Putting Ford On Fast-Forward

674 Words3 Pages
“Going off site inevitably made executives anxious”. Adam Gryglak, the chief diesel engineer for Ford delivered an all new ford engine that was classified as an “impossible task”. Through strategic planning, team corporation, group performance and a change in culture and lifestyle, Adam Gryglak was able to deliver an assignment that made executives “anxious” and in previous years “tended to look unkindly on heterodoxy”. The project nicknamed “Scorpion” was a success which was contributed by a degree of factors, the underlying being trust. Without the trust of the hierarchy of Ford managers the project wouldn’t have been delivered or achieved in the manner it was. Trust in suppliers was a risky decision because it was the ford mentality to “force suppliers to adapt their technology to Fords specifications”. This showed a level of confidence and belief that the suppliers could use their knowledge and skill and produce results for the new diesel engine. It was a complete change in the tradition of product development or the “norm” associated with Ford headquarters. The systematic developed environment was removed to allow Alex and the team to meet the deadline and deliver the new and improved diesel engine within thirty six months. Even though certain engineers associated with the team weren’t “eager to work beyond the bounds of Ford’s familiar environment”. Another advantage that contributed to the team success was to obtain a type of synergy, “The whole is more than the sum of its parts. “Specialists use to working only with their own kind became more familiar with what other engineers were up to”. It illustrates the importance of what a difference it makes when the team works together as a group, rather than individuals. The engineers can produce higher quality outputs that wouldn’t have been met under the strict product development hierarchy. The synergy was

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