Can you put the complete question, please?
1. Prior to the arrival of Alan Mullay, Ford was following a
strategy of offering products that were modified as per the tastes and
preferences of the local market. It did not pusrue a strategy of standardization.
For Ford, the focus was to meet the particular demands of local consumers. The
benefits of this strategy was that particular tastes and preferences of loacl
consumers were satisfied by producing models with different specifications for
different markets. For
example, Americans love SUVs and trucks while Asian and European
consumers have a preference for fuel efficient cars. This strategy helps Ford
to cater to all the different needs.
In terms of costs, such a stratgey increased the production and
operations costs as the economies of scale could bot be achieved. Further
advantages of standardization like common parts, sharing of development costs
could not have been reaped by Ford, thus increasing costs. Ford was pursuing this strategy due to the autonomy of different regions within Ford's organization.
<span>2. With the One Ford initiative, Mullay is trying to create car
platforms that can be used accross the globe without any need for modifications
and customizations. The benefits of this strategy is that development costs
will be shared among different markets, common parts can be procured for a car
model and eventually economies of scale can be achieved. For example, small cars like</span> Focus will have
the same set of requirements accross the globe and can be standardized easily. In terms of drawbacks, Ford will not be able to cater to regional
nuances in the taste of customers belonging to different markets.
<span>3. The One Ford initiative does not imply that Ford will now disregard
national and regional differences in demand. It will merely cut down the number
of platforms that stands at 15 currently to around five platforms. Minor
modifications will be allowed under the platform and these minor modifications
will ensure that national and regional differences in demand is satisfied. This
is specially the case for smaller cars like Focus, or the Escape
SUV.</span>
<span> </span>
Answer:
A. the larger the share of labor costs in total costs and the greater the price elasticity of demand for output.
Explanation:
In the case when there is the change in the wage rate so the output impact on the demand of the firm with respect to the labor input should be greater. And, if the share of the labor cost should be greater in the total cost also at the same time the price elasticity of demand with regard to the output is higher
Therefore the option A is considered
Answer:
Flashfone and Pictech
The Nash equilibrium is achieved when Pictech and Flashfone price their smartphones high without the other party changing their strategy.
Explanation:
a) Data and Calculations:
Pictech
High Low
High 8 8 3 10
Flashfone
Low 10 3 5 5
b) By acting at the Nash equilibrium and pricing their smartphones high, Pictech and Flashfone achieve a payoff of $8 million respectively. This payoff level does not put any of the two firms at a disadvantage.
