
The Segmentation process involves five distinct steps:
➢ Finding ways to group consumers according to their needs.
➢ Finding ways to group the marketing actions – usually the products offered –
available to the organization.
➢ Developing a market-product grid to relate the market segments to the firm’s
products or actions.
➢ Selecting the target segments toward which the firm directs its marketing
actions.
➢ Taking marketing actions to reach target segments.

Markets can be segmented using several relevant bases. For example,

demographic characteristics of consumers, such as age, sex, income/purchasing
capacity, education level etc, form one base for segmentation. Geographic
characteristics constitute another; and buying behavior of the consumers forms yet
another base.
The various types of segmentations are

 Geographic segmentation
 Demographic segmentation
 Psychographic segmentation
 Buyer behavior
 Benefits segmentation
 Volume of purchase segmentation
POSITIONING:

Positioning is a platform for the brand. It facilitates the brand to get through to
the target consumers.
It is defined as “the art and science of fitting the product or service to one or
more segments of the broad market in such a way as to set it meaningfully apart
from competition.”
Positioning is the act of fixing the locus of the product offer in the minds of the
target consumers. In positioning, the firm decides how and around what parameters,
the product offer has to be placed before the target consumers. The significance of
product positioning can be easily understood from David Ogilvy’s words: “The
results of your campaign depends less on how we write your advertising than on how
your product is positioned”.

Definitions of product positioning:

Sengupta, in his book Brand Positioning says, “ The aim of product positioning is
to create a perception for our brand in the prospect’s mind so that it stands apart
from competing brands… we must cover that space in the consumer’s mind as if we
had won a long-term lease. We must find a strong position in that mind and sit on
it….”

Micheal Rothschild, in his book Marketing Communications – From

Fundamentals to Strategies says, “Positioning refers to the place a brand occupies
in the mind in relation to a given product class. This place was originally a product-
related concept…. Concerning market structure. The concept now refers to the
place that the brand holds in the consumer’s mind related to perceptions and
preferences”.

Developing a Positioning Strategy:

To create a position for a product or service, Trout and Ries suggest that
managers ask them selves six basic questions.
1. What position, if any, do we already have in the prospect’s mind?
2. What position do we want to own?
 3. What companies must be outgunned if we are to establish that position?
4. Do we have enough marketing money to occupy and hold the position?
5. Do we have the guts to stick with one consistent positioning strategy?
6. Does our creative approach match our positioning strategy?

PRODUCT POSITIONING AND BRAND POSITIONING:

It is essential to understand the relationship between products positioning and
brand positioning. Though in discussions, the two terms are synonymously and
interchangeable used, technically they are different.
Product positioning denotes the specific product category/product class in
which the given product is opting to compete. And brand positioning denotes the
positioning of the brand viz-a viz the competing brands in the chosen product
category.
It is evident that for any product, before entering the market it has to
sequentially carry out the two exercises, product positioning and brand positioning.
In the first step, the product category where the new entrant should enter and
compete, i.e. against what all products it has to compete, has to be decided. In this
step, it is the broad function that the product is trying to serve that matters. This
choice of product category will decide the nature of the competition the product is
going to face. Once product category positioning is decided, the position for the new
entrant against competing brands in the chosen product category has to be analyzed
and fixed.

ISSUES IN PRODUCT POSITIONING:

Where is the new offer going to compete? As what?
Which product function/customer need is it trying to meet?
What other product categories serve this need? In other words, what
are the substitute products that serve the same need?
Where is the real gap, where is such a new offer most welcome and
wanted by the market?
What are company’s competencies to fight here?

ISSUES IN BRAND POSITIONING:

In deciding the Brand positioning, the issues are:
Which are the competing brands in the chosen product category?
What are the unique claims/strengths of the various brands?
 What position do they enjoy in consumer’s evaluation and perception?
What is the most favoured position…? And yet vacant?
Can the new brand claim the needed distinction and take the position
and satisfy the need?

The major dimension of marketing strategy relates to positioning of the offer.

The firm has already selected the target market and decided its basic offer. Now,
what is the conjunction between these two entities? How do they get connected?
What is the interface?
In other words.
What is the locus the firm seeks among the customers in the chosen targer market
with its offering?
How would the firm want the consumer to view and receive the offer?
These are the issues the firm has to grapple with in positioning. And, while
formulating the marketing mix too, the firm will agitate over these issues. The
Product Differentiation and Positioning discusses the multifarious issues involved in
the subject.

PRODUCT REPOSITIONING :
Products do undergo ‘repositioning’ as they go along their life cycle. In some
cases, even products that are fairing well are repositioned. This is done mainly to
enlarge the reach of the product offer and to increase the sale of the product by
appealing to a wider target market. The product is provided with some new features
or it is associated with some new target segments.

PROMOTIONAL DECISIONS:
Promotion has been defined as the coordination of all seller initiated efforts to
set up channels of information and persuasion in order to sell goods and services or
promote an idea. While implicit communication occurs through the various elements
of the marketing mix, most of an organization’s communications with the market The
basic tools used to accomplish an organization’s communication objectives are often
referred to as the promotional mix.

The promotional mix

Advertisin Direct Interactiv Sales Publicity/ Personal
g marketin e/ promotio selling
Public
g n
internet relations
➢
➢ Advertising:

Advertising is defined as any paid form of non personal communication about

an organization, product, service, or idea by an identified sponsor. The paid aspect
of this definition reflects the fact that the space or time for an advertising message
generally must be bought. An occasional exception to this is the public service
announcement, whose advertising space or time is donated by the media.
Advertising is the best-known and most widely discussed form of promotion,
probably because of its pervasiveness. It is also very important promotional tool,
particularly for companies, whose products and services are targeted at mass
consumer markets.
It is a very cost-effective method for communicating with large audiences. It
can be used to create brand images and symbolic appeals for a company or brand.

➢ Direct Marketing:
One of the fastest-growing sectors of the U.S. economy is direct
marketing, in which organizations communicate directly with target customers to
generate a response and a transaction. It has become such an integral part of the
IMC program of many organizations and often involves separate objectives, budgets,
and strategies, we view direct marketing as a component of the promotional mix.
Direct Marketing is much more than direct mail and mail order catalogs. It
involves a variety of activities, including database management, direct selling,
telemarketing and direct response ads through direct mail, the Internet, and various
broadcast and print media.
One of the major tools of direct marketing is direct response advertising,
whereby a product is promoted through an ad that encourages the consumer to
purchase directly from the manufacturer.

➢
➢ Interactive/Internet Marketing:
Interactive media allow for the back-and-forth flow of information whereby
users can participate in and modify the form and content of the information they
receive in real time. Unlike traditional forms of marketing communications such as
advertising, which are one-way in nature, the new media allow users to perform a
variety of functions such as receive and alter information and images, make
inquiries, respond to questions and of course make purchases. In addition to the
Internet, other forms of interactive media include CD-ROMs, Kiosks, and interactive
television.

➢ Sales Promotion:
The next variable in the promotional mix is sales promotion, which is generally
defined as those marketing activities that provide extra value or incentives to the
sales force, the distributors, or the ultimate consumer and can stimulate immediate
sales, sales promotion is generally broken into two major categories:
Consumer-oriented and
Trade-oriented activities
Consumer-oriented sales promotion is targeted to the ultimate user of a
product or service and includes couponing, sampling, premiums, rebates,
contests, sweepstakes, and various point-of-purchase materials.
Trade-oriented sales promotions are targeted towards marketing
intermediaries such as wholesalers, distributors and retailers.

➢ Publicity/Public Relations:
Publicity refers to non personal communications regarding an organization,
product, service, or idea not directly paid for or run under identified sponsorship. It
usually comes in the form of a news story, editorial or announcement about an
organization and its products and services. Like advertising, publicity is not directly
paid for by the company.
An advantage of publicity over other forms of promotion is its credibility.
Another advantage of publicity is its low cost, since the company is not paying its
time or space in a mass medium such as TV, radio or newspapers.
Public relations are defined as “the management function which evaluates
public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or organization
with the public interests and executes a program of action to earn public
understanding and acceptance”. Public relations generally have a broader objective
than publicity, as its purpose is to establish and maintain a positive image of the
company among its various publics.

➢ Personal Selling:
It is a form of person-to-person communication in which a seller attempts to
assist and persuade prospective buyers to purchase the company’s product or
service or to act on an idea. Unlike advertising, personal selling involves direct
contact between buyer and seller, either face-to-face or through some form of
telecommunications such as telephone sales. Personal selling involves more
immediate and precise feedback because the impact of the sales presentation can
generally be assessed from the customer’s reactions.

