UW Ford Motors Taking the Brave Move of Severing Ties Essay

Review  the internal and external communication analysis. Argue or defend your  classmate’s position regarding the communication he or she reviewed.  Explain any additional recommendations you would make to improve the  effectiveness of that communication.

Argue  or defend the reviewer positions on legal, compliance and branding of  the companies and explain any additional recommendations you would make  to improve the effectiveness of that communication.

Target Press Release
Seattle, Washington – April 2, 2019. We want to inform you that we will no longer require the
services of, as of April 3, 2019. With this notification, we comply with the minimum notice
period required by our agreement. Shipt has provided us with good service in the past,
however, we decided to terminate our business contract due to the breaching of Vendor Ethics
Code of Conduct on their end of the agreement. It has been brought to our attention
that implemented wrongful business practice in which is a factor we do not abide by or allow.
We value the well-being of our employees and they should not be subjected to working low
wages, long hours and little to no benefits. Under this circumstance, this is the reason for us as
an entity to terminate our contract. From this moment, our company will not place any more
orders with nor use them as our suppliers in the future. We stand by our employees and we
expect the same from our suppliers moving forward. Any company that can’t fulfill our
standards of employment code of conduct, we have no interest in working with them. As CEO
of Target Corporation, I can assure you that this will not happen again and that we will no
longer work with any suppliers if they are not able to comply with our standards and ethical
business practices.
Sincerely,
Brian Cornell, CEO
Legal: Press releases refine your messaging. As you put your press release together, you need
to ensure that you have nailed the message for the announcement to ensure maximum
exposure. It is the place where everyone will go to get the story and cite important data points.
You as an entity are providing the message for all journalist, bloggers or any news personnel
to access this information to get the word out there. Even though it’s a form of marketing
strategy that can help consumers be aware of news or changes that a company is
implementing, however, a company must pick their words wisely. Reason being is because
any miscommunication or usage of incorrect wordings, it can definitely cause damage to the
company more than help it. Nonetheless, when releasing a termination of contract press
release with an oversea supplier, Target must be sure of all legality that comes with it. Most
important elements are to thoroughly examine their contact with the suppliers to assure that
they are following guidelines as well as agreements throughout their partnership before
implementing a press release. Have evidence of breach of contract from this supplier and let
the suppliers know of the taken action before conducting a press release would be helpful in
this case. The last thing that Target wants to do is be caught in the midst of a defamation of
character law suit. Therefore, it is important to carefully choose what the company wants to
release, notify the supplier of this termination of contract, provide them with proof that they
have breach their agreement, and gather a team to put together a well written press release
before distributing it to the public. With social media being such a vast place for opinions,
Target must be mindful and careful of their words being turned against them.
Compliance: Again, it is very crucial that Target is in compliance with their contract with
this supplier or any supplier that they plan on working with in the near future. Target must be
prepared to face possible law suits that this specific supplier may bring due to either
defamation of character or the contract being cut short. To avoid all possible negative
outcome of this contract termination, communication is really important on the ends of each
party. Present Shipt with evidence of breaching, sort out the legality of this cut short contract,
come to an agreement moving forward to compensate the suppliers with remaining goods and
services, make sure suppliers sign off on termination agreement to protect Target as a
company or any mishap that Shipt try to implement after the fact. “Target is committed to
responsible business conduct. Respect for human rights, environmental stewardship and
animal welfare are fundamental principles of our business practices and standards. We expect
our suppliers to share those principles and uphold our standards.” (Standards of Vendor
Engagement, n.d.)
Branding Implication: “The identity of a brand conveys the values, image and associations
of the brand to its customers. As such, it is one of those corporate activities that are managed
with utmost control, diligence and consistency” (Strategy, n.d.) Target has associated itself
with being fashionable, exciting and high quality, hence consumers gravitate towards Target
for its brilliant and family oriented appearance. Partnerships they explore have complemented
their position within the retail market where consumers considered Target to be their go-to
store. The internet has had a profound effect on marketing and branding. The very nature of
relationship between consumers and companies has also altered. With so much at stake for
companies on the internet, it is imperative that companies learn to adapt to some of these new
ways of doing business if they wish to