To a toxic work environment. Lots of management meetings this week discussing the new, competitive work environment. And they are getting rid of yearly performance reviews. Some new candor thing Tying comp to performance. It will be a free-for-all now. Welcome to the new, "stab your coworker in the back" culture. Farley is pushing all of this I'm sure. With Jr's blessing.
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Funny @1fvw+1fBxPUGf you must be young. It is an age old issue women get stuck doing the bulk of household chores and childcare and men claim they chose it.
As much as we men want to pretend like the women are the ones choosing the labor division we really know that they are not.
You do find good family men at Ford. However, they like the women are excluded from the good ole boy club and are not promoted.
How did this topic get so off the tracks?? Huh?
There are many Ford couples where the woman has advanced further than the men. As well as men that are busy with the kids. That is a personal choice and between spouses, not the company's.
Who chose to have kids? Who chose to have the female take care of them after work?
@1jsr+1fBxPUGf yes both genders have been on earth same length of time, but that argument doesn’t hold water. Ford is a good ole boys club.
While the men drink, golf, play tennis after hours and make deals to advance themselves - the women are going home to take care of the kids and don’t have time for the Ford after hours scene.
When you have both spouses working at Ford it becomes very clear what is going on. My husband would report back that they would make all the decisions on who would get TA, promoted etc at the bar the evening before the PDC meetings. Then they would sit back and let everyone plead their cases already knowing it was a sham. They also collectively worked to oust competitors and threats. It is a pay to play scene where the lowest in the pecking order were expected to pick up the tab. Of course the good ole boy club expected gifts for their children birthdays, weddings and such as well.
So yes, everyone who doesn’t want to / can’t participate in the Ford after hours scene should leave the company and let the good ole boys club to it.
However you believe man came to be on this earth, I think we can all agree, both genders and all races have been here about the same amount of time, can't get more equal opportunity than that.
I went out last year with the VSSP. Sounds like there is going to be a VSSP 2.0. It really turned out to be the best decision. I hope you have a package offer that makes getting out easier. The way the world is going now you just never know.
I love my job and coworkers but hate the company. Won’t be staying much longer.
It is well known that many women took packages. If you are constantly battling the alpha males, Why not? They can go to another company that will respect their contributions and provide more career advancement opportunities than Ford. Its just not worth trying to fight the old culture. How many other companies have to offer Men As Allies as a training course? That right there should tell you something.
You are correct in that white males tend to dominate engineering. That being so, the culture at Ford is toxic to women and minorities. GM is drawing from the same pool of women and minorities, yet they have more females in leadership positions. How do you explain that? Ford is and always will be a goid ole boys club.
I'm tired of hearing "white male" comments.. sorry but there are less women in the STEM fields right off the bat, even less at FORD. 13% of the population is African American, again, there are less in STEM fields. I'm so f'ing sick of these people trying to virtue signal and try to look good. It's a FACT that this field is more male dominated. Go cry about it and focus on producing a decent vehicle and product.
Yup and once the meeting yappers figure out that outside the meeting everyone is informally following the one guy who knows what he talking about, the yappers intentionally exclude the guy from meetings and collectively talk sm--k about the guy.
At Ford the cream does not rise to the top, hot air rises to the top.
@pjb+1fBxPUG Dude, I gotta tell you, in nearly every Ford meeting there are the extroverted blowhards who take over meetings and convince themselves that they are making history with their brilliant ideas. Hey we all tell ourselves stories to excuse our behaviors, like I am a brilliant high performance problem solver.
Then if the team is lucky there is actually one person in the meeting who has done thorough research and thoughtful analysis BEFORE the meeting and actually has a well thought out plan on how to solve the problem. I say lucky as statistically only 2% of the population has the knowledge and skills to successfully tackle the problems, the percentage is much lower at Ford. These people exhibit humility and thoughtfulness in meetings. They are easy to spot in in-person meetings as they have a quiet confidence. They nearly always fall into the INTJ personality type, prime example of INTJ is Alan Mulally.
Here is the secret, these true problem solvers don’t need to prove themselves, and they don’t need Ford. The best skill I acquired as an LL6 was learning to identify these people, ask them how they would solve the problem, and then shut up and listen. At the end of their detailed presentation they always pointed out pitfalls, work around and asked for comments.
It is a hard truth for most to swallow that there is one guy or gal who is light years ahead of ones own abilities.
Good points. Worked with a LL6 years ago that was brash and boorish. I remember the first meeting with him he announced at the start of it that he didn't belong in the meeting, berated the person that invited him, and hung up. His behavior was similar through out that engagement. I then left that department for another for a few years. Recently came back to see that the same guy is now an LL4!!! And continues boorish behavior. Want to get ahead treat your coworkers and those below you like s--t, and kiss up to those above you. Prosper!