ASSEMBLING THE MARKETING MIX:

MIX

Assembling the marketing mix means assembling the four Ps of marketing in

the best possible combination. Involved in this process are the choice of the
appropriate marketing activities and the allocation of the appropriate marketing
effort/resources to each one of them. The firm has to find out how it can generate
the targeted sales and profit. It considers different marketing mixes with varying
levels of expenditure on each marketing activity and tries to figure out the
effectiveness of different combinations in terms of the possible sales and profits. It
then chooses the combination/mix of products, price, place and promotion that is
best according to its judgment.
Since marketing is essentially an interaction between the marketing mix and
environmental variable, and since the latter and non-controllable, marketing
becomes synonymous with assembling and managing the marketing mix. Of course,
while assembling the marketing mix, the marketing manager will take due note of the
environmental variables. Not only will he take due not of them, he will ensure that
his marketing mix suits the environmental variables. And, its it factor that renders tha
task much more complex.

MARKEGING MIX: THE SOLE VEHICLE FOR CREATING AND

DELIVERING CONSUMER VALUE
The four elements mentioned above- product, distribution, promotion and
pricing constitute the marketing mix of the firm. The marketing mix is the sole
vehicle for creating and delivering customer value.
It can be easily seen that all activities and programmes, which a marketer
designs and caries out in his effort at winning customers, relate to one or the other of
the above four elements- product, place, promotion and pricing. It can also be seen
that in each of these elements, there are several sub-elements. For example,
packaging is one of the sub-elements of product and warehousing is one of the sub-
elements of distribution.

The Four Ps of Marketing:

 It was James Culliton, a noted marketing expert, who coined the expression
marketing mix and described the marketing manager as a mixer of ingredients. To
quote him, `The marketing man is a decider and an artist – a mixer of ingredients,
who sometimes follows a recipe developed by others and sometimes prepare his
own recipe. And, sometimes he adapts his recipe to the ingredients that are readily
available and sometimes invents some new ingredients, or, experiments with
ingredients as no one else has tried before.
Subsequently, Niel H.Borden, another noted marketing expert, popularized
the concept of marketing mix.
It was Jerome McCarthy, the well-known American professor of marketing,
who first described the marketing mix in terms of the four Ps. He classified the
marketing mix variables under four heads, each beginning with the alphabet “P”.
• Product
• Place
• Price
• Promotion

McCarthy has provided an easy-to-remember description of the marketing mix

variables. Over the years, the terms – Marketing mix and Four Ps of marketing
have come to be used synonymously.
Assembling and managing the marketing mix is the crux of the marketing
task. And, it is through the marketing mix that the marketing manager achieves
the marketing objectives.

MARKETING STRATEGIES FALL UNDER TWO CATEGORIES:

We have seen that target market selection, positioning and marketing
mix formulation together constitute marketing strategy. We have also seen that a
firm can assemble the marketing mix elements in many different ways, depending on
the relative weightage it assigns to the different elements. The scope to carve out
different combinations is, in fact immense. As a result, business firms are able to
employ an abundance of strategies and strategy stances in their relentless race to
stay ahead of competition. However, a close scrutiny will reveal that all these
strategies can be fitted into two broad categories

1. PRICE ORIENTED MARKETING STRATEGY

2. DIFFERENTIATION ORIENTED MARKETING STRATEGY
 In other words, there are only two broad routes available for forging marketing
strategies: any strategy has to be ultimately either a price-oriented strategy or a
differentiation-oriented strategy.

PRICE ORIENTED MARKETING STRATEGY:

STRATEGY

Firms taking to the price route in marketing strategy compete on the strength
of pricing. They use price as their competitive lever. They juggle the price of their
product to suit the prevailing competitive reality. They can afford to offer lower prices
and still make the targeted profits. They elbow out competition with the cushion they
enjoy in the matter of pricing.
Price route requires cost leadership, evidently, a firm opting for the price route
will have to have a substantial cost advantage in their operations. It should be
enjoying an overall cost leadership in the given industry and its lower cost should
enable it to secure above average returns inspite of strong competition. The cost
advantage can emanate from different factors like, scale economies, earlyu entry, a
large market share built over a period of time, locational advantage, or synergy
among the different businesses. The firms whole strategy, in fact will revolve around
building such cost advantage.
To successfully practice a price-led strategy, a firm should have consciously
taken to the idea sufficiently early in its evolutionary process and prepared itself for
adopting such a strategy.

DIFFERENTIATION ORIENTED MARKETING STRATEGY:

STRATEGY
The differentiation route of strategy revolves around aspects other than price.
It works on the principle that a firm can make its offer distinctive from all competing
offers and win through the distinctiveness. And, a firm adopting such route can price
its product on the perceived value of the attributes of the offer and not necessarily on
competition-parity basis.
Maximum scope for exploiting differentiation remains with the product. While
all the 4Ps of marketing are important elements from the point of view of strategy,
the other Ps normally go as elaborations of the offer, while the product forms its
core.
Product differentiation is of vital importance in product management and has
great potential in forgoing successful marketing strategies.
The product can be differentiated along two major planks:
 1. Tangible product attributes and functions,
2. Intangible characteristics and emotional associations.

The tangible product attributes and functions are

Differentiation based on ingredients,
Differentiation based on functional value,
Differentiation based on additional features,
Packaging contributing to differentiation,
Differentiation based on Quality, Operational Efficiency, Technology, Service.

EFFECTIVE SALES PROMOTION:

Sales promotion consists of diverse collection of incentive tools mostly
short term, designed to stimulate quicker and greater purchase of particular
products of services by the consumer. Sales promotion is the only method that
makes use of incentives to complete the push-pull promotional strategy of
motivating the sale force, the dealer and the consumer in transacting a sale.

Price-Offs Offer:
Price-off offers refers to offering the product at lower than the normal price.
This encourages immediate sales, attracts non-users, induces product trail and
counters competition.

Premium:
Premium refers to the offer of an article of merchandise as an
incentive in or to sell the product.

Coupons:
In order to encourage product trail, stimulate re-purchase rate and
build loyalty through news papaers.

Dealer stock display contests:

contests
It is a type of point of purchase advertising which uses the show
windows of the dealer for providing exposure to the sponsor’s products.
Dealer participating enthusiastically and creatively are awarded
DEFENDING MARKET SHARE:
SHARE
While trying to expand total market size, the dominant firm must continuously
defend it current business against rival attacks. This step is very much essential for
the market leader firm because the challenger firms are constantly to exploit the
weaknesses of the leader firms.

EXPANDING MARKET SHARE:

SHARE
Market leaders can improve their profitability by increasing their market
share. But for few market leaders whose share in the total market is insignificantly
high, the expansion of market share n the total market may be proved both as
expensive and risky. Therefore it is better for such leader firms in spending their
time in building up the market size rather than expanding the market share. The
reason for this action may be attributed to two factors:
1. The market leader firms might attract the provisions of various anti-trust
legislations. The rival competitors will try to force the Government to bring
legislations against the “MONOPOLISATION”
2. The second reason being the economic factors. The cost of making further
gains in the market share after a large share has been achieved may rise
fast and reduce the profit margin.

HARASSMENT STRATEGY:
The market leader firm will resort to an harassment strategy in order to
promote its market share. As a part of this strategy, the leader form might approach
the suppliers and threaten to reduce its purchases. If the latter supply the upstart
firm, sometimes it might put pressure on distributors not to carry the competitors
product. The salesman of leader firm might speak negatively about competitors. It
may also try to hire away the better executives of an aggressive firm. Sometimes,
the market leader firm will try to restrain these competitions through legal devices. It
might push legislation that would be more unfavorable to the competitors than to
itself.
The aim of defensive strategy is to reduce the profitability of attack, divert
attacks to less threatening areas, and lessen the intensity of attack. Any attack is
likely to hurt profits. But the defender’s form and speed of response can make an
important difference in the profit consequences.

There are 6 defense strategies that a dominant firm can use:

1. Position Defense:
The basic idea of defense is to build an impregnable fortification around one’s
territory.
2. Flank Defense:
The market leader should not only guard its territory but also erect outposts to
protect
a weak front or possibly serve as an invasion base for counter attacking.
3. Preemptive Defense:
A more aggressive defense maneuver is to launch an attack on the enemy
before the
enemy starts its offense against the leader. Preemptive defense assumes that an
ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.
4. Counteroffensive Defense:
Most market leaders, when attacked will respond counterattack. The leader
cannot
remain passive in the face of a competitor’s price cut, promotion blitz, product
improvement, or sales territory invasion. The leader has the strategic choice of
meeting the attacker frontally, maneuvering against the attacker’s flank, or launching
a princer movement to cut off the attacking formation from their base operation.
5. Mobile Defense:
Mobile defense involves more than the leader aggressively defending it
territory. In
mobile defense, the leader stretches it domain over new territories than serve as
future centers for defense and offense.
6. Contraction defense:
Large companies recognize that they can no longer defend all the territory.
Their
focus are spread too thin, and competitors are nibbling away on several funds. The
best course of action then appears to be planned contraction (also called strategic
withdrawal).

