Resp Disc 1

INSTRUCTIONS

The student must then post 2 replies of at least 100 words

For each thread, students must support their assertions with at least 4 different scholarly citations in current APA format. For each reply students must incorporate at least 1 scholarly citation in current APA format. The citations must each be from a different source and cannot be the same as those used in their original thread. All 6 sources cited must have been published within the last five years unless the student is citing classic or historical theoretical information. Acceptable sources include the course textbook, scholarly peer-reviewed sources, and/or the Bible, in current APA format.

REPLY DISC 1 – TIMOTHY D

Before  Alan Mulally came to Ford as their CEO, the company was struggling to be profitable. The organization was decentralized and had many products that were not producing adequate amounts of revenue to cover their related expenses and therefore Ford was losing market share. Mulally, believed that the power of a compelling vision would bring out the very best in his people. He credits his motivation of choosing to study engineering as a result of being inspired by President Kennedy’s speech about  putting  a man on the moon. Through Ford’s compelling vision, Mulally was able to operationalize it by making the vision real to the leaders and employees, which provided a sense of purpose to the Ford employees (Rendy & Malally, 2017).

When Malally came to Ford from Boeing, the company that Henry Ford created 111 years earlier was failing. Leaders and employees were not working together, did not trust one another, and were not executing the strategic plan(Rao, 2015). The vision that Mulally did his best to instill into the companies leadership ranks was to adopt  a “value based in principle centered leadership” style that put the employee right at the center. Transforming the task oriented Ford culture that was resistant to change was not going to happen overnight. Mulally did this gradually through and with other talented people at Ford.Mulally Knew that having a vision was one thing but as a leader, he knew a compelling vision was not enough to move the needle and affect change at Ford. Growing up as a Congregationalist, he would study how his minister would influence the members of his church.

While at Ford, Mulally Huge one of his roles as being a “cheerleader in chief. “ His never-ending enthusiasm was always a parent, even in the darkest hours of the 2008 financial and auto industry crisis. He was said to have “evangelized the benefits of Ford” by forming personal relationships with as many employees as possible. He was all about marketing within the various communities surrounding the company‘s headquarters in Dearborn Michigan, with a goal of winning over the communities leader ship. His goal to instill a culture that was high performing, but in order to achieve this,  he would have to create a management team by having his management team that would work with one another (Williams, 2019).

Jesus built a culture showing the Twelve how to love and serve other people. He took men from all walks of life and in three and in half years transformed them by teaching them the skills of culture building as leaders (Matthew, 27:19). As leaders, who incidentally know and serve the living God, like Mulally, we have been called to bring about the best in people by introducing them to the God who created all things and made himself visible 2000 years ago. Jesus has asked us as his disciples to go make disciples throughout the planet and it is incumbent upon us to do our best with and through his power to achieve those (Warrick & Gardner, 2021).

 

 

References

Rao, M.S., (2015). The tools in technique’s of effective change management. Human Resource International Digest 23 (1) 35-37.

Ready, D. & Mulally, A. (2017). How to become a game changing leader. MIT Sloan Management Review 59 (1) 63-71.

Warrick, D., & Gardiner, D. (2021). Leaders build cultures; action steps for leaders to build successful organizational cultures. Journal of Leadership, Accountability, and Ethics 18 (1) 35-52.

Williams, D. (2019). The 2017 Power award for business leadership. Journal of the Franklin Institute 356 (18) 267-269.

REPLY 2: SAMANTHA M

Part I

A compelling vision was important to Ford's turnaround because it incorporated shared values and acquired buy-in from everyone regionally. The new vision was also accompanied by a comprehensive strategy. Having the strategy along with the vision shows the effort that will be placed in actually making the improvements happen. Mr. Mulally also acknowledged the importance of the current workforce & the expertise they had which was to be incorporated and maintained in the way forward for the company. In the article by Sun et al. (2019) reflects significant findings that a shared vision can positively influence a mission by increasing the meaning of work resulting in less employee turnover. 

Part II

The vision is related to the company's issues by framing it around the company’s overall purpose, values, and what they plan to achieve. Mr. Mulally conducted his own research prior to arriving to Ford and recognized the importance of the individuals working at Ford and the vast knowledge that possessed that may only need to be consolidated into one overarching vision. Performance management is also a valuable part as it provides all employees with what and how they will be performing their jobs. Aguinis (2019) states that performance execution is the responsibility of both the employee and the leader; the employee having at least four areas of responsibility and leaders having at least five areas.

Part III

No, having a vision in and of itself is not enough. A vision is a statement that clarifies the organization’s purpose, striving goal and what they want to achieve. This alone can be written in a manner that is motivational but it does not provide details to how and in long they plan to achieve and/or maintain those goals. Mr. Mullaly mentioned that he also had a comprehensive strategy along with the vision. Together, they provide every individual with complete plans on how achieving the vision will occur. In the article by Bayo-Moriones et al. (2020;2021) it was found that organizations that have innovative and quality strategies also create developmental appraisals that result in increasing performance. Bayo-Moriones et al. (2020;2021) also recommend aligning appraisals with strategies for better performance and organizational outcomes.

Part IV

From a Christian worldview perspective, the importance of having a vision in our work environment and also in your personal life is striving to be the best version of ourselves and helping others in their moments of struggle or when they are faced with obstacles. As stated by Job 42:2, we can do everything and our purposes will not be prevented (New International Version, 1996). If we remain faithful and align our Christian worldview values with those of an organization we choose to work for, we aim to contribute our values and improve the organization and the lives we interact with. On a personal level, we strive to become better versions of ourselves and following the word of God can help guide us towards the right path.

References

Aguinis, H. (2019). Performance management (4th ed.). Chicago Business Press.

Bayo-Moriones, A., Galdon-Sanchez, J. E., & Martinez-de-Morentin, S. (2020;2021). Business strategy, performance appraisal and organizational results. Personnel Review, 50(2), 515-534. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-09-2019-0498 (Links to an external site.)

New International Version Bible (1996). Blue Letter Bible Online. Blueletterbible.org

Sun, J., Lee, J. W., & Sohn, Y. W. (2019). Work context and turnover intention in social enterprises: The mediating role of meaning of work. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 34(1), 46-60. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-11-2017-0412