Firm level strategy

Assessment:

a) Categorize the major steps Ford took to rebuild itself into four hypotheses on the firm-level strategy- resources, knoweldge/ cabilities, integration/ core competences, change/ dynamic capability, using specific examples from the assigned video.

{To answer this, you may prepare a brief table like follows

Resources -- [Identify resources of Ford and provide major steps that Ford took using those resources for rebuilding]

Knowledge/ Capabilities - [Identify knowledge/ capabilities of Ford, and provide major steps that Ford took using knowledge/ capabilities for rebuilding]

Integration/ core competencies - [Identify integration/ core competencies of Ford, and provide major steps that Ford took using these for rebuilding]

Change/ Dynamic capabilitiy - [Identify change/dynamic capability of Ford and provide major steps that Ford took using change/ dynamic capability for rebuilding]}

b) Using specific concepts from the chapter, identify at least three reasons for the entropy faced by Ford in the past giving specific examples observed from the video.

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Assignment:

a) Answer the two assessment questions in the discussions forum in about 175 words each.  

b) Using bloomberg.com, cnn.com, or bbc.com, find an article that illustrates any of the four hypotheses given in the chapter.   Explain clearly and briefly in about 75 words specific examples on the use of that hypothesis.  Cite the article in APA format, including the web link to the article.   

c) Review the articles posted by your peers.   For any one article, explain in about 75 words with reason if you agree with the firm-level strategy (hypothesis) used by the firm, and recommend an alternative firm-level strategy (hypothesis) giving your rationale.  (if you are the first to post, then come back in a few hours to answer this part).

Video link: 

 http://www.hulu.com/watch/221956

Go behind the scenes at the Ford Motor Company to hear the inside story of its astonishing comeback just a few short years after nearly collapsing. The program shows Ford bosses, including the tireless and steel-nerved CEO, Alan Mulally, who bet nearly everything the company had in its quest to steer back from the brink. More astoundingly, Ford rescued itself without a government bailout, unlike rivals General Motors and Chrysler.  Ford emerged as a company with a bright future, but one shadowed by a mountain of debt.

The documentary introduces an unlikely pair of engineers charged with breathing new life into a legendary but tarnished Ford nameplate, the Explorer. It also profiles the Ford family, who unlike many other famous American business clans, have never given up their hold on the family firm, despite an unfortunate and well established knack for turning boom into bust.

You also travel to the front lines of the brutally competitive automotive industry, the rapidly expanding car markets of South Asia. Ford’s toehold in India, where it is investing heavily, is small, but tenacious, and the blue Ford oval is becoming increasingly commonplace on the crowded and exotic streets of the world’s fastest growing auto market.