INNOVATION STRATEGY:
The market leader may innovate several strategies in respect of new product
ideas, customer services, means of distribution, cost cutting discovery. In addition
to these, a leader may discourage its competition particularly challenge firm.
 FORTIFICATION STRATEGY:
In order to protect its market share, the market leader may try to keep it
product prices reasonable in relation to the perceived valued of the offer and
competitors offer. The leader produces it brand in a variety of sizes and firms.

CONFRONTATION STRATEGY:
STRATEGY
If leader firm faces an extremely aggressive challenger, whose actions
demand a quick and direct response. In such a situation, the market leader will
engage any promotional war, engaging in a massive promotional expenditure that
the aggressive challenger cannot match. The leader firm may engage in the price
war whenever a new challenger is considering to enter in its market. This strategy
will frighten the potential competitions and make then to withdraw from entering the
market.

MARKETING STRATEGIES OF FORD:

Product differentiation based on operational efficiency:

FORD EXCELLING THROUGH SERVICE: Ford tries to differentiate its offer
on the plank of service. It has gone in for a new norm in customer service: “fix it
right-the first time-on time”. Ford is also supplying videotapes showing how
repairs have to be done.
Adopting Offer to Suit Target Segment:
Ford modifies its models for India:
Ford modified its models for the Indian target segments as shown below:
➢ Higher ground clearance to make the car more compatible to the rougher road
surface in India.
➢ Stiffer rear springs to enable negotiating the ubiquitous patholes on Indian roads.
➢ Changes in cooling requirement, with greater airflow to the rear.
➢ Higher resistance to dust.
➢ Compatibility of engine with the quality of fuel available in India.
➢ Location of horn buttons on the steering vehicles. (As the India motorist uses the
horn more frequently, for cars sold in India, the horn buttons are kept on the
steering wheel and not on a lever on the side as in the models sold in Europe.)

Strategic segmentation of cars:

 The Ford in India has launched the car only for few segment of people.
The segmentation of car buyers based on price preferences are

• Family car segment: These cars forms a reasonably sizeable segment of the
market (around 15 percent).
Preferred price range is from 5 lakh to 6 lakh.
‘FORD IKON’ AND ‘FORD FUSION’ come under this type of segment.

• Premium car segment: This segment represents buyers who need a real
world-class car and are willing to pay the due price.
Preferred price range starts from 8 lakh to 12 lakh.
‘FORD FIESTA’, ‘FORD MONDEO’ come under this segment of cars.

• SUV segment: The buyers of this segment like to have a big vehicles.
And these cars are also useful for sport riding and even on hill areas. There body is
designed similar to offroad vehicles, which can withstand to Indian roads.
‘FORD ENDEAVOUR’ occupies this segment.

Strategic Promotions by FORD:

Ford follows the promotions at two levels, they a

1) Promotions of product directly by the manufacturer.
2) Promotions at dealer level.

In the first step the products of vehicles manufactured by the Ford Automotives are
directly promoted by the manufacturer by himself. He follows many promotional
strategies like
1. Advertising through television and newspaper.
2. Internet or interactive marketing.
3. Direct marketing.

In the second step the dealer of the vehicles promotes the vehicles.

The various promotional strategies followed by the Fortune Ford at dealer

are
 1. Advertising though news papers, radios, palm plates. In this all the features of
the product and its prices are given in detail to the customer.
2. In televisions the scrolling are given about the product and its features.

Hoardings:
A heavy picture of the product which comprises of its attributes and special features
are displayed on the roadsides in the form of hoardings. It is a bit expensive strategy
but attracts many people who pass by that roadside.
This type of advertisement is prepared for those segments of people who
cannot afford their time in reading newspapers and watching televisions. While
travelling from their home to office, moving on their business activities they may
watch these hoardings. These hoarding are especially setup at the road signal
stops.

Maintaining Data Bank:

In this the dealer collects personal/bio-data(address and contact number) of

many people from various organizations and different sector who are ready to buy
the vehicles and who change the vehicles regularly.
These people are met-in person or contacted through their contact number.
The various new features and new offers regarding the vehicles are advocated to
them and are given discounts on group purchase of vehicles, i.e. if 5 or more friends
in the group purchase the cars at a time then they are given special discounts on the
vehicles.

Free Insurance:
The Fortune Ford gives a special offer of free insurance on the purchase of
each vehicle to its new customers.

Relationship Marketing:
Fortune Ford pays a special attention towards its old customers. To retain
the old and existing customers it conducts a corporate meet at a luxurious hotel.
The event aims at knowing the problems of the customers regarding the vehicles
and also service feedback.
In this way it maintains an effective relationship with the customers and gains
the reputation and goodwill in the minds of the customers.
Sales Promotion:
The sales promotion is done in the fortune ford at three levels:
1. Showroom sales: In this the customers walk in to the showrooms to know
about the details of the product. Specially trained sales executives who are
present in the showrooms give a detailed explanation about the product to the
customers.
Sales executives give a detailed note on the products features, various offers
given by the manufacturer and also by the dealer to the customer and enhances
the sales of the vehicles.
2. Corporate sales: A special team of sales executives are sent to some big
corporate sectors and there they personally meet the heads of the organizations
like C.E.O’s, Managers etc., and explain about the vehicles and the offers and
special schemes provided by the dealer to them on bulk purchase of the
vehicles and try to promote the sales of the vehicles.

3. Field sales: The sales executives conduct some events with the corporate
working people and try to demonstrate the product features and its benefits and
try to promote the product and increase its sales.

Conducting Customer Delight Program:

This is a unique program conducted by the Fortune Ford. This is a program
conducted to retain the old customers of the Ford. The old customers of the
Fortune Ford are meet personally and they are requested to give their feedback by
filling in the questionnaire which is specially prepared for them. In this
questionnaire their problems regarding the vehicle and also their post sale service
experience are taken. If there exists any problem, then the Fortune Ford service
men try to resolve the problems of their customers as soon as possible and makes
the customer satisfied.
This is a technique to attract the new customers by satisfying the old
customers and gaining goodwill in the market.

STRATEGIC SALES STANDARDS:

Fortune Ford maintains strategic sales standards in the following manner.
✔ The Sales faculty is clean, tidy and inviting, making customers comfortable
while purchasing products and availing services.
 ✔ Customers are courteously acknowledged within two minutes of their arrival
and are advised that a Sales Consultant will be available upon request.
✔ The Sales Consultant’s appearance and dress will be of the highest
standards.
✔ An advisory relationship is established between the customer and the Sales
Consultant who listens to the customer, identifies their needs and ensures
that they are met.
✔ A pleasant, non-pressured purchase experience will be provided during which
a thorough demonstration of the vehicle features and benefits will be made.
✔ A test drive will be offered to all customers.
✔ Using a check list, the Sales Consultant delivers the vehicle in perfect
condition when promised.
✔ Customers will be contacted within one week after delivery to ensure total
satisfaction.

MAINTAINING SERVICE STANDARDS:

✔ An efficient service facility allows a customer to avail all the service
provided by Fortune Ford, in a clean and welcoming environment.
✔ An appointment is available within 5 working days of the customer’s
request.
✔ Customers are courteously acknowledged within two minutes of their
arrival and the write-up will begin with five minutes.
✔ Service needs are courteously identified, accurately recorded on the repair
order and verified with the customer.
✔ The vehicle is serviced right on the first visit.
✔ The vehicle is ready on the agreed upon time.
✔ A through explanation of work done, warranty coverage and charges is
given to the customer.
✔ All service repair work will be followed up within five working days.
✔ Each vehicle will be washed before being returned to the customer.

EXTENDED WARRANTY:
Fortune Ford gives an extended warranty to its customers where there will be
an extended time duration in the warranty.

What is Extended Warranty?

♦ Factory Warranty covers only for a specific period of time/mileage.
 ♦ After the factory warranty expires, customer is exposed to the risk of parts
failures. This is applicable for any machine/equipment/vehicle.

