Ford Motor Reviews in Detroit, MI Area

Pros

Ford Motor Company is a Fortune 10 company with lots of growth opportunities. As an intern, I quickly saw how you guide your own career. The employees were extremely helpful and really care about your success. Needless to say, it has a great CEO who brings high morale to employees.

Cons

A disadvantage to working for Ford or any automotive company is this industry is cyclical. It will go through its ups and downs, sometimes massive layoffs are inevitable.

Pros

Innovative, great products, rewarding career opportunities

Cons

Outsourcing engineering jobs to other countries

Advice to Senior Management

Rehire talented people spun off. Many talented people developed by Ford are now using their skills and knowledge to help Ford competitors.

Pros

Colleagues and location were decent

Cons

No room for advancement from lower level to mid/upper management.

Pros

The company is really on it's way to being fully competitive with the rest of the industry. Pushing hard for design and technology innovations, and has cutting edge approach to advertising.

Cons

Still very political system, which is amplified by a global system. Currently Alan Mullaly and Derrik Kuzak are holding the ship together, but both are near retirement.

Advice to Senior Management

Do not rest on rooting out politics and drama with in the ranks. You are losing a lot of top talent, and hare having major difficulty recruiting good people back.

Pros

It's a point of pride working for a company with such history. Also the turnaround the company made in the past 5 years, and w/o bailout, is amazing. Because it's a private company it less "faceless" - when a decision is made one knows there is a person behind it, not a flock of corporate lawyers. Senior leaders are accessible, always friendly, often smart.

Cons

Almost no grows opportunities. When a supervising position opens Ford prefers to hire then to advance. A LOT of bureaucracy, meaningless paperwork.

Advice to Senior Management

Don't wait with well deserved raise until a person decides to leave. And don't be affraid to lay out a fool or a sleep-head

Pros

Great finance program and people, frequent job rotations, moderate work/life balance, great resume builder. This is almost a perfect job for an undergraduate finance professional.
Mulally has positively impacted the culture.

Cons

While it addresses some of the concerns of any career-minded individual, it really falls short in the area of career progression and opportunities for experienced professionals. There is minimal distinction between the type and quality of work assigned to an undergraduate finance analyst and an MBA finance analyst in most organizations. Promotional opportunities for MBAs are extremely limited. Annual performance reviews lack substance and essentially just goes through the motions.

Advice to Senior Management

Until there are changes targeted on increasing management opportunities, salaries, and incentives for MBAs, talented people will either continue to defect or reject initial offers of employment. You've got to depart from old school management style thinking if you want to continue to attract the next generation of MBAs. People don't want to wait 4-5 years before their careers start moving. Plain and simple.

Pros

Work life balance. No shortage for exciting projects. Good family environment.

Cons

Large bureaucratic and slow. IT was notorious for slowing business down - just to meet arbitrary standards and policies.

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate well within the organization.

Pros

Good bonus system but not consistent

Cons

Executive leadership needs to listen more

Advice to Senior Management

Act internally the way you talk externally

Pros

They give you a real world assignment that is complex and demanding. Throughtout the internship program they guide you and provide the encouragement to help you achive the goals.
Toward the end of the program (3 month) you have yo present you fininding to upper management and demonstrate your potential.

Cons

Needed more time to complete my project as it was complex

Advice to Senior Management

I wish the scope of the work is better defined. It just help zone in your project and stahy more focussed.

Pros

Learning Community
Growth Opportunities
Urgency environment
Success rewarded

Cons

Leadership skills not taught as core foundation as you move upward

Advice to Senior Management

Keep an open mind to change