Organizational Culture
Organizational culture influences the way people behave in the organization. As an organization continues to expand, the likelihood of developing organizational opportunities also expands. Culture forms the foundation for growth and advancement, as organizations cannot expand without people. Strong cultures encourage the sharing of values among organizations. Ford Motor Company has been successful in its international acquisitions due to a strong organizational culture. The company’s management has emphasized on its culture of accommodating everyone in its international expansion opportunities. This study will focus on Ford Motor Company’s behavior opportunity and the recommendation on how to address the practice.
According to Shein (1983), organizations’ founders have a role to play in the creation of organizational culture (Dwivedi, 2010, p. 18). Ford Motor Company’s organizational culture was greatly influenced by Henry Ford, its founder. Ford has been able to achieve its goals through the “One Ford” plan, which incorporates one team, one plan, and one goal. Currently, the company has the opportunity for growth through forming a partnership with other automobile firms that share its culture. Alan Mulally, the company’s CEO asserted that Ford’s culture emerged from a Ford ad he read in 1925, “Opening the Highways to All Mankind.” (LaRocco, 2014).
In many occasions, the underlying cause of organizational behavior problems are poor communications or wrong organizational structure. The best advice for Ford is to enhance its organizational structure so that it can accommodate more partners. Organizational structure assists in maintaining high performing employees, as well as discipline. To create opportunities for expansion, Ford’s organizational structure should allow for cross-cultural relationships. According to Bhattacharyya (2010), cross-cultural aspects influence human resource management functions through accommodating different cultures (p. 104). Thus, organizational culture is should be maintained to encourage business expansion.
References
Bhattacharyya, D. K. (2010). Cross-cultural management: Texts and cases. New Delhi: PHI Learning Ldt.
Dwivedi, R. K. (1995). Organizational culture and performance. S.l.: State Mutual Book and Periodical Service.
LaRocco, L. A. (2014, March 5). For Mulally, Ford’s Culture Is Job One. The Street. Retrieved on 23 May 2014 from http://www.thestreet.com/story/1543980/1/for-mulally-fords-culture-is-job-one.html