Extended Warranty:

♦ Is an extension of Factory Warranty

♦ Offers almost similar coverage as Factory Warranty
♦ Comes with a time-bound (eg. 1yr/2yrs but unlimited mileage cap)
♦ Covers all Mechanical and Electrical Failures
♦ Covers labour

Why is extended warranty needed?

♦ Offers peace of mind motoring
♦ Protects against unexpected and non-budgeted expenses
♦ Can be transferred, hence increases the resale value.

What does it NOT cover?

♦ Does not cover wear and tear of parts
♦ Does not cover scheduled service items
♦ Does not cover accident repairs

Benefits to customer
♦ Protection from manufacturing and material defects
♦ Car can be repaired at any Ford out let across the country
♦ Unlimited number of claims
♦ No excess to pay
♦ One up-front payment only
♦ Inflation protection from rising costs of parts and labour
♦ All repairs carried out by qualified Ford technicians
♦ Warranty can be transferred when vehicle is sold – better resale value
♦ Total peace of mind

TOTAL MAINTENANCE PLAN

What is Total Maintenance Plan?

♦ Cost of ownership is the key factor while considering vehicle purchases
♦ As part of regular maintenance, customers spend on
a) Maintenance parts that are to be replace at specific intervals
b) Replacement of worn out parts
c) Labour charge for the above
♦ A comprehensive maintenance plan by Ford will serve as a good tool to
improve the service experience and minimize concerns on cost of ownership
of the vehicle
♦ Total Maintenance Plan (TMP) is a complete service solution provided to the
customer. This enables the customer to have total peace of mind in the form
of a “Maintenance Holiday”

What does it cover?

 ♦ Scheduled servicing like Engine Oil change, Fuel filter, Oil filter, Spark plugs
etc.
♦ Non-scheduled maintenance like Brake Pads/Shoes, Brake Discs, Clutch
Plates, Lower Suspension Arms, Shock Absorbers etc..
♦ Mechanical/Electrical repairs
♦ Labour for all the above

What does it NOT cover?

♦ Accident repairs
♦ Tyres
♦ Fuel

Benefits to the customer

♦ Total peace of mind
♦ Fixed price for next 2 to 3 years
♦ Increased residual value of the car
♦ Only Ford genuine parts are used
♦ Can avail this service across the country at all Ford authorized outlets
♦ Transferable
♦ Incase of total loss, can be cancelled
♦ Ford factory backed programme
♦ Diagnosis/repairs as per recommended standards and practices
♦ Vehicles serviced by Ford trained and certified technicians

RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES AND LIMITATIONS:

MARKETING RESEARCH:
Definition of marketing research research as approved as by the board of
directors of the association of American marketing association is:
“Marketing research is the function which links the customer and public to the
marketer through information – information used to identity and define marketing
opportunities and problems generate define and understanding of marketing as
process”.
Simply, marketing research is the systematic design collection analysis and
reporting of data finding relevant to a specific marketing situation facing the
company. Carefully planning through all stages of the research is a necessity.
Objectivity in research is all-important. The heart of scientific method is the
objective gathering of the information.
 The function as marketing research with in the company as to provide the
information and analytical necessary for effective.
➢ Planning of the future marketing activity.
➢ Control of the marketing operation in the present.
➢ Evaluation of marketing results.
A research may under take any of the three types of research investigation
depending upon the problem. These type of research included:
1. Basic research
2. Applied research
3. Designated Fact Gathering

BASIC RESEARCH:
It is also known as the pure fundamental research, which refers to those
studies, sole purpose of which is the discovery of new information. It is conducted to
extend the horizons on given area of knowledge with no immediate application to
existing problems.

APPLIED RESEARCH:
It is attempt to apply the various marketing technique, which have been
developed as research, first and later on they become applied research techniques.
It is on attempt to apply the basic principles and existing knowledge for the purpose
of solving operational problems.

DESIGNATED FACT GATHERING:

It refers to a research where the investigation attempts to gather some pre-
determined data.
STEPS IN MARKETING RESEARCH:

Marketing research process can be out through following steps.

Define the problems and research objectives

Develops the research plan

Collect the information

 Analysis and interpretation

Present the finding.

RESEARCH METHOD:
It must be classified on the basis of the major purpose of the investigation. In
this problem description studies have been undertaken, as the objective of the
project is to conduct the market shares study to determine the share of market
received by the company to the competitor.

DATA COLLECTION:
The information needed to further proceed had been collected through
primary and secondary data.

PRIMARY DATA:
It consists of information collected for the specific purpose, survey research
was used and he all the details of Ford and their competitors were contacted.
Survey research is the approached gathering description and information.

CONTACTED METHOD:
The information was solicited by administering structured questionnaire to the
customer and dealers, thus getting to know directly from the dealers their sales
before and after sales service.

SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION:

The secondary data consists of information that already existing somewhere

having been collected for another purpose. Any researcher begins the research
work by first going through secondary data. Secondary data includes the information
available with company. It may be the findings of research previously done in the
field. Secondary data can also be collected from the magazines, news papers,
internet other service conducted by researchers.

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION:

 The basic method adopted in conducting the study is a structured
questionnaire. Questionnaire is administered on the sample respondents. How ever
there are certain cases where personal interactive method is followed with
customers to find the satisfaction level.

The Car that changed India:

The Maruthi 800 was essentially a Suzuki SS80, which was called the Fronte
in Japan and Alto in most of the other markets. The 796cc, in-line, three-cylinder
power plant produced 39.5bhp at 5500rpm.
Maruthi marked the beginning of a revolution in the Indian automobile
industry. The Maruthi 800, with its compact size, nimble handling and perky engine,
offered the Indian motorist a cheaper, friendlier alternative. On 14th December 1983,
Harpal Singh became Maruthi’s first customer as he received the keys of his Maruthi
800 car from Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The car cost Rs.48,000. The new
Maruthi, launched in June 1986, cost approximately Rs 15,000 more than the
outgoing model.

The new Maruthi:

In 2005, Maruthi launched the Swift, for the first time in its 20-year history.
The Swift signaled the importance of the Indian market in the world. A team of
engineers from Maruthi worked on the design of the Swift in Hamamatsu, Suzuki’s
headquarters in Japan.

Model Year of launching

Maruthi 800 1983
Maruthi Omni 1984
Maruthi Gypsy 1985
Maruthi 1000 1990
Maruthi Zen 1993
Maruthi Esteem 1994
Maruthi Baleno 1999
Maruthi Wagon R 1999
 Maruthi Alto 2000
Maruthi Versa 2001
Maruthi Swift 2005
Maruthi Zen Estilo 2006
Maruthi SX4 2007
Maruthi Suzuki Grand Vitara 2007

The other cars which have their share in the Indian Auto Mobile
industry are:
The Indian auto industry has exploded in the last 14 years. And car markers
are learning some very hard truths. While the economic reforms process was kicked
of f in 1991, it was only in 1993 that the automobile industry was finally delicensed
and the restrictions were removed.
Between 1993 and 95, government regulations limited a foreign company’s
stake to a maximum of 51 percent of the equity. Hence the only method of entry for
an MNC then was through a joint venture with a local partner. The most preferred
partner was an existing automaker. In 1994-95 saw the announcement of quite a
few JV’s.
➢ Premier and Peugeot to form PAL-Peugeot.
➢ GM and CK Birla to form GM India.
➢ Mercedes Benz and Tata Motors.
➢ M&M and Ford to form Mahindra-Ford India.
In 1995, the government announced its decision to allow foreign auto
companies to enter with a 100% stake or wholly-owned subsidiaries. This changed
the dynamics of joint ventures in India.

The other automobile industries which play a crucial role in the Indian automobile
industry are:
➢ Daewoo Motors India.
➢ General Motors India
➢ Mercedes-Benz
➢ Hyundai Motors
➢ Honda SIEL
➢ Toyota
➢ Skoda India
Ford Motor Company

Type Public (NYSE: F)

Founded June 17, 1903

Founder Henry Ford

Headquarters Dearborn, Michigan, USA

Area served Worldwide

William Clay Ford, Jr -

Key people Executive Chairman
Alan Mulally - President, CEO

Industry Automotive

Products Automotive goods and services

Revenue US$120.1 billion (2006) [1]

Operating
income US$-15.0 billion (2006)[1]

Net income US$-12.6 billion (2006)[1]

Employees 283,000 (2007)[2]

Ford Credit
Ford division
Divisions Lincoln
Mercury
Premier Automotive Group

Automotive Components
Holdings
Subsidiaries Jaguar
Land Rover
Volvo (cars only)

Slogan
Bold Moves

Have you driven a Ford

lately?

