Sector Matrix for Ford Motor Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sector Matrix for Ford Motor Company - Essay Example Literature review and discussions will be centered on the Ford Motor Company which is, apart from being one of the Detroit Three (Sperling & Gordon, 2009, P. 55), also a significant player in the global automotive industry. The essay will also try to discuss the significance of the said tools at firm level as well as a sectoral level by taking into consideration the changes in organizational activities at the firm level and their impacts on the intermediate as well as the macro levels. Propounded by Michael E. Porter (1985), the Value Chain model is centered on organizational processes. Generally, the manufacturing facility is categorized into subsystems – each having its own inputs, throughputs, and outputs. The efficiency of activities aligned through value chain determines the cost of production and hence influences the profitability of the organization. The activities are grouped into primary activities and secondary/support activities (Needle, 2010, P. 275). The five main primary activities are inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and after-sales service, while the secondary activities comprise procurement, human resource management, technological development, and infrastructure. It has been observed that Ford Motor Company (Ford) being a foremost player in the global automobile industry, its business activities have extensive influence on almost all aspects of its environment. The figure appended above represents the interconnectivity of the main phases of Ford’s value chain. The management of Ford has recognized the fact that â€Å"these issues are interconnected at each stage and that positive and negative effects in one part of the chain can reverberate in the other parts† (Ford-website-a, n.d.), and hence, is trying to infuse the different phases with sustainability issues. Ford is aiming at improving its manufacturing efficiency and simultaneously reducing emissions. Moreover, the company is also using recycled materials and is trying to enhance the reusability of its vehicles as part of its environment-friendly operations.

APA 360 III Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

APA 360 III - Term Paper Example e to determine that race perception is not something that is done automatically by a person because the first image that a person has of the person before him does not leave a truly remarkable impression. Rather, the concept of race is simply something that we have come to think of as automatic due to the mind conditioning that we have undergone since an early age. Since race has no genetic basis, one can safely say that race is therefore an illusion. Neither does a human sub-specie exist as these do in the animal kingdom for us to perceive that one human being is different from another. We all belong to the same specie and therefore exist in the same reality. That is why skin color cannot be used to determine the race of a person. The illusion of race on a physical basis is simply wrong because the real differences between people exist not on a physical basis but rather on genetic variation with 85% of traits being shared by a given population. Therefore, race is not biological and no one skin color is better than the other (â€Å"What is Race? Is Race for Real?†). Due to the fact that there has been an explosion of mixed race births in the United States, the issue of race has come to be outdated using the traditional definition. Therefore, the existence of multiracial beings has forced sociologists to begin studying race anew when it comes to â€Å"intergroup relations, racial stigmatization, social identity, social perception, discrimination, and the intersectionality of race with other social categories such as social class† (Shih, Margaret, Sanchez, Diana T. â€Å"When Race Becomes Even More Complex: Towards Understanding the Concept of Multiracial Identity and Experiences†). The challenge that multiracials pose before the discussion of race is now how to determine the actual race of a person or if the issue of race even exists for that particular person because of the multiple bloodlines running through their veins. Shih, Margaret & Sanchez, Diana. â€Å"When