Industry Forecasting - Research Paper Example

Task Industry Forecasting The Ford vehicle is a product of a manufacturing company by the of Ford Motor Vehicle Company, which is headquartered in Detroit, USA. The automobile industry came into being in the year 1769 with inventions in the automobiles that ran on steam engines. In the year 1806, the first car to run on fuel was created (Tiffany and Peterson, 2011). It used an engine that had an internal burning mechanism for producing energy. In the year 1885, the vehicles started using internal burning engines that used petroleum. In the 20th century, vehicles that used electricity came into being for a brief spell then vanished from the scene only to reappear later in the 21st century. Due to the increase in fuel prices and the need to conserve the environment, the company produces products that address these issues. The company indulges in the production of very many vehicles that use a wide range of energy sources. It also employs over 215,000 employees and has over ninety plants and manufacturing facilities around the globe (Kades, Cronley and Cline, 2010). These facilities assist the company in meeting the increasing demand for their goods and enhance the cars availability in the market. Among the macro trends that affect the industry are the continuous increases in the prices of fuel. The rise in the prices affects the purchasing behaviors of the consumers with some going for automobiles that consume less energy. The key force behind the comfort and size of an automobile is its efficiency of using energy (Birsch and Fielder, 2004). Another macro trend that greatly affects the performance of the product is the attraction of consumers to products that help in conserving their environment. The company should come up with more energy conserving Ford vehicles to counter the effects of the increase in fuel prices and the costs that their customers encounter in getting treatment (Tiffany and Peterson, 2011).This is because they help in reducing the risks of health hazards in the environment that come from using the product. The customers are increasingly having more sophistication and their knowledge level is on the rise. This is visible from the consultations that customers make before making any purchases. Most of the customers go online for consultation on the best products they can get in the market. Most of the companies in the automobile industry are continuously employing casual laborers in place of permanent workers (Kades, Cronley and Cline, 2010). This is because they are laying of these workers without having to counter the stiff opposition of their workers’ union. The automobile industry is continuously experiencing changes in the structures of their organizations and in the technology in use. These makes the carmakers in the country take initiatives that aim at increasing the company’s global market. They are also signing merger agreements with other carmakers for the purposes of improving their products. This ensures that their products are of high quality and are readily available in the market. Most companies in the automobile industry are coming up with a hybrid of the cars they produce so that they can increase their sales. The product Ford will have over four amalgam motor vehicles in the market by the year 2008 (Birsch and Fielder, 2004). There is the presence of competition from other carmakers around the globe such as Toyota and Nissan among others. The product takes approximately 76% of the cars in the United States with their competitor Toyota from Japan taking 18% of the motor vehicle industry within the country. Their European counterparts on the other hand control nearly 2% of the vehicles in the country (Tiffany and Peterson, 2011). The industry witnesses a boom in the sale of motor vehicle parts though they encounter deficits on their sales of vehicles (Birsch and Fielder, 2004). These trends could influence the successful marketing of the product in a variety of ways. The sale of the products could be on the decrease because of the company developing only large products for their consumers. The company should produce products that are energy saving and cause less pollution to their environment. This could result in an increase in the number of customers requesting for the cars. Most customers will tend to go for their competitors products so long as they are energy savers. The product could easily loose customers if it continues polluting the environment. This is because most customers prefer products that assist in the conservation of their environment (Tiffany and Peterson, 2011). The customers tend to go for more environmental friendly products since they enable the eventual reduction of costs. Their customers incur costs due to various ailments they suffer from because of the environment’s degradation through pollution. The sophistication and knowledge that the customers have on the product could greatly affect their sales. This is because customers search for alternative sources of information on various products they desire along with their costs. The company manufacturing the products should develop products that will satisfy their consumers’ expectations in terms of the technologies in use (Birsch and Fielder, 2004). They should additionally provide the products information on various forms of media to increase their customers’ awareness of the products. This could help in increasing their sales volume and profits. The employment of casuals who have no prior experience or adequate experience in the marketing profession could result to a decrease in the number of sales the company makes. These employees have no prior experience of the market thus are unable to make quick decisions that could be beneficial to the company. A decrease in the sales a company makes could result in losses for the product. The changes in an organizational structure result in new employees coming into departments that they do not know how to operate. A change in the strategies that the former employees use in marketing of the product could also lead to a decrease in sales and profits. This is because they might adopt strategies that are less effective in achieving the set sales targets. The ease in laying off the temporary workers can result in savings from the products earnings. This savings can be put to the use of advancing the existing products and help to attract more customers to purchase the products (Kades, Cronley and Cline, 2010). Lastly, the competition in the market from manufacturers such as Toyota, Nissan and other European car models could pose a great threat to the profitability of the product (Tiffany and Peterson, 2011). If the competitors produce more energy saving products that have more features then the customers will tend to go for their products. This will lead to a drop in sales for the product and the eventual decrease in profits. In conclusion, the company producing the ford vehicles should adopt measures that will enable the product to be more profitable. The company should also invest in technologies that consume less fuel while conserving the environment (Birsch and Fielder, 2004). This will enable the company to attract a large number of customers into purchasing their products. The manufacturers of the vehicle should also develop products that advance with the pace that technology is advancing. The provision of more features in the product will assist in attracting more customers into purchasing the product. This will eventually help in increasing the products profitability. References Birsch, B., and Fielder, J. (2004). The Ford Case: A Study Applied In Ethics, Business and Technology. New York: SUNY Press. Kades, F., and Cronley, M., and Cline, T. (2010), Consumer Behavior. London: Cengage Learning. Tiffany, P., and Peterson, S. (2011). Business for Dummies. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Read More