Ford Motor Human Resource Department Essay Example

a production-focused model towards HRM, according to Guest. Ford's management believes this transition is long-term and aligns with more than one of Guest's ideal types. Guest also notes that adopting HRM principles can improve a company's reputation and competitive edge. By effectively managing human resources, a company can gain market advantages. (Guest, 1988:10).

One way of attracting sales is by presenting the company's image as socially responsible and providing quality products. Ford's approach to advertising during 1990-1992 was centered around showing employees engaging in personal development, highlighting the importance of their personnel practices. Ford Motor Company's overhaul in the 1980s serves as a significant example of changes in personnel practices. This article focuses on Ford's experience due to its historical significance as a traditional production approach pioneer and the magnitude of changes it initiated during the 1980s. The changes reflected a critical re-evaluation of the production approach, a significant move towards strategic HRM.

Ford is known for creating the management style, Fordism, which involves hierarchical decision-making and strict functional specialization. This style also incorporates specialized machinery to mass produce a standard product for mass markets. Ford's continuous efforts to redesign jobs, organization and culture were influenced by a combination of market and technological factors. To rethink personnel management, Ford used a model inspired by Japanese practices and benchmarked against its close links with Mazda, in which it owns a 25% stake. This served as the foundation for its long-term strategy. (Starkey ; McKinlay, 1989).

Despite attempting to introduce aspects of Japan-like industrial organization for future strategic change, the Fordist system provided important elements of continuity. The company is currently negotiating a major transition period as they strive to

reconcile Ford's short and long-term objectives while maintaining established managerial practices and work organization patterns essential to current competitiveness (Starkey and McKinly 1989:94).