Ford 2006 Annual Report Download - page 6
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Please find page 6 of the 2006 Ford annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.One Team
In any successful enterprise, people come first.
A skilled and motivated team working together can
accomplish incredible things. The principles and practices
we have put in place at Ford to run our business are
unlocking the full potential of the people who work here.
Everyone with a stake in the outcome is included in
the decision making process. Together, we developed
a single plan for our entire global enterprise, with
clear performance goals. Although we work as a team,
individuals are given responsibility and authority, and
held accountable for delivering results. Achievements
are measured by
facts and data,
not anecdotes
and opinions.
I meet with
my own senior
management team
once a week in a
half-day session
to review progress
toward our goals and address any roadblocks. Problems
and concerns are discussed candidly and the entire team
is enlisted to help find solutions. Mutual respect and a
“find-a-way” attitude are key elements of every meeting,
and the focus of discussion is always our plan.
One Plan
In the past, Ford’s regional operations were run
as largely autonomous business units. Many of them
were highly successful operating this way, but in today’s
intensely competitive global market this system has too
many inefficiencies to create sustained success.
We are moving quickly to change it.
In December I announced an organizational
realignment that puts additional focus on our markets
and customers while better leveraging our global assets
and capabilities. Under this new structure our three
Automotive operations – The Americas; Ford Europe
and the Premier Automotive Group; and Ford Asia Pacific
and Africa/Mazda – report directly to me.
In support of these operations we also created a
single global product development organization. This new
structure will enable us to work together more effectively
to improve continuously the quality, productivity and
speed of our product development process.
In addition, our purchasing, manufacturing, quality,
information technology, design, research and vehicle
technology functions are all similarly focused on using the
company’s global assets to better support its Automotive
operations. By sharing vehicle architectures, components
and best practices from around the world, and taking full
advantage of global economies of scale, we will leverage
our resources around the world for the greater good of
the entire company.
Our entire global team has been focused on four
key priorities: aggressively restructuring our company to
be profitable at a lower volume and changed product
mix, accelerating product development while achieving
manufacturing excellence through reduced complexity
and improved quality, obtaining financing to complete
our plans, and working together with teamwork and
accountability. Late last year, we completed $23.5 billion
in new funding to finance our restructuring, bringing our
total automotive liquidity to $46 billion at year-end 2006.
Our most immediate concern is fixing our business in
North America. We are taking the painful but necessary
steps to achieve a
$5 billion reduction
in our annual
operating costs by
2008 compared to
2005. And we are
accelerating our new
product development.
By the end of 2008,
70 percent of our Ford,
Lincoln and Mercury
lineup by volume in North America will be all-new or
significantly freshened compared with 2006 models.
We also will speed up the time it takes us to get new
products to market by 30 to 50 percent. In 2009 and
beyond, the pace of new product introductions will
accelerate even further. Our plan is to return our North
American Automotive operations to profitability by 2009.
Our efforts will be enhanced by leveraging our
worldwide resources. Working together as one global
company is our biggest single opportunity to make rapid
and dramatic progress toward our goal.
One Goal
Our goal is simple – to build more of the products
that people really want and value. Exciting new products
that reflect the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s
customers, with striking designs that are safer, more
fuel efficient and offer even greater value. That includes
an expanded commitment to small cars, more crossovers,
and more capable and fuel efficient trucks.
This wave of new products is already underway with
a number of well-received new entries including Ford Edge,
Lincoln MKX, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator
in North America; Ford S-MAX, Ford Galaxy and Ford
Transit in Europe; Jaguar XK, Land Rover Freelander 2/LR2,
Volvo S80 and Volvo C30, and Mazda CX-9.
Our products also will define us as the company that
cares about its customers and their communities. Bill Ford
and I share the same vision of building clean, fuel efficient,
environmentally friendly vehicles that protect their passengers
and our planet. We want to satisfy our customers’
immediate needs and longer term aspirations. We believe
that a company that acts responsibly and is concerned for
the greater good not only will be respected and admired,
it will be rewarded with growth and sustained profitability.
“Working together as one global
company is our biggest single
opportunity to make rapid and
dramatic progress toward our goal.”
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