A.

SWOT Analysis
STRENGTHS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Limitless improvement of quality in products and services

Long-lasting commitment in making vehicles safer for customers
Protects extended service plans
Strong brand image
Effective innovation development
Customer loyalty

WEAKNESSES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Unprofitable Europe operations

Defective airbag inflator
High price structure
Retrenchment in Indonesia and Japan
No return on investment despite high cash inflows
OPPORTUNITIES

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Mitsubishi Motors Montero Sport sudden acceleration issues

Strong drive of acquiring a car in Philippines
Reintroduced Lincoln Continental in the expanding Chinese market
Combination with Cisco would work best
Toyota discontinues Scion
THREATS

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Aggressive competitive rivalry

Reviving of car brands in the Filipino domestic market
Varying oil prices
New admission of high tech firm opens China Factory
Cabs make car firms rethink sales plans

Strengths

Weakness

Opportunities

(1) Ford must promote its

vehicles free of sudden
unintended acceleration
(SUA) risk through
developing, testing and
continuously evaluating
their acceleration systems.
(S1, S2, S5, O1)
(2) Ford should develop its
market by outsourcing their
products and services in
countries that have strong
demands in acquiring
automotive. (S4,O2, O3)

Threats

(1) Ford must focus on

innovating products
primarily designed not only
to save traveling time, but
also car gas usage. (S1,
S5,T3)
(2) Ford should improve
product quality, and design
that fits the demands cab
employers and residents.
(S1, S4, S5,T1, T5)

(1) Ford should take into

consideration the marketing of
its products and services
affecting different categories
of investments. (W5,O2, O3)
(2) Ford must associate with other
companies to expand its
enhancement, production, and
marketing capacities, and also
its capital. (W2,O4)

(1) Ford should adjust their prices

that correspond well to the
financial capacity of buyers in
certain markets while
maintaining quality within the
products, enabling the
company to compete globally.
(W3, W5,T1, T5)
(2) Ford must close its operations
in Indonesia and Japan.
(W3,T3)

The SWOT Matrix is an essential matching tool that uses factors from both the Internal Factor
Evaluation (IFE) and the External Factor Evaluation (EFE) to evaluate both internal and external
aspects of doing business. SWOT is the first stage of planning and supports decision makers to
concentrate on key matters. It is a graphical depiction of the SWOT framework. It develops four
types of strategies: SO (strengths-opportunities) Strategies, WO (weakness-opportunities)
Strategies, ST (strengths-threats) Strategies, and WT (weakness-threats) Strategies. Strengths and
weaknesses are taken from the IFE while opportunities and threats are taken from the EFE. From

there, we can come up four different types of strategies by matching together the different
internal and external factors.
SO Strategies chase opportunities that are appropriate to the companys strength. Our group
suggests that Ford must take advantage the weaknesses of other automotive companies to
improve its strength. Such as the recent news about Mitsubishis sudden acceleration issue, Ford
may promote vehicles free of sudden unintended acceleration risk through developing testing and
evaluating their acceleration system. Also, Ford having a strong brand image, will help them to
outsource products and services in countries that have high demands in acquiring cars in which a
market penetration would be another striking SO strategy.
WO Strategies are ones that aim at overcoming weaknesses by taking advantage of external
opportunities. The two WO Strategies are seen as intensive strategies. Regarding the defective
airbag inflator issue, associating with other company like Cisco, would decrease the chance of
defective products and enhance more of its technology. In this case, product development can be
attractive in this strategy. In addition, further investments will improve Ford to expand its
production and marketing capacities. Moreover, Ford should take into consideration the
marketing of its products and services affecting categories of investment. Therefore, market
development could be attractive WO strategy to show out.
ST strategies detect ways that the firm can utilize its strength to diminish it susceptibility to
external threats. Second threat to Ford is the unstable prices of oil. Since generations have been
change and many advanced technologies now are being discovered and released, Ford started for
innovating cars that wont affect by oils unstable price. Ford has actually adding more plug-in
hybrid all-electric cars to their portfolio. So if oil decreases, Ford will be little less affected and
vise versa. Furthermore, Ford had already anticipated that gas prices will eventually increase, so
Fords target is to have the best fuel economy in every division its in. Another threat is the tight
competition in the automotive industry. Since Ford does not doing well in competition in the
industry, the group suggests, Ford must focus on improving more products quality and design
that fits the demand cab employers and residents. In these two cases, product development can
be strike ST strategy.

Lastly, WT Strategies are focused at lessening internal weaknesses and preventing external
threats. One thing that a lot of Fords shareholders had a problem with was no return on
investment despite high cash flows. If this scenario continues, many investors may think to pull
out their shares because no one wants to invest if return is not promising. Our group was not able
to create a strategy to discontinue this situation. Our group created a strategy with regard to its
weaknesses; high price structure and no return despite cash inflow, and threats; aggressive
competitive rivalry and Cabs make car firms rethink sales plans. Ford must adjust their prices
that correspond well to the financial capacity of buyers in certain markets while maintaining
quality within the products, enabling the company to compete globally. With the varying oil
price, Ford in Japan and Indonesia might not able to handle its market share thats why our group
suggested that Ford must close its operation there.
While this SWOT Matrix shows Fords current situation in this phase, it illustrates them a lot
about their company: the effective innovation development, improvement on quality products
and services, the downfall in some countries, the interest of the shareholders and consumer, the
unstable condition of the economy and most importantly, the strategies to answer and defend
their company. In a world that change is the only constant, it is essential that SWOT Matrix
should frequently be examined and improved.

http://fortune.com/2016/01/25/elon-musk-oil-prices-electric-cars/