Ford Motor Company: The Human Resource Strategies, Policies and Practices

Table of Contents

Abstract
Functions of the HR Department
International HRM Strategies
Conclusions
References

Abstract

The Ford Motor Company is the worlds fourth-largest automaker based in America after Toyota of Japan, General Motors of the U.S, and Volkswagen of Germany. It is involved in the large-scale manufacturing of cars and trucks as well as the mass management of the workforce. They have staff in almost every country across the globe and with customers spanning every known neighborhood. It has been in existence for over 100 years under the management of kins, thus making it the largest family-controlled company in the world (Isabel 2002). Their superb management has enabled them to survive even during economic downturns such as the great depression. The company has devised a way of dealing with the fluctuating market trends, a system that they dub The Way Forward (Isabel 2002).

Some of steps under this scheme included in this strategy are; Resizing the company, Dropping of some inefficient and non-profitable models, Shutting or leasing out other factory branches, Opening up new branches and Cutting down on the number of employing more personnel depending on what the situation demands among others (Federico & Kahn 1993). This essay will elaborate on the human resources and human resources strategies that Ford Motor Company has put in place to keep them rolling in the field as well as to help them to effectively counter the challenges which include rising, production costs, changing customer tastes and competition from other potential players in the field.

Functions of the HR Department

The Human Resource Department in the Ford Motor Company is that section of this major company that is charged with the formulation of international policies and strategies that can initiate change agents to help transform Ford Motor Company to occupy the worlds number one consumer motor company (Ford 1993). The management team applies all the business knowledge that they have at their disposal in order to deliver innovative HR solutions and provide management operations as they develop leaders among the staff in all the companys organizational levels (Ford 1993).

International HRM Strategies

Since the Company has got branches all over the world, the HR team is trained to in turn use their skills to train others in their field so that all of them can acquire strong consumer instincts and insight. With their products finding their way into every living neighborhood, the HR team must therefore be able to draw strength from diverse cultures and backgrounds if at all they want to compete effectively in the global market. Since the human resource management team must coordinate the suppliers, the personnel, the products and the customers, the Ford Motor Company HR team is committed to doing the following to keep their grip on the international market as illustrated by Cabadas Joseph 2004, p 96-98).

Fostering teamwork and applying all the required knowledge, values and skills in the business.
Anticipation of the future international market trends.
Embracing diversity and use it to their advantage over their opponents.
Measuring of their results to boost accountability.
Rewarding individuals based on their performances as well as their contributions to the success of Ford Motor Company.

Conclusions

Following the above responsibilities of the human resources management team/board, it can be concluded in this essay that to be of great service delivery to Ford Motor Company, the team should be knowledgeable in the following fields (Studer-Noguez, 2002, p 213).