Effective Communication and Conflict Resolution

Good management is critical for every business. Managers at every level give a business direction, goals, and leadership. Managers duties can usually be summarized into four different functions; planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. Each of these functions are critical to the company’s success and continued existence. Ford Motor Company’s CEO Jim Hackett is a great example of a good manager. In the article “Unhappy with Ford’s Performance, CEO Looks to Rival For Relief” Keith Naughton and David Westin explain.

Hackett is “unhappy with Ford’s performance… and has started an $11 billion global restructuring plan.” (Naughton & Westin, 2018) Hackett is using all four functions to give his company the best shot at progressing.

The first of the four functions Mr. Hackett is described doing is monitoring. The text book describes monitoring as “monitoring performance, comparing it with goals and correcting any significant deviations.” (Coulter, Decenzo, & Robbins, 2017) Because Hackett wasn’t satisfied with the performance of the company we can tell that he as been monitoring it. He has compared actual performance to the goal performance and has decided to restructure part of the organization in able to better meet his goals.

After monitoring the company, Hackett turned to planning. Planning is described as “defining goals, establishing a strategy, and developing plans to coordinate activities.” (Coulter, Decenzo, & Robbins, 2017) Hackett’s plan includes restructuring and “an investment toward electrified and driverless cars in the coming years.” (Naughton & Westin, 2018) This strategy will help Ford compete with other companies and be more profitable because electric cars are becoming more of a trend. While the article doesn’t describe any specific goas, Hackett is sure to have them. After planning Hackett moved on to organizing his plan. Organization involves “determining what tasks are to be done, who is to do them, how the tasks are to be grouped, who reports to whom and who will make decisions.” (Coulter, Decenzo, & Robbins, 2017) After he made his plan, Hackett needed to be able to do it. To get the tasks done Ford decided to partner with Volkswagen. As stated in the article “Hackett suggested that a competitor like VW could build Ford-branded products in Europe.” (Naughton & Westin, 2018) Partnering with VW will reduce the cost of production in Europe and will help both companies progress.

Over all of the other steps, Hackett had to be a great leader. Leading “includes directing the activities of others, selecting the most effective communication channel and resolving conflicts.” (Coulter, Decenzo, & Robbins, 2017) Without great leadership skills there is no way he could have already started this plan. Hackett has only been with Ford for a year and a half. In this time he negotiated with VW, which would require effective communication and conflict resolution, and decided the best course of action. Rather than pull out of Europe Hackett came up with a course of action that didn’t involve laying off thousands of employees, but furthering the company. Not only has Tim Hackett shown that he is a great manager, he has also shown how important management is. Without proper management Ford would be shrinking rather than growing.

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