Pros

The automobile industry is a very dynamic environment to work in and has continuous challenges. The design and development of automobiles is one of the most complicated engineering tasks in the world. There are more than 20,000 parts that have to come together to build a vehicle. The level of coordination needed to do this successfully is incredible. Outsiders take it for granted how complex and reliable the vehicles are that are manufactured today. All car companies have increased vehicle quality and reliability to levels that were unheard of just 10 years ago. Because of these challenges Ford is a great place to work if you want to constantly be challenged to perform at a high level under very tight schedules. Never let it be said that the car industry is boring because if you get involved you will constantly be working to engineer the next great product.

Cons

The biggest downside is the lack of vision towards the future. Working in the engineering community, I spend most my time just trying to keep up with the new product cycles and launch schedules. I have very little input/time to think of the future and how I can improve Ford. The engineering decisions are made at higher levels than me and I have very little say as to the direction taken.
Another downside is the lack of respect given to the engineering community from the management at Ford. It is often forgotten how tough this type of work can be and the sacrifices we make to get products delivered on time and within budget. An engineer is no longer just an engineer, we are cost analysts, sales, testing and engineering rolled up into one.

Advice to Senior Management

One big thing stands out to me. Ford is a top heavy company with too many chiefs and not enough workers. We have managers for managers. Every time I turn around there is another layer of management to meet with to get my job done. If I could change one thing I would reduce the numbers of management starting at the top by cutting 50%. Then every level down I would cut 5% less than the previous level. This would not only streamline processes (reduce the crazy meetings for approvals) but would reduce our pay structure by millions. I guess I would also consider getting the salaries in more of a linear growth trend as opposed to the current exponential growth pattern seen today.