Generic Strategies
Analysis Of Sector Matrix For Ford Motor Company Marketing Essay
Three tools are largely popular and relevant for analysing as well as prescribing remedies pertaining to the improvement of organisational performance. These are the Value Chain – propounded by Michael Porter, the Global Commodities Chain (GCC) Framework – put forward by Gary Gereffi and Miguel Korzeniewicz, and the Sector Matrix Theory – conceptualised by Julie Froud. This essay will aim at critically examining whether the sector matrix framework, gives a better strategic understanding of product markets than the concepts of product or commodity chains. Literature review and discussions will be centred 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 sectoral level by taking into consideration the changes in organisational 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 centred on organisational processes. Generally the manufacturing facility is categorised 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 organisation. The activities are grouped into primary activities and secondary/support activities (Needle, 2010, P. 275).
Figure 1: Porter's Value Chain
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
Three tools are largely popular and relevant for analysing as well as prescribing remedies pertaining to the improvement of organisational performance. These are the Value Chain – propounded by Michael Porter, the Global Commodities Chain (GCC) Framework – put forward by Gary Gereffi and Miguel Korzeniewicz, and the Sector Matrix Theory – conceptualised by Julie Froud. This essay will aim at critically examining whether the sector matrix framework, gives a better strategic understanding of product markets than the concepts of product or commodity chains. Literature review and discussions will be centred 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 sectoral level by taking into consideration the changes in organisational 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 centred on organisational processes. Generally the manufacturing facility is categorised 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 organisation. The activities are grouped into primary activities and secondary/support activities (Needle, 2010, P. 275).
Figure 1: Porter's Value Chain
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