LOL : @gdzr+17qISORm
You are so correct “people collecting”
Also failure collecting - the more money they waste the better candidate for promotion. “Managed a multi-million dollar project”. The people who actually get things done with no fuss or cost overruns are not seen as worthy of promotion While the money squanders are promoted.
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yes
NO, it is worse.
This is just a watered down version.
It's more like 'people collecting' than management or leadership. Collect more people, and it means you're more manager-ier, so just never stop hiring and try and steal everybody else's people and soon you'll be the manager-est.
I will say Yes to the middle side and combination yes and no at CEO.. Alan was the exceptional leader. I felt Mark did a good job maintaining Alans vision but the ranks swelled back up. but at least MF did not create companies or buy things that would only tank later. As for Hackett was willing to give the guy a chance but right after that poor plan called the 100 day plan it went down hill from there. he was not a car or product guy. In fact I do not know what he was? sorry furniture is not hi tech. So many of us wandered what the vision and plan was? Now I hear bad things about Farley. But I will give him that one year to pass judgement too. This guy came from Toyota so he studied the best auto company in the world. He reported to both Alan/Mark & Jim Hackett so he should have seen what a real leader is versus a bobblehead.
So it will be very interesting to see what path he follows? Does he develop a vision and plan that is both realistic and provides growth in the right areas at the right time? Or does he become a YES MAN to Bill Fords wishes? The Ball is in Jim Farley's Court now..
I have seen Ford employees who wanted to do the right thing for the health of the company get absolutely crushed by peers and superiors alike who were pursuing their own selfish agendas. That is why Ford will never achieve its true potential despite having the iPhone of consumer transportation, the F-150, in its stable.
Here is the not so well kept secret about hiring.
The hiring manager selects who will interview their candidate.
They call the interview team/have lunch with the interview team and advise them they want the candidate to pass, and they will return the favor for one of their candidates.
The first time I was asked by a hiring manager to pass the candidate they explained the candidate had language barriers but was a great technician. I validated this was true from his coworkers and passed him.
The second time the candidate was clearly not qualified and I failed him. That was the last time I was asked to interview candidates for that manager and his buddies.
The other not so well kept secret is hiring managers provide candidates with the Ford interview booklet with all the questions and provide them good answers. Once I had a feeling the candidate was cheating so I created a replacement question, the candidate answered the question in the booklet not the question that was asked.
Yes, they are that bad. When I first joined Ford I wondered why they had so many incompetent managers when their hiring practices were so strict. After being there for a while (and getting promoted) I learned that the culture breeds the decline in leadership skills. Upper management doesn’t understand the difference between leadership and ruthlessness and as a result the ruthless climb. Kindness and fairness are seen as weakness so the kind and fair either leave, lose their humanity or get eaten alive. Skilled leaders quickly become incompetent because they’re viewed as interchangeable placeholders. They are hired or promoted because of knowledge or skill then moved into a position they are not qualified to hold. Without guidance or training they try to learn as they go while trying to hide the fact that they’re in our their head. After being moved from position to position for a number of years a leader has shallow skills about many things and deep skills about nothing. This environment is not only bad for the company but also harmful for the development of the individual leaders. It’s a downward spiral.
I'm going to go with NO. In actuality, they are much WORSE than what has been stated. I will admit there are a few good ones left but they are few and far between. The majority are egregiously incompetent and got their jobs more so as a 'favor' rather than their competence and skill set. I have worked at other companies and they were never this bad.
I will say that Ford does a good job at recruiting talent but is extremely sub par and managing talent once the talent gets in the door. A clear reason why so many great employees leave and become rockstars with other companies.
The majority of Ford management fits into one of two categories
1) Those that basically know very little and are a waste of space and thus fail to get anything done
2) Process drones who spend their time navigating endless red tape, blindly following processes without rational thought and this fail to get anything done.
There is a very small number of good competent managers, this category continually dwindles.
There is a small number of evil managers
Generally speaking there is good and bad management in every company. Ford is no exception. Everyone should know this, so I can only think you are a troll or a low performer.
Maybe more like dumb managers. Some management are too engaged in politics and that behavior is demonstrated by how slow this company evolves. They’re sharing tips about how to exploit intelligent workers and bragging about their succeess. Some managers appear good, appear as if they don’t engage in politics but they are simply fixtures who follow orders. Some managers want to keep many workers to secure their place in the pyramid. A large majority of management probably have dated skills, and few who upskilled are actually helping the company. These unskilled managers bring in a dependent newcomer and become symbiotic - helping the new person to slowly learn the politics, while the unskilled manager slowly updates on a new skill. They hold back the apolitical skilled newcomers because they’re very slow to trust new folks who don’t show interest in politics.
It’s a tough to restructure this company. Some relationships between workers and management go several generations back because of nepotism. All of this factors into why this company won’t be able to slim down their workforce, improve efficiency in operations. They’ll stayed bloated with management who put in 50% or less and get away with it.
They are human. Generally they are personally competent and pretty good at navigating a very complex organization.
Compared to managers in other organizations I have worked in they are more hands off and less micromanaging than other companies but with that comes a certain lack of familiarity with some details. Given the large number there is huge variation but generally in a fairly narrow human range.
Yes they are bad. Everyone is “yes men/women” now a days and only support what their boss thinks is important without supporting their teams or processes. It is the culture that is now at Ford, especially in the staff organizations as experienced operational personnel were kicked to the curb last year. I believe you hit the nail on the head when you referred to them as management. Good companies have leadership. There is a BIG difference between the two. Ford does not have any leaders at the LL4 and above level anymore.
All of the LL5's that I know are bad because they are speech makers, intimidators and ladder climbers. Most of the LL6's are bad because they are just speech makers, people managers and spreadsheet generators. I know of only a few LL levels who know the nuts and bolts of the business and they get a lot of well earned respect. The rest are just in the way and cause more problems than they are worth.
Many are really bad. Some are adequate. Fewer are good. All the great ones I know have already left.
Most are ruthless.
Yes, both bad and worse than stated. The management has been in place for years, other than the changes at the very top. If Farley is so smart, why have his ideas not been implemented already? Farley reported directly to Hackett, wasn't he telling Hackett his best ideas, or was he saving them for after Hackett's departure to make sure Farley got credit. That is the way Ford management thinks.
In my 25+ years, I've watched many people be promoted. Basically if you're an asshle, upper management thinks you've got the right stuff and puts you on the fast track. I remember when "lemming" was just a baby asshle bullying his way up to the top management. Good times...
Ford management is bad by specific design and concerted effort. Cronyism rules the day and like promotes like. A decent person has little chance to get ahead as the system, bad actors, and HR will crush them and ensure they have never are considered.
Some are criminals, some are just mean, a few are good people.
Yes, as bad as they say. Maybe worse.
Yes
I'm gonna go with yes