Built Ford Tough

 Built for Life in Canada

Feel the difference

Make Everyday Exciting

Website www.ford.com

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation and the world's third
largest automaker based on worldwide vehicle sales.

In 2006, Ford was the second-ranked automaker in the US with a 17.5%

market share, behind General Motors (24.6%) but ahead of Toyota (15.4%) and
DaimlerChrysler (14.4%). Ford was also the seventh-ranked American-based
company in the 2007 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues of $160.1 billion. In
2006, Ford produced about 6.6 million automobiles, and employed about 280,000
employees at about 100 plants and facilities worldwide. In 2007, Ford had more
quality awards from J.D Power than any other automaker.

Based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, the automaker was founded

by Henry Ford and incorporated in June 16, 1903. Ford now encompasses many
global brands, including Lincoln and Mercury of the US, Jaguar and Land Rover of
the UK, and Volvo of Sweden. Ford also owns a one-third controlling interest in
Mazda.

Ford has been one of the world's ten largest corporations by revenue and in
1999 ranked as one of the world's most profitable corporations, and the number two
automaker worldwide.

Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-

scale management of an industrial workforce, especially elaborately engineered
manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. Henry Ford's
combination of highly efficient factories, highly paid workers, and low prices
revolutionized manufacturing and came to be known around the world as Fordism by
1914.

SHOWROOM
We have 5000 sft centrally air conditioned showroom, located in the heart of the city
in Somajiguda, adjacent to Eenadu office and just opp. to Khairtabad RTA. This
makes convenient for almost every one residing in and around Hyderabad and
Secunderabad.

The facilities offered from the showroom are :

1. Very easy finance facility with in-house finance team to cater to your every car
finance requirements. All the leading finance counters are available like ICICI,
HDFC, KOTAK, SUNDARAM, SBI, etc.

2. Exchange offer for any of your used car. Free spot evaluation for any usedcar.
3. Professionally trained and courteous sales staff to take care of
every relevant needs of the customers.

4. Ford preferred insurance for cashless transactions in the event of claims. Special
offers on Insurance renewals. You can also renew your insurance by just making call
to our Service marketing help line 9848885962.

5.Full range of Ford cars with all

colors and models to choose
from.

6. A good stock of Ford genuine accessories to make your Ford ownership more
delightful and safe.

7. A well maintained fleet of test drive cars to give you the feel and experience the
drive dynamics on actual driving conditions before take the purchase decisions. You
can call our sales help line for test drive or fill the on-line test drive requisition form.

Significant milestones
• The first Indian built Ford Escort rolled off the assembly line in 1996.

• The Company was able to deliver Ford Escorts in seven major cities
simultaneously, in just a month after booking.

• The Special Value Pack program was launched in 1997, with commemorative
'Freedom', followed by the petrol and diesel driven 'Anniversary'. Recent
SVPs have included the Orion, Alpha and Sport - E.

• Ford Escort won the J D Power Award in India Quality Survey in 1997.
 • Ford topped the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) ratings in 1997 and 1998,
in the Customer Satisfaction Survey.

• QualityCare, Ford's branded service initiative, provides car owners with

superior services at its dealership countrywide.

• The new, integrated manufacturing plant was dedicated in March 1999, where
FORD IKON is manufactured.

• Ford India launched Ford Assured on April 24 2000, a new initiative to buy
and sell used cars of all makes.

• On September 11, 2000. Ford India launched the Ford IKON SXi – the stylish
‘josh’ machine
• Ford India has started exporting Ford IKON
2001 Ford India launched the Ford Mondeo.
2002
• Ford India show cases a wide spectrum of exciting cars at the Auto Expo
• Ford India Limited announced a strategic partnership with Hindustan Motors
Limited (HML).
• Certified QS 9000: 1998, 3rd edition on March 21, 2002 Ford India received
the QS 9000 award from TÜV Süddeutschland.
• New Ikon Variant 1.6 EXi was launched
2003:
• The New Ford Ikon NXT launched - The Next Level of Josh.
• Adding Refinement to Josh- Ford India launches Ikon NXT ‘Finesse.’
• Ford Celebrates Centennial in India.
• Ford India launches Ikon NXT SXi.
• Ford India Ranks Highest in J.D. Power India Sales Satisfaction Study.
• Ford launches Ikon Flair at Rs. 4.95 Lakhs.

2004: Autocar SUV of the Year – Winner Ford Endeavour.

2007:
• FORD Motor Company of Southern Africa achieves three wins and two
seconds on this year total economy run
• DOE AWARDS FORD two grants for vehicle fuel efficiency research.
• FORD MONDEO IS AUTO EXPRESS car of the year.
• LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 3 scoops category win at TOWCAR AWARDS
2007
• FORD MONDEO is the Caravan Club TOWCAR of the year 2008.

SANDIP SANYAL – Vice President, Supply and Total Value

Management
Sandip Sanyal is the Vice President, Supply and Total Value Management (TVM) at
Ford India. He took this position in September 2005. Sandip reports to Arvind
Mathew, President and Managing Director, Ford India.

CHAPTER 4
Top of Form
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTUR
organigational structure refers to the way that an organization arranges people
and jobs so that its work can be performed and its goals can be met. When a
work group is very small and face-to-face communication is frequent, formal
structure may be unnecessary, but in a larger organization decisions have to be
made about the delegation of various tasks. Thus, procedures are established
that assign responsibilities for various functions. It is these decisions that
determine the organizational structure.
In an organization of any size or complexity, employees' responsibilities typically are
defined by what they do, who they report to, and for managers, who reports to them.
Over time these definitions are assigned to positions in the organization rather than
to specific individuals. The relationships among these positions are illustrated
graphically in an organizational chart (see Figures 1a and 1b). The best
organizational structure for any organization depends on many factors including the
work it does; its size in terms of employees, revenue, and the geographic dispersion
of its facilities; and the range of its businesses (the degree to which it is diversified
across markets).

There are multiple structural variations that organizations can take on, but there are
a few basic principles that apply and a small number of common patterns. The
following sections explain these patterns and provide the historical context from
which some of them arose. The first section addresses organizational structure in the
twentieth century. The second section provides additional details of traditional,
vertically-arranged organizational structures. This is followed by descriptions of
several alternate organizational structures including those arranged by product,
function, and geographical or product markets. Next is a discussion of combination
structures, or matrix organizations. The discussion concludes by addressing
emerging and potential future organizational structures.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
DURING THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Understanding the historical context from which some of today's organizational
structures have developed helps to explain why some structures are the way they
are. For instance, why are the old, but still operational steel mills such as U.S. Steel
and Bethlehem Steel structured using vertical hierarchies? Why are newer steel
mini-mills such as Chaparral Steel structured more horizontally, capitalizing on the
innovativeness of their employees? Part of the reason, as this section discusses, is
that organizational structure has a certain inertia—the idea borrowed from physics
and chemistry that something in motion tends to continue on that same path.
Changing an organization's structure is a daunting managerial task, and the
immensity of such a project is at least partly responsible for why organizational
structures change infrequently.
At the beginning of the twentieth century the United States business sector was
thriving. Industry was shifting from job-shop manufacturing to mass production, and
thinkers like Frederick Taylor in the United States and Henri Fayol in France studied
the new systems and developed principles to determine how to structure
organizations for the greatest efficiency and productivity, which in their view was very
much like a machine. Even before this, German sociologist and engineer Max Weber
had concluded that when societies embrace capitalism, bureaucracy is the inevitable
result. Yet, because his writings were not translated into English until 1949, Weber's
work had little influence on American management practice until the middle of the
twentieth century.

Management thought during this period was influenced by Weber's ideas of

bureaucracy, where power is ascribed to positions rather than to the individuals
holding those positions. It also was influenced by Taylor's scientific management, or
the "one best way" to accomplish a task using scientifically-determined studies of
time and motion. Also influential were Fayol's ideas of invoking unity within the chain-
of-command, authority, discipline, task specialization, and other aspects of
organizational power and job separation. This created the context for vertically-
structured organizations characterized by distinct job classifications and top-down
authority structures, or what became known as the traditional or classical
organizational structure.

Job specialization, a hierarchical reporting structure through a tightly-knit chain-of-

command, and the subordination of individual interests to the superordinate goals of
the organization combined to result in organizations arranged by functional
departments with order and discipline maintained by rules, regulations, and standard
operating procedures. This classical view, or bureaucratic structure, of organizations
was the dominant pattern as small organizations grew increasingly larger during the
economic boom that occurred from the 1900s until the Great Depression of the
1930s. Henry Ford's plants were typical of this
Figure 1a
Organizational Structure

growth, as the emerging Ford Motor Company grew into the largest U.S. automaker
by the 1920s.

