Ford’s Hybrid SUV Team Races to the Finish

Q1. Was it a good idea for Phil Martens, head of product development, to have two project
managers- first Prabhaker Patil and then Mary Ann Wright- to head the Escape Hybrid
project ? Explain.

Ans. According to me it was a good idea. They both are very experience in their fields.

A self-described “car nut”, Mary Ann Wright, 42, has launched Sables, Tauruses and
Lincolns. Her discipline is legendary. Twelve-plus-hour days. Five hours of sleep. Four A.M
workouts. She had blond bangs, blue eyes, a firm handshake, and the confidence of someone
who doesn’t miss deadlines.

Prabhakar Patil, 54, was a hybrid himself, a PhD scientist who worked in Ford’s lab for more
than 15 years and then in product development for the past four.

Martens believed that team needed Wright, just as Patil and his more collegial style had been
effective in development. Wright was the hybrid team’s second motor; if Patil’s job was to
inspire invention, hers was to wrap it up.

Q2. From a project manager’s standpoint, what are the toughest challenges with the sort of
high-visibility, high-risk project ? Explain.

Ans. The Ford Escape Hybrid was the first hybrid SUV which can handle like a mascular V6,
yet sip gas-36 miles per gallon, about 50% better than standard Escape, its emissions is
minuscule.

Creating a dramatically different product is a staggering challenge for any organization. For
team member Tom Gee Ford’s announcement of a mass-produced hybrid was the equivalent
of Kennedy saying, “We’re going to moon by the end of the decade”.

Q3. Would you have liked to have been a member of this team ? Why or why not ?

Ans. No, I don’t want to be a part of this team. Because, this team has so many deadlines.
And because of these deadline there would be pressure on my mind. Its impossible for me to
work under pressure. Under pressure there will be less innovations and less productivity.

Q4. Which stages of the project life cycle in figure 6.6 are evident in this case ? Explain.

Ans. From my point of view the planning stage of life cycle because they develop and made
new hybrid car should be success and appear any problems.
Q5. Which of the project roles in table 6.2 did Mary Ann Wright play in this case ? Explain.

Ans. Mary Ann Wright is a lower management because she is working on test-driving the
latest prototype and progress to his bosses.

SWOT Analysis of Ford’s Escape Hybrid

Ford Motor Co. has been making cars for 101 years- cars with one motor. Open the hood of
this hybrid, and you’ll find two: one on gas, the other electric. As a “full’ hybrid, the Escape
can run on either motor. Its network monitors an array of computers to determine which
motor can drive the wheels most efficiently. In an instant, the vehicle balances the duelling
demands for power and acceleration and for high mileage and low emissions.

Internal Factors:

Strength:

 Good brand image

 Two motors
 Great power & acceleration
 Low emissions
 Spacious
 Good managers

Weakness:

 Sales Decline
 Low productivity
 Huge unfunded pensions and other obligations
 Weakening operations in North America
External Factors:

Opportunities:

 Production of fuel efficient cars

 Opportunities in India and China market
 Price rise in automobile sector

Threats:

 Rise in raw material prices

 Rapid growth in competitors (General Motors, Toyota, Honda, BMW etc.)
 Less capital spending