Case: Ford and the World Automobile Industry in 2009

Name: ______________________

Date: ______________________

Case: Ford and the World Automobile Industry in 2009

Directions: A case usually contains the information about the firm and its environment that you will need to perform an analysis and develop specific arguments. However, a case is necessarily a simplification of the real situation. Sometimes, actual courses of action are taken for reasons not apparent from the case. It is expected that your answers to all questions should be based on the case, unless further information is provided. It is likely that you cannot find direct answers from the case to some questions. You will need to seek implications from the case information.

• Be sure to use course concepts and frameworks to address case questions
• Analyze case events rather than providing descriptions of the events
• Answer all questions directly and as briefly as possible. When you use a course concept, do not explain it (i.e., do not repeat the definition). Instead, you should apply the concept directly.
• When you answer questions, a “bullet” format is encouraged

There are no “standard” answers (i.e., no unique, correct answers). Your answers will not be treated as “right” or “wrong”. Instead, I will rate your answers as “strong”, “moderately strong”, “weak”, or “irrelevant”. You will not earn “zero” even if your answer is irrelevant. The following are the grading criteria:

Rating Explanation Strong (5) ?     The answer covers all issues relevant to the question

?     The link between the answer and the question is direct, clear, and justified well.

Moderately Strong (4) ?     The answer covers most issues relevant to the question

?     The link between the answer and the question exists, but the answer is not justified well.

Weak (3) ?     The answer only covers a few issues relevant to the question

?     The link between the answer and the question is not clear.

Irrelevant (1) ?     The answer is not relevant to the question (This is often caused by misunderstanding of concepts)

The case exam is an individual assignment. You cannot seek ideas/help from other students or plagiarize their work. The instructor will compare different students’ work. Suspected plagiarism will be dealt with according to UT’s academic integrity policies.

Due date: Sunday midnight, October 12, 2013; submission via email.

Question #1: In the past few decades (1980s-2000s), has the world automobile industry generally experienced downward or upward trend in profitability? Use date/evidence to support your argument. In addition, use the five forces model to explain the trend (35 Points)

Question #2: Forecast the world automobile industry’s profitability in the next five years (2010 – 2014) (35 points)

Question #3: What strategic issues will Ford need to address in order to achieve success in the next five years (2010-2014) and why will Ford need to address them? Identify four different strategic issues and provide a short explanation (why) for each strategic issue (30 points)

(Note: explanation for each strategic issue should be no more than 5 sentences)

Strategic issue #1: _______________________________

Short explanation:

Strategic issue #2: _______________________________

Short explanation:

Strategic issue #3: _______________________________

Short explanation:

Strategic issue #4: _______________________________

Short explanation: