Ford Motor Company:

Technological Innovation Disconnect

and Stakeholder Impact
ADAM HAGSTROM, MAKENNA MEAD, RYAN RICE, BROOKLYN
SORENSEN, KIERA SWINNEY, ERIC YANES
The Issue Our communication issue is
Facing Ford stakeholders do not positively
recognize our company's innovative
Automobiles actions.
 Consumers

Dealerships
Agenda Employees

Shareholders

Management
Ford Owners and Prospective Buyers: An
Outdated View of the Company
The Public's Perception

Source: (https://twitter.com)​
Consumers who are Unaware of Innovation
What are consumers saying?

Source: (https://twitter.com)​
 Ford's Technological Innovation Initiatives
What is Ford actually doing to be innovative?

"Ford now uses several sustainable materials --
including rice hulls, and many others -- inside
the vehicle to make it more ecofriendly." -
Carrie Majeske, Ford Sustainability Manager
- Communications Manager
Minesh Bhagaloo
"In Detroit, Ford hired 400 engineers
from BlackBerry Ltd. To bolster its in-
house software expertise and to help
develop new in-car digital features
including dashboards." -
Autonews.com

Source: (Wall Street Journal, Ford.com, Autonews.com)​

Dealerships are at a Disadvantage

"Technology has really advanced but people don’t

consider Ford in that capacity yet. If they happen to
rent a vehicle and got to drive it, they would
understand the benefits but if they don't, they will
only focus on price."

- Ford Dealership Owner

Employees are Concerned About EV's
Fear amongst auto industry employees

Risk to employee job security

Electric vehicles are innovative BUT

costly to a # of manufacturing jobs

Source: (https://www.autonews.com)
Employees are Concerned About EV's
 "Ford has estimated electric cars will require 30 percent fewer hours of labor per vehicle and
50 percent less factory floor space" - Automotive News

 "[Ford] will significantly increase its planned investments in electric vehicles to $11 billion by 2022" -
Chairman Bill Ford

 “There’s a potential for our jobs to be gone -- they don’t need us anymore...it scares us” -Tim Walbolt,
president of the United Automobile Workers (UAW)

Sources: (https://www.autonews.com & https://www.reuters.com & https://finance.yahoo.com)

Source: (https://twitter.com)
Shareholders Believe Performance is Dismal

Source: (https://Nytimes.com& https://www.MSN.com/money)

Stock Performance is Diminishing

January, 2018- Ford

announces 40 EV
globally and 16 fully June, 2018- Ford Announces
battery EVs $11B Restructuring
March, 2019- Tesla
Unveils a Pickup EV
June, 2019- Ford Announces
Electric F-150 July, 2019-
January, 2019- Ford Restructuring
and VW Invest in AI Begins

Source: (Bloomberg)
 Management's Opportunity

Jim Hackett: CEO 5/22/17

Tim Stone: CFO 6/1/19

Source: (https://www.freep.com)
Our Objective Going Forward
Communication Objective: To effectively represent the Ford brand as an
innovative, technologically advanced car company on the cutting-edge of
trending research.

§ Innovative

§ Technological

§ Research-Oriented
Index
 GM and Ford CEOs Now Say  GM Strike Over EV Concerns
Shareholder Value is No Longer
 Tesla Pickup Truck
What Matters Most
 Global Restructuring
Global Restructure
$11 Billion Dollar plan

Systems, Applications, and Products

System

Eliminating 10% of the workforce will

save the company $600 million
annually
Tesla Pickup Truck

-Elon Musk

Source: (Inverse.com)
GM Investment in New Technology

Source: (media.gm.com)
GM Strikes

Source: (https://www.autonews.com/)
Shareholder Value is No Longer What Matters Most
“General Motors CEO Mary Barra and Ford CEO
Jim Hackett were among 181 signatories of a
declaration by something called the Business
Roundtable that says now, unlike in decades
past, maximizing value for shareholders and
owners should not be the main priority of a
corporation.”

- Patrick George https://jalopnik.com

Source: (https://jalopnik.com)