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Ford Motor Company Needs to Improve Culture of Harassment

Valentin Stanciu

September 23, 2022

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Ford Motor Company Needs to Improve Culture of Harassment

In 2017, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a federal agency that

fights discrimination in the workplace, settled with Ford for $10 million over sexual and racial

harassment at two of its plants in Chicago (Chira & Einhorn, 2017). To every fan or consumer of

one of the most renowned carmakers in the world, the idea that such heinous things can happen

inside the company, particularly on American territory, is virtually incomprehensible. It is almost

impossible to believe. However, the lawsuit deems Ford a recidivist offender who disregarded

problems and evidence brought in earlier cases and EEOC rulings, noting a similar culture of

sexual harassment in the 1990s (Putre, 2015). Despite historically innovative human resources

(HR), policies the numerous accusations of sexual harassment have highlighted the need for

change in the company's HR policies Effective, anticipatory leadership uses education to engage

and transform a culture of sexual harassment and discrimination.

Ford Motor Company Symbol of Innovation and Progress

Ford Motor Company is the world's fifth biggest carmaker. Henry Ford started the

company in 1903 in Dearborn, Michigan, a Detroit suburb. Ford Motor Company became one of

the world's biggest and most lucrative enterprises, surviving the Great Depression (Astoria Ford,

2022). Ford innovated by mass-producing cars. By refining the production line, he lowered the

Model T's price from $850 in 1908 to $300 in 1924, making automobile ownership possible for

many. Soon, secondhand Model T cost $5, enabling students and others with modest salaries to

possess cars. By 1929, America had over 23 million vehicles (Khan Academy, 2020).

Ford boosted employees' pay to $5/day and shortened the workday to 8 hours, which was

unusual at the time. Ford's production line promised racial equality, paying white and black

employees equally. Many southern African Americans relocated to Detroit and other northern
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cities for factory labor. Ford molded the nation's industrialism so that workers could purchase

their own goods (Khan Academy, 2020). Ford prioritizes community. Ford Fund has supported

local communities for over 70 years. Since 1949, Ford and Ford Fund have spent more than $2.2

billion on programs that meet basic needs, give access to essential services, create new skills, and

provide routes to high-quality employment (Ford motor company foundation, 2021). However,

the history of cases of sexual harassment and its recognition within the Ford Motor Company

highlights the need for personnel education regarding policies to avoid sexual harassment and

discrimination.

Sexual Harassment in Ford Motor Company

Putre mentioned in 2015 the cases of sexual harassment in two Chicago Ford plants from

1994 - 1995 and 1998. The EEOC investigated the facts that happened in two factories of Ford

Company located approximately Chicago. According to facts uncovered during the research,

there was a good reason to think that managers and non-managers at Ford's manufacturing plants

in the Chicago area have sexually harassed a group of female employees. The same kinds of

events occurred again in 2014 and 2015 when thirty-four women said there had been harassment

and sexual discrimination practices at the Chicago assembly and stamping facility for a very long

time (Putre, 2015). According to Smith (2017), after an extensive investigation, the EEOC found

racial and sexual harassment occurred against female and black workers at two Ford factories in

the Chicago region. Ford Motor Company worked with the EEOC to handle harassment and

discrimination complaints at Chicago plants and develop rules and guidelines to avoid future

harassment or offer fast action when protest occur.

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Instruments for Needs Assessment

”Needs assessment is a critical first step in designing new and revising current training

courses” (Noe and Kodwani, 2017, p. 114). According to McGoldric and Tobey (2016) needs

assessment to give a vital contribution to the greater part of the rest of the means in the training

design. It is important for a company like Ford to go through the seven steps to figure out what it

needs. Identifying viable training solutions increases the dependability of a research strategy. In

order to conduct a needs assessment, it is necessary to decide on a training requirement, who will

participate, and the need for training. In this situation, managers, mentors, and workers must be

included in the strategy to prevent and address sexual harassment. In this situation, training in

developing practical ideas for avoiding and fighting sexual harassment makes sense. Consistent

with this knowledge is training in establishing practical approaches for preventing and

confronting sexual harassment. The goal of the HR department is to keep in close touch with the

employee profile as a safety measure. Ford Motor Company must identify methods to prevent

future harassment and discrimination facts.

Method to Prevent Future Harassment and Discrimination Facts

Ford Motor Company is completely dedicated to a zero-tolerance, harassment-free work

environment at all sites and to ensuring Ford's work environment is compatible with our

standards in this respect (Smith, 2017). According to Smith2017 Ford Motor Company adopted

measures to prevent future harassment and discrimination. In the two locations in the Chicago

region, regular training sessions will occur with all the staff and the. The company will keep

informing employees and new hires about its policies and procedures for stopping harassment

and discrimination. Managers will keep an eye out for claims of sexual or racial harassment and

other forms of unfair treatment. Ford has a full plan to prevent and deal with sexual harassment
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and discrimination, additionally, Ford gives all new hires training about its anti-harassment

policy and what the company expects of its workers (The Grio Staff, 2017).

Transfer of Training

Additionally, Ford Motor Company will train every year all hourly and salaried workers

for more than 20,000 hours on how to treat each other with respect. At the same time, they will

give all salary employees more training in leadership and diversity. An important measure is

increasing HRs employees by more than 30% to offer investigative assistance and supervision,

including a staff member who supervises both factories and reports directly to Personnel

Relations in Dearborn. In addition, senior plant management teams and HR staff will be required

to meet performance targets to actively promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace and

ensure compliance with anti-harassment and equal opportunity regulations (The Grio Staff.

2017).

Conclusion

Effective, anticipatory leadership uses education to engage and transform a culture of

sexual harassment and discrimination. Ford's leadership has acknowledged that sexual

harassment is a significant problem within the company's culture. The corporation will be able to

repair this blight if it can detect it quickly and act immediately. Stopping this trend requires

timely and forceful educational interventions to eliminate these lapses. Ford managers are well

aware of the recent cases of sexual harassment at the company. A safe workplace makes both

employees and employers more money. Good working connections and contented workers

eventually contribute to success in the workplace. Ford's work environment becomes more

lucrative and safer with the implementation of measures to prevent and fight sexual harassment.
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References:

Astoria Ford, (2022). Ford Motor Company.

https://www.astoriaford.net/ford-motor-company.htm

Chira, S. & Einhorn, C. (2017). Hot taught is to change a culture of harassment? Ask women at

Ford. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/19/us/ford-

chicago-sexual-?harassment.html?mtrref=un

Ford Foundation. (2022). About us. https://fordfund.org/

Khan Academy. (2020). 1920’s Consumption.https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-

history/rise-to-world-power/1920s-america/a/1920s-consumption

McGoldric, B., & Tobey, D. (2016). Needs assessment basics. Association for Talent

Development.

https://sgma.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/content/listContentEditable.jsp?

content_id=_1326796_1%20&course_id=_11614_1

Noe, R., A. & Kodwani, A., D. (2017) Employee training and development. (Seventh

Edition).McGraw-Hill Education.

Putre, L. (2015) A History of sexual harassment at two Chicago Ford plants. Industry Week.

https://www.industryweek.com/talent/labor-employment-policy/article/21965192/a-

history-of-sexual-harassment-at-two-chicago-ford-plants

Smith, A., J., D. (2017) Re-evaluate anti-harassment policies in light of EEOC settlement.

SHRM. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/

pages/ford-settlement-harassment.aspx

The Grio Staff. (2017). Black women speak up about sexual harassment at Ford plants. The Grio.

https://thegrio.com/2017/12/20/black-women-ford-sexual-harassment/