Colorado State University Ford Motor Company Operations Management Discussion

Please respond to the 2 discussion forum responsess below with at least 150 words and an APA citation

Hello Class,

“Our belief: Freedom of movement drives human progress”

“Our aspiration: To become the world’s most trusted company, designing smart vehicles for a smart world.”

Above are Ford Motor Company’s mission and vision statements respectively. According to Ford they are all about technology. Their vision statement is evident of this, “designing smart vehicles for a smart world”. It is also very evident in all of their yearly strategies and their mission statement in their desire to drive human progress. The one year for plan to maintain this smart vehicle design and human progress is to have all of their vehicles sold in the U.S. to feature connectivity to the internet. The three year plan follows the same path; to have 90 percent of all vehicles sold globally to feature this connectivity to the inter-webs. These both strongly reinforce the vision statement of Ford. They are forecasting the desire of many people for connectivity in all aspects of their lives, including their vehicles. The five year strategy of Ford takes a different path but still implements forecasting in their plan for the future. They plan to attack costs in their five year strategy. The goal of Ford is to reduce cost growth by 50 percent over the next five years, to do this Ford plans on cutting back on prototypes built, reducing the complexity of parts and orders, and ten billion dollars in building cost reductions. Ford understands cost of goods is on the rise. They are forecasting the continuation of this rise in cost of goods, and are planning of ways to combat this. This reduction in costs could also be related closely to the prediction of many economists that the U.S. is heading into another recession soon and is making plans to be prepared for this. Ford likely saw the effects of GM receiving a bailout during the “Great Recession” and how that effect rippled through GM and all of their subsidiaries, many of whom were shut down permanently. Ford plans to make it through the next economic downturn in similar fashion to that a decade ago. Measuring the accuracy of theses forecasts will not be difficult. Humans will likely always have a desire to have the latest and greatest with regard to technology. The costs aspect will also be easy to examine. A simple review of their numbers will identify accuracy.

References:

(2019). Ford Motor Comapny. Retrieved from https://www.comparably.com/companies/ford-motor-co…

(2017, October 3). Ford’s Future: Evolving to Become the Most Trusted Mobility Company, Designing Smart Vehicles for a Smart World. Retrieved from https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en…

Parashar, J. (2018, March 2). Why The One Ford Plan is Still Critical to Ford. Retrieved from https://articles2.marketrealist.com/2018/03/fords-…

Hello everyone,

Perkins Restaurant & Bakery (Perkins) is a chain of 342 casual dining restaurants, 101 corporate owned and 241 franchise unites located in 32 states and Canada. Perkins also maintains a baked goods division named Foxtail, that provides pies, pancake mixes, cookie dough and muffins for sale in both its restaurants and third-party vendors. Founded in 1958 the company is oriented toward casual dining, serving breakfast items throughout the day and with many locations open 24 hours. This appeals to their intended customers who are seeking affordable comfort food and based on a National Restaurant Association survey that indicated 70% of Americans wished that dining establishments offered breakfast all day long (Perkins, 2019).

For Perkins to remain successful and to continue opening new successful locations there are several areas to look at when forecasting their future. Some of these areas can be forecasted by local managers and corporate leaders by looking at the history of similar restaurants either locally or nationwide. Others can be based on surveys conducted by national restaurant and consumer associations.

The first is location. This involves looking at competitors already in the area and their sales. An area that consists of other casual dining establishments, such as Denny’s, may indicate a good location with an established market that might seek diversity if sales are high. On the other hand, if sales are low either the market may not exist or has become glutted with too many similar establishments. The cost of obtaining a facility, whether rented or owned, and its location need to be considered (Deutsch, 2015).

Secondly, the ability to obtain a workforce. The ability to staff for regular shifts and holidays needs to be obtainable. In markets where housing is exceptionally high it may not be possible to find enough employees locally to operate (7 STAFFING IDEAS WORTH STEALING, 2018). Thirdly, keeping up with trends. This is not just what is the current coolest food items, which is essential to bring in the younger and newer customers while keeping established ones interested, but also how your intended market wants to receive your items. So this means that knowing nostalgia is driving the comfort food industry in 2019 and creamcicles are the current craze, customers also are seeking out restaurants that cater these foods (Romeo, 2019).

7 STAFFING IDEAS WORTH STEALING: These tactics stand out for their edginess and creativity. (2018). FoodService Director, 31(12), 17. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org…

Deutsch, J. (2015). Sales Forecasting How-To. Restaurant Business, 114(5), 40–42. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org…

Romeo, P. (2019). 6 Restaurant Trends Shaping 2019 so Far. Restaurant Business, 118(8), 11. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org…