The Great Depression temporarily stifled U.S. economic growth, but organizations
that survived emerged with their vertically-oriented, bureaucratic structures intact as
public attention shifted to World War II. Postwar rebuilding reignited economic
growth, powering organizations that survived the Great Depression toward
increasing size in terms of sales revenue, employees, and geographic dispersion.
Along with increasing growth, however, came increasing complexity. Problems in
U.S. business structures became apparent and new ideas began to appear. Studies
of employee motivation raised questions about the traditional model. The "one best
way" to do a job gradually disappeared as the dominant logic. It was replaced by
concerns that traditional organizational structures might prevent, rather than help,
promote creativity and innovation—both of which were necessary as the century
wore on and pressures to compete globally mounted.

TRADITIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE
While the previous section explained the emergence of the traditional organizational
structure, this section provides additional detail regarding how this affected the
practice of management. The structure of every organization is unique in some
respects, but all organizational structures develop or are consciously designed to
enable the organization to accomplish its work. Typically, the structure of an
organization evolves as the organization grows and changes over time.

Researchers generally identify four basic decisions that managers have to make as
they develop an organizational structure, although they may not be explicitly aware
of these decisions. First, the organization's work must be divided into specific jobs.
This is referred to as the division of labor. Second, unless the organization is very
small, the jobs must be grouped in some way, which is called departmentalization.
Third, the number of people and jobs that are to be grouped together must be
decided. This is related to the number of people that are to be managed by one
person, or the span of control—the number of employees reporting to a single
manager. Fourth, the way decision-making authority is to be distributed must be
determined.

In making each of these design decisions, a range of choices are possible. At one
end of the spectrum, jobs are highly specialized with employees performing a narrow
range of activities, while at the other end of the spectrum employees perform a
variety of tasks. In

Figure 1b
Organizational Structure

traditional bureaucratic structures, there is a tendency to increase task specialization

as the organization grows larger. In grouping jobs into departments, the manager
must decide the basis on which to group them. The most common basis, at least
until the last few decades, was by function. For example, all accounting jobs in the
organization can be grouped into an accounting department, all engineers can be
grouped into an engineering department, and so on. The size of the groupings also
can range from small to large depending on the number of people the managers
supervise. The degree to which authority is distributed throughout the organization
can vary as well, but traditionally structured organizations typically vest final
decision-making authority by those highest in the vertically structured hierarchy.
Even as pressures to include employees in decision-making increased during the
1950s and 1960s, final decisions usually were made by top management. The
traditional model of organizational structure is thus characterized by high job
specialization, functional departments, narrow spans of control, and centralized
authority. Such a structure has been referred to as traditional, classical, bureaucratic,
formal, mechanistic, or command and control. A structure formed by choices at the
opposite end of the spectrum for each design decision is called unstructured,
informal, or organic.

The traditional model of organizational structure is easily represented in a graphical

form by an organizational chart. It is a hierarchical or pyramidal structure with a
president or other executive at the top, a small number of vice presidents or senior
managers under the president, and several layers of management below this, with
the majority of employees at the bottom of the pyramid. The number of management
layers depends largely on the size of the organization. The jobs in the traditional
organizational structure usually are grouped by function into departments such as
accounting, sales, human resources, and so. Figures 1a and 1b illustrate such an
organization grouped by functional areas of operations, marketing and finance.

BASIS FOR DEPARTMENTALIZATION

As noted in the previous section, many organizations group jobs in various ways in
different parts of the organization, but the basis that is used at the highest level plays
a fundamental role in shaping the organization. There are four commonly used
bases.

FUNCTIONAL DEPARTMENTALIZATION.
Every organization of a given type must perform certain jobs in order do its work. For
example, key functions of a manufacturing company include production, purchasing,
marketing, accounting, and personnel. The functions of a hospital include surgery,
psychiatry, nursing, housekeeping, and billing. Using such functions as the basis for
structuring the organization may, in some instances, have the advantage of
efficiency. Grouping jobs that require the same knowledge, skills, and resources
allows them to be done efficiently and promotes the development of greater
expertise. A disadvantage of functional groupings is that people with the same skills
and knowledge may develop a narrow departmental focus and have difficulty
appreciating any other view of what is important to the organization; in this case,
organizational goals may be sacrificed in favor of departmental goals. In addition,
coordination of work across functional boundaries can become a difficult
management challenge, especially as the organization grows in size and spreads to
multiple geographical locations.

GEOGRAPHIC DEPARTMENTALIZATION.
Organizations that are spread over a wide area may find advantages in organizing
along geographic lines so that all the activities performed in a region are managed
together. In a large organization, simple physical separation makes centralized
coordination more difficult. Also, important characteristics of a region may make it
advantageous to promote a local focus. For example, marketing a product in
Western Europe may have different requirements than marketing the same product
in Southeast Asia. Companies that market products globally sometimes adopt a
geographic structure. In addition, experience gained in a regional division is often
excellent training for management at higher levels.

PRODUCT DEPARTMENTALIZATION.
Large, diversified companies are often organized according to product. All the
activities necessary to produce and market a product or group of similar products are
grouped together. In such an arrangement, the top manager of the product group
typically has considerable autonomy over the operation. The advantage of this type
of structure is that the personnel in the group can focus on the particular needs of
their product line and become experts in its development, production, and
distribution. A disadvantage, at least in terms of larger organizations, is the
duplication of resources. Each product group requires most of the functional areas
such as finance, marketing, production, and other functions. The top leadership of
the organization must decide how much redundancy it can afford.

CUSTOMER/MARKET DEPARTMENTALIZATION.
An organization may find it advantageous to organize according to the types of
customers it serves. For example, a distribution company that sells to consumers,
government clients, large businesses, and small businesses may decide to base its
primary divisions on these different markets. Its personnel can then become
proficient in meeting the needs of these different customers. In the same way, an
organization that provides services such as accounting or consulting may group its
personnel according to these types of customers. Figure 2 depicts an organization
grouped by customers and markets.
Figure 2
Customer/Market Organization

Figure 3
Matrix Structure

MATRIX ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Some organizations find that none of the afore-mentioned structures meet their
needs. One approach that attempts to overcome the inadequacies is the matrix
structure, which is the combination of two or more different structures. Functional
departmentalization commonly is combined with product groups on a project basis.
For example, a product group wants to develop a new addition to its line; for this
project, it obtains personnel from functional departments such as research,
engineering, production, and marketing. These personnel then work under the
manager of the product group for the duration of the project, which can vary greatly.
These personnel are responsible to two managers (as shown in Figure 3).

One advantage of a matrix structure is that it facilitates the use of highly specialized
staff and equipment. Rather than duplicating functions as would be done in a simple
product department structure, resources are shared as needed. In some cases,
highly specialized staff may divide their time among more than one project. In
addition, maintaining functional departments promotes functional expertise, while at
the same time working in project groups with experts from other functions fosters
cross-fertilization of ideas.

The disadvantages of a matrix organization arise from the dual reporting

structure. The organization's top management must take particular care to
establish proper procedures for the development of projects and to keep
communication channels clear so that potential conflicts do not arise and
hinder organizational functioning. In theory at least, top management is
responsible for arbitrating such conflicts, but in practice power struggles
between the functional and product manager can prevent successful
implementation of matrix structural arrangements. Besides the
product/function matrix, other bases can be related in a matrix. Large
multinational corporations that use a matrix structure most commonly combine
product groups with geographic units. Product managers have global
responsibility for the development, manufacturing, and distribution of their own
product or service line, while managers of geographic regions have
responsibility for the success of the business in their regions.

STRATEGIC BUSINESS UNITS

As corporations become very large they often restructure

as a means of revitalizing the organization. Growth of a business often is

accompanied by a growth in bureaucracy, as positions are created to facilitate
developing needs or opportunities. Continued changes in the organization or in the
external business environment may make this bureaucracy a hindrance rather than a
help, not simply because of the size or complexity of the organization but also
because of a sluggish bureaucratic way of thinking. One approach to encourage new
ways of thinking and acting is to reorganize parts of the company into largely
autonomous groups,
Figure 4
SBU Structure

called strategic business units (SBUs). Such units generally are set up like separate
companies, with full profit and loss responsibility invested in the top management of
the unit—often the president of the unit and/or a senior vice president of the larger
corporation. This manager is responsible to the top management of the corporation.
This arrangement can be seen as taking any of the aforementioned
departmentalization schemes one step further. The SBUs might be based on product
lines, geographic markets, or other differentiating factors. Figure 4 depicts SBUs
organized by geographic area.

EMERGING TRENDS
IN ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Except for the matrix organization, all the structures described above focus on the
vertical organization; that is, who reports to whom, who has responsibility and
authority for what parts of the organization, and so on. Such vertical integration is
sometimes necessary, but may be a hindrance in rapidly changing environments. A
detailed organizational chart of a large corporation structured on the traditional
model would show many layers of managers; decision making flows vertically up and
down the layers, but mostly downward. In general terms, this is an issue of
interdependence.

In any organization, the different people and functions do not operate completely
independently. To a greater or lesser degree, all parts of the organization need each
other. Important developments in organizational design in the last few decades of the
twentieth century and the early part of the twenty-first century have been attempts to
understand the nature of interdependence and improve the functioning of
organizations in respect to this factor. One approach is to flatten the organization, to
develop the horizontal connections and de-emphasize vertical reporting
relationships. At times, this involves simply eliminating layers of middle
management. For example, some Japanese companies—even very large
manufacturing firms—have only four levels of management: top management, plant
management, department management, and section management. Some U.S.
companies also have drastically reduced the number of managers as part of a
downsizing strategy; not just to reduce salary expense, but also to streamline the
organization in order to improve communication and decision making.

In a virtual sense, technology is another means of flattening the organization. The

use of computer networks and software designed to facilitate group work within an
organization can speed communications and decision making. Even more effective
is the use of intranets to make company information readily accessible throughout
the organization. The rapid rise of such technology has made virtual organizations
and boundarlyless organizations possible, where managers, technicians, suppliers,
distributors, and customers connect digitally rather than physically.

A different perspective on the issue of interdependence can be seen by comparing

the organic model of organization with the mechanistic model. The traditional,
mechanistic structure is characterized as highly complex because of its emphasis on
job specialization, highly formalized emphasis on definite procedures and protocols,
and centralized authority and accountability. Yet, despite the advantages of
coordination that these structures present, they may hinder tasks that are
interdependent. In contrast, the organic model of organization is relatively simple
because it de-emphasizes job specialization, is relatively informal, and decentralizes
authority. Decision-making and goal-setting processes are shared at all levels, and
communication ideally flows more freely throughout the organization.

A common way that modern business organizations move toward the organic model
is by the implementation of various kinds of teams. Some organizations establish
self-directed work teams as the basic production group. Examples include production
cells in a manufacturing firm or customer service teams in an insurance company. At
other organizational levels, cross-functional teams may be established, either on an
ad hoc basis (e.g., for problem solving) or on a permanent basis as the regular
means of conducting the organization's work. Aid Association for Lutherans is a large
insurance organization that has adopted the self-directed work team approach. Part
of the impetus toward the organic model is the belief that this kind of structure is
more effective for employee motivation. Various studies have suggested that steps
such as expanding the scope of jobs, involving workers in problem solving and
planning, and fostering open communications bring greater job satisfaction and
better performance.

Saturn Corporation, a subsidiary of General Motors (GM), emphasizes horizontal

organization. It was started with a "clean sheet of paper," with the intention to learn
and incorporate the best in business practices in order to be a successful U.S. auto
manufacturer. The organizational structure that it adopted is described as a set of
nested circles, rather than a pyramid. At the center is the self-directed production
cell, called a Work Unit. These teams make most, if not all, decisions that affect only
team members. Several such teams make up a wider circle called a Work Unit
Module. Representatives from each team form the decision circle of the module,
which makes decisions affecting more than one team or other modules. A number of
modules form a Business Team, of which there are three in manufacturing. Leaders
from the modules form the decision circle of the Business Team. Representatives of
each Business Team form the Manufacturing Action Council, which oversees
manufacturing. At all levels, decision making is done on a consensus basis, at least
in theory. The president of Saturn, finally, reports to GM headquarters.

