Ford Motor Company and Gillette

Ford Motor Company and Gillette

American InterContinental University

Ford Motor Company and Gillette

The Ford Motor Company has been in business for over 100 years. The company is based out of Dearborn, Michigan. The company offers a line of vehicles ranging from compact cars to sports cars and work utility vehicles. Ford vehicles are sold in many countries and it employs about 164,000 workers.

The company utilizes a culture in its business structure of employee empowerment. Employee Empowerment, simply put, is allowing employees of the company the ability to make decisions without consulting upper management. There is a limit as to the decision making authority of the employees. The method is used to give the employees a since of intrinsic motivation. The reason the company sought to use this method was the low employee satisfaction at the company, the low organizational performance and the pressure from the United Auto Workers Union.

The company was able to divide decision making between management and the leadership. They let leadership make decisions on employee time off and pay raises. This division of duties allowed management to focus their attention to more important matters. The company involved its employees on decisions that affected the daily operations of the company. This involvement gave the employees a sense of empowerment over their future. The result of this participative management is clear. Ford is still in business and profits are still increasing. One more important fact is that they did not accept the bail out money, which other car manufacturers did accept.

If I had been the senior management over this decision; I would have implemented a training program to educate the employees on how to make corrective decisions. I would have established a report to show what company factors were being affected (quality, production). Verifying that the task given to an employee was in their realm of expertise would have been a high priority. Checking with the management and employees often to find out what was working and what needs to be adjusted would have been a priority.

Gillette has been in business for over 100 years. The company is based out of Boston Massachusetts. In 2005 The Gillette Company became a subsidiary of The Proctor and Gamble Company. The company offers products such as razors, razor blades, and other grooming items for the male consumer. Gillette's products are sold in many countries and it employs over 28,000 employees.

The pricing strategy of Gillette's razors is one of bait and hook. Bait and Hook is a price penetration marketing method that is used by businesses to get a consumer to try their product. The point behind this method is to have a consumer buy Gillette's razor at a low cost but charge a higher amount