@jzs
High-performing problem-solvers aren't concerning themselves with policing the behavior of others to ensure it's in conformance with Ford guidelines for proper meeting etiquette. Powerful ideas welcome disagreement and disrespect. If the idea is sound then it can survive and thrive in the face of challenges. If Model e is full of boisterous white guys who are demonstrating a total lack of concern for the rules then they might actually have a chance of succeeding.
@wcz+1fBxPUGf The problem is it was not a well run meeting, it was a free for all.
Ironically there are several free online How to conduct and behave in meetings courses @ Ford. These courses were mandatory at one time, as were the courses on civility in the workplace. Now Follow the Example of the Leader is practiced. So in the end meetings accomplish nothing, and civility and respectful dialog are out the window.
You know... I think you're all hitting the nail on the head except for the, "bunch of white guys" comment.... Wow, how do you do it? Do tell... Quite surprised Farley didn't turn the mic over to you.
Farley opened things up telling us, "This won't be for everybody." If you're over 40 and still planning to stick around, brace yourself because it's all out war on us. Make no mistake about it that massive cuts are coming and equally they see it as a golden opportunity to rid themselves of their age menace once and for all. Make no mistake about that there is a lot of retirement eligible deadwood hanging on, hoping for the most lucrative separation possible while contributing equally as little. In some regards we're doing ourselves no favors, but they will in the end put many of us in the "must go" bucket- ironic for a company that trumpets diversity and diverse thinking.
A previous poster nailed it in saying 50% reduction in GSR's and 25% increase in LL6's going to BOD. I wouldn't doubt a move like this for a second. The high in demand will be promoted and the high performing (legacy) will be spared. Enter problem. This looks great on paper up to the point they execute it. This will be 2019 3x. They will most assuredly dump the ones they should have kept due to high salary costs, politics, you name it, while retaining the lame and the lazy-just watch folks. Those of us high performing who survive will find it even harder to manage day to day post new world order. How can we think otherwise when Farley wants us to be a start up?
Oh and to the poster who thinks they'll find another job elsewhere in the company. I don't think so unless you're one of their own (under 40 minimum). If you're spared, it will be because you serve some purpose and that they did not get rid of you in the first place. So what makes you think you would be free to go or that you would get hired post SRD 2.0? I love your post but it's going to be life outside of Ford. As for me I just need to make it to about this time next year and I will most likely put my hand up for an involuntary if the package is at least 9 mos. Good night and good luck.
@rpm you should have yelled out DEI and then proceeded to highlight race, gender etc to give you brownie points to be heard because under the new regime your opinion counts.
@rpm
If your idea truly had merit then you should've interrupted and made your case. If your arguments are persuasive enough and if others recognize the value of your position then you will quickly become someone who is asked for their opinion and people will shut up when you're talking. Men are men. If you're waiting for them to become passive receivers of your opinions then you're going to be waiting a long time. Get in there and mix it up, and if your ideas are rejected then be honest enough with yourself to realize that the rejection may have nothing at all to do with your race or gender.
The culture in Model e is just awful. Dialed into a meeting yesterday and couldn't get a word in edgewise. Bunch of white guys talking over each other, yet making no progress. Just a lot of pontification. Although I knew what had to be done and how to get there, I couldn't break into the conversation- just kept getting talked. I am a female and this new culture has set us back 30 years.
@OP Why did you remind me of Monday? Now I am thinking of that too. Ford used to be such a challenging workplace (from a technical point of view). Yes, it had clueless people, but it also had people with good technical skills. That changed.
I have seen many good people leave or change jobs inside the company, due to the office politics, or the reorgs. I am more than tempted to follow their steps. The deadwood is still here, and things don't get done. My issue is not longer the dread of losing my job; it's the dread of endless meetings, with no real reason for those, but wasting time to justify someone's salary.
My wife came back home from the hospital yesterday. I just told her about the Town Hall meeting on Wednesday. We were talking about FMC for some time, and we agreed to continue our plans. Wrap up all the personal pending stuff and move on. We cannot longer plan ahead, due to the always in the air Damocles' sword of losing my job. We want stability, even if that cost us money (lower salary in another company).
Good luck everyone! It seems we are going to need it.
Thank God I am leaving this year. I feel sad for the people who stay. I hate to see anyone lose their job. Hourly/salary or agency. Time to call it quits and move on to the next chapter in life.
I just hope this management know what they are doing. Because Billy sure has not demonstrated that his whole life.