THE FUTURE
Industry consolidation—creating huge global corporations through joint ventures,
mergers, alliances, and other kinds of interorganizational cooperative efforts—has
become increasingly important in the twenty-first century. Among organizations of all
sizes, concepts such as agile manufacturing, just-in-time inventory management,
and ambidextrous organizations are impacting managers' thinking about their
organizational structure. Indeed, few leaders were likely to blindly implement the
traditional hierarchical structure common in the first half of the century. The first half
of the twentieth century was dominated by the one-size-fits-all traditional structure.
The early twenty-first century has been dominated by the thinking that changing
organizational structures, while still a monumental managerial challenge, can be a
necessary condition for competitive success.
 CHAPTER 5
RECOMMENDATION
Ford 2004 MY Engine Oil Recommendations
Most Engines
SAE 5W-20 engine oil is recommended.
Only use oils "Certified For Gasoline Engines" by the American Petroleum Institute
(API). To protect your engine's warranty use Motorcraft SAE 5W-20 or an equivalent
SAE 5W-20 oil meeting Ford specification WSS-M2C153-H. SAE 5W-20 oil
provides
optimum fuel economy and durability performance meeting all requirements
for
your vehicle's engine.
Do not use supplemental engine oil additives, cleaners or other engine treatments.
They are unnecessary and could lead to engine damage that is not covered by Ford
warranty.
Change your engine oil according to the appropriate schedule listed in the
Scheduled
Maintenance Guide.
2.0L Zetec HP and 4.0L Engines
Look for this certification trademark.
SAE 5W-30 engine oil is recommended.
Only use oils "Certified For Gasoline Engines" by the American Petroleum Institute
(API). To protect your engine's warranty use Motorcraft SAE 5W-30 or an equivalent
SAE 5W-30 oil meeting Ford specification WSS-M2C205-A.
Do not use supplemental engine oil additives, cleaners or other engine treatments.
They are unnecessary and could lead to engine damage that is not covered by Ford
warranty.
Change your engine oil according to the appropriate schedule listed in the
Scheduled
Maintenance Guide.
ENGINEERING MATERIAL SPECIFICATION
Material Name Specification Number
OIL, ENGINE, ILSAC GF-3, SAE 5W-20, WSS-M2C153-H
SERVICE FILL
1. SCOPE
This material specification defines the minimum acceptable performance
requirements
and physical/chemical properties of engine oils to be used in Ford Motor Company
vehicles.
2. APPLICATION
This material is used for lubrication of gasoline engines. This specification was
released
originally for service fill engine oils meeting the 2001 model vehicle requirements.
Sections titled QUALITY SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS, SUPPLIER'S
RESPONSIBILITY,
and APPROVAL OF MATERIALS apply only to engine oils supplied directly to Ford
Motor Company and it's affiliates.
3. REQUIREMENTS
Material specification requirements are to be used for initial qualification of materials.
3.1 QUALITY SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Material suppliers and part producers must conform to the Company's Quality
System Requirements.
3.2 PERFORMANCE
Shall be licensed to display the API Certification Mark and meet all the
requirements of the “ILSAC Minimum Performance Standard for Passenger Car
Engine Oils GF-3” (October 2000) with the following exceptions:
3.2.1 This requirement changes the ILSAC GF-3 ASTM Sequence IIIF test
performance criteria to the following:
`
ASTM Sequence IIIE Test Performance shall meet
conducted double length all specifications of
(128 hrs) with no oil the 64 hr test with the
change during test. following changes:
Viscosity Increase at 40 °C 200% max
Average Piston Varnish 8.4 min
OR
Date Action Revisions
2001 01 12 Revised M. J. Riley
2000 04 10 Activated M. J. Riley
ENGINEERING MATERIAL SPECIFICATION WSS-M2C153-H
ASTM Sequence IIIF Test Performance shall meet
conducted double length all specifications of
(160 hrs) with no oil the 80 hr test with the
change during test. following change:
Viscosity Increase at 40 °C 200% max
3.2.2 High Temperature Deposits, mg 30 max
(TEOST MHT-4)
3.2.3 ASTM Sequence VE meeting requirements of ILSAC GF-2 may be
conducted to replace the ASTM Sequence IVA and Sequence VG tests.
3.2.4 ASTM L-38 meeting requirements of ILSAC GF-2 may be conducted to
replace ASTM Sequence VIII.
All required engine tests shall be conducted in accordance with the most
recently approved procedures as described in ASTM Special Technical
Publication 315 and the applicable ASTM Standards Research Reports
and Information Letters. All tests under surveillance by ASTM must be
conducted using test equipment monitored by and calibrated to the
requirements of the ASTM Test Monitoring Center.
3.3 PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
3.3.1 Copper Corrosion, max 1b (Dark Orange)
(ASTM D 130 or ISO 2160,
3 hrs at 100 °C)
3.3.2 Physical Appearance and Odor
Shall be clear and bright with no objectionable odor.
3.3.3 Contaminants
Shall be free of carcinogens, toxins, metals not removed in refining or
from previous use.
3.4 QUALIFICATION
It is the supplier's responsibility to have the technical evidence and
documentation certifying that a given formulation (base oil/additive combination)
meets all requirements described in this specification.
No base stock interchange (BOI) or viscosity grade read across (VGRA) is
permitted to approve engine oils to this specification.
The affected Ford Fuels and Lubricants Engineering activity reserves the right to
request certification documentation from any company claiming to meet this
specification.
ENGINEERING MATERIAL SPECIFICATION WSS-M2C153-H
3.5 SUPPLIER'S RESPONSIBILITY
All materials supplied to this specification must be equivalent in all characteristics
to the material upon which approval was originally granted.
Prior to making any changes to the material originally approved under this
specification, whether or not such changes affect the material's ability to meet the
specification requirements, the Supplier shall notify the affected Purchasing, and
Materials Engineering activities (with reasons) of the proposed changes. Upon
notification of the Company, further instructions will be provided.
Note: Suppliers should be prepared to provide test data and samples
demonstrating compliance to this specification, if requested.
Substance restrictions imposed by regulations or Company direction applies to
the materials addressed by this document. The restrictions are identified in
Restricted Substance Management Standard WSS-M99P9999-A1.
4. APPROVAL OF MATERIALS
This specification is intended to define the performance and/or properties of finished
parts or systems of combined materials. An Engineering Material Approved Source
listing is not applicable for this specification. Product Engineering materials
referenced
in this document and/or the affected engineering drawing, which require prior
Engineering approval, are shown in the Engineering Material Approved Source List
under the specification cited.
ENGINEERING MATERIAL SPECIFICATION
Material Name Specification Number
OIL, ENGINE, ILSAC GF-3, SERVICE FILL WSS-M2C205-A
1. SCOPE
This material specification defines the minimum acceptable performance
requirements and
physical/chemical properties of engine oils to be used in Ford Motor Company
vehicles.
2. APPLICATION
This material is used for lubrication of gasoline engines. This specification was
released originally
for service fill engine oils meeting the 2002 model vehicle requirements for viscosity
grades other
than SAE 5W-20. Sections titled QUALITY SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS,
SUPPLIER'S
RESPONSIBILITY, and APPROVAL OF MATERIALS apply only to engine oils
supplied directly to
Ford Motor Company and it's affiliates.
3. REQUIREMENTS
Material specification requirements are to be used for initial qualification of materials.
3.1 QUALITY SYSTEM
Material suppliers and part producers must conform to the Company's Quality
System
requirements.
3.2 PERFORMANCE
Shall meet all the requirements of "The ILSAC GF-3 Minimum Performance
Standard For
Passenger Car Engine Oils" and shall be licensed to display the API Certification
Mark.
3.3 PHYSICAL/CHEMICAL PROPERTIES
3.3.1 Copper Corrosion, max 1b (Dark Orange)
(ASTM D 130 or ISO 2160, 3 h at 100 C)
3.3.2 Physical Appearance and Odor
Shall be clear and bright with no objectionable odor.
3.3.3 Contaminants
Shall be free of carcinogens, toxins, metals from refining or previous use.
Date Action Revisions
2001 03 13 Activated M. J. Riley
ENGINEERING MATERIAL SPECIFICATION WSS-M2C205-A
3.4 QUALIFICATION
It is the supplier's responsibility to have the technical evidence and documentation
certifying that a given formulation (base oil/ additive combination) meets all
requirements
described in this specification.
The affected Ford Fuels and Lubricants Engineering activity reserves the right to
request
certification documentation from any company claiming to meet this specification.
3.5 SUPPLIER'S RESPONSIBILITY
All materials supplied to this specification must be equivalent in all characteristics
to the material upon which approval was originally granted.
Prior to making any changes to the material originally approved under this
specification, whether or not such changes affect the material's ability to meet the
specification requirements, the Supplier shall notify the affected Purchasing, and
Materials Engineering activities (with reasons) of the proposed changes. Upon
notification of the Company, further instructions will be provided.
Note: Suppliers should be prepared to provide test data and samples
demonstrating compliance to this specification, if requested.
Substance restrictions imposed by regulations or Company direction applies to
the materials addressed by this document. The restrictions are identified in
Restricted Substance Management Standard WSS-M99P9999-A1.
4. APPROVAL OF MATERIALS
This specification is intended to define the performance and/or properties of finished
parts or
systems of combined materials. An Engineering Material Approved Source listing is
not
applicable for this specification. Product Engineering materials referenced in this
document
and/or the affected engineering drawing, which require prior Engineering approval,
are shown in
the Engineering Material Approved Source List under the specification cited.
Ford 2004 MY Regular Fuel Recommendation
Choosing the right fuel
Use only UNLEADED FUEL. The use of leaded fuel is prohibited
by law and could damage your vehicle.
Your vehicle was not designed to use fuel or fuel additives with
metallic compounds, including manganese-based additives.
Studies indicate that these additives can cause your vehicle's
emission control system to deteriorate more rapidly. In Canada,
many fuels contain metallic additives, but fuels free of such
additives may be available; check with your local fuel dealer.
Do not use fuel containing methanol. It can damage critical fuel
system components.
Repairs to correct the effects of using a fuel for which your vehicle
was not designed may not be covered by your warranty.
Octane recommendations
Your vehicle is designed to use
“Regular” unleaded gasoline with
pump (R+M)/2 octane rating of 87.
We do not recommend the use of
gasolines labeled as “Regular” that
are sold with octane ratings of
86 or lower in high altitude areas.
Do not be concerned if your engine sometimes knocks lightly.
However, if it knocks heavily under most driving conditions while
you are using fuel with the recommended octane rating, see your
dealer or a qualified service technician to prevent any engine
damage.
Fuel quality
If you are experiencing starting, rough idle or hesitation
driveability problems during a cold start, try a different brand of
“Regular” unleaded gasoline. “Premium” unleaded gasoline is not
recommended because it may cause these problems to become
more pronounced. If the problems persist, see your dealer or a
qualified service technician.
It should not be necessary to add any aftermarket products to
your fuel tank if you continue to use high quality fuel of the
recommended octane rating. Aftermarket products could cause
damage to the fuel system. Repairs to correct the effects of using
an aftermarket product in your fuel may not be covered by your
warranty.
Many of the world’s automakers approved the World-wide Fuel
Charter that recommends gasoline specifications to provide
improved performance and emission control system protection for
your vehicle. Gasolines that meet the World-wide Fuel Charter
should be used when available. Ask your fuel supplier
about gasolines that meet the World-wide Fuel Charter.
Cleaner Air
Ford endorses the use of reformulated "cleaner-burning" gasolines
to improve air.

VALUABLE SUGGESTIONS GIVEN BY FORD CUSTOMERS:

 ✔ Please try to increase the number of Service centers.
✔ Keep Service Stations at main locations of the city, like Banjara Hills,
Jubilee Hills, Begumpet etc., where many customers feel it easy to go to
service centers.
✔ There is no proper response from the service men at service station.
Please recruit efficient service men in the service centers.
✔ The service men in the service centers are unable to understand the
problems told by us, and they are not resolving the cars problems.
✔ Provide information on service and mileage regularly.
✔ Please provide information about new cars along with their price lists at
least once in 6 months.
✔ Advertisements through televisions can influence many categories of
people. So try to concentrate on this segment. We don’t see or find much
of the Ford car advertisements in T.V except Fiesta.
✔ Try to provide financial facility at 0% interest.
✔ Customer should be educated about the maintenance of the vehicle. i.e.
maintenance tips should be provided.
✔ Mileage of the cars is not up to the expectations.
✔ Mileage of Fiesta is very worst its giving only 9 to 11 Kms per liter. Please
try to rectify it.
✔ The quality of the sun proof coating used is of very low quality, vehicle
colour is getting shaded very quickly.
✔ Please send the specially appointed feed back taking staff on Sunday
evenings only.
✔ The sales people present in the showroom respond to us properly when
we come to purchase a new car, but they do not respond when we come
to tell our problems regarding the cars.

CHAPTER 6

BIBLIOGRAPHYS

REFERANCE BOOKS:
MARKETING MANAGEMENT V.S.RAMASWAMY AND S.NAMAKUMARI
ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONS GEORGE E.BELCH
&
MICHAEL A. BELCH

WEBLIOGRAPHY::

www.fordindia.com

www.fortuneford.com

www.wikipedia.com

www.google.com

AUTO MAGAZINES:

 AUTOCAR

 OVERDRIVE