Case Application 1: In the Driver’s Seat

One Ford . . . One Team . . . One Plan . . . One Goal. Tens of thousands of Ford employees carry around
these words with them on laminated wallet-sized cards. Why?
These words reflect the vision CEO Alan Mulally has for the future of Ford Motor Company. And
pursuing that vision has implications for how the company will be structured.
Mulally joined Ford Motor in September 2006 from Boeing, where he had led a successful turnaround
effort. And Ford, facing serious challenges, needed someone like him. Between the fierce competition in
the global car industry and the realities of its manufacturing and product development deficiencies, the
company’s financial condition was worsening. Family member Bill Ford “handpicked his successor as
CEO, gambling that Alan Mulally’s team-building skills and industrial savvy would inspire and
embolden employees enough to revive the hard-up automaker.”
Mulally’s first move was to “immediately dust off his Boeing playbook” as he looked to implement
many of the same strategies that had worked in turning around Boeing. Although he recognized the
massive problems facing the company in achieving strategic competitiveness and profitability, he was
determined to take the dramatic, painful steps and to “plow through gut-wrenching change” to transform
the company and return it to global prominence. Guiding his initial efforts was the Way Forward plan
that was first announced in January 2006 and the implementation of which was accelerated in September
2006 when Mulally was appointed CEO.
This comprehensive plan addressed seven areas where strategic changes would be focused: bold
leadership; customer focus; strong brands; bold, innovative products; great quality; clear pricing; and
competitive costs and capacity. Mulally also identified four key priorities:
(1) aggressively restructure the company to operate profitably at the current real demand and changing
model mix;
(2) accelerate product development with new products that customers really want and value
while achieving manufacturing excellence by reducing complexity and improving quality;
(3) obtain financing to do these things and improve the balance sheet; and
(4) work together with accountability with all partners. In addition to the Way Forward plan,
Mulally fashioned a strategic effort dubbed One Ford in an attempt to “fully leverage the tremendous
worldwide resources of Ford.” In his remarks to shareholders at the 2008 annual meeting, Mulally had
this to say: “We operate in a fiercely competitive global industry. To achieve profitable growth, we have
to make the best use of our human resources and take advantage of every potential economy of scale and
best practice we can find. That means operating as one team around the world, with one plan and one
goal . . . One Ford . . . profitable growth for all.”
These efforts and priorities guided the company over the next few years. Mulally’s vision for Ford
culminated at the 2010 Detroit auto show where he unveiled the car that “embodies his strategy for
returning Ford to its status as a leader in the global auto industry.” That car, the Focus, is Ford’s first
truly global car—a “single vehicle designed and engineered for customers in every region of the world
and sold under one name.” Mulally said, “If we were going to be world-class, we needed to pull together
and leverage and use our global assets around the world to create a powerhouse ‘One Ford’.” He also
expressed his hope that the vehicle will provide “a rolling blueprint for generations of Ford cars to
come.”
Discussion Questions:
1. Describe and evaluate what Alan Mulally did at Ford Motor Company.
2. What structural implications arise from Mulally’s description of Ford being world-class?
3. What types of adaptive organizational designs discussed in this chapter might be needed as Ford
continues to pursue its vision of One Ford. . . One Team. . . One Plan. . . One Goal? For each
design that you think is appropriate, describe what it is and how the company might use it.
4. What does this case story tell you about how a company’s vision and plans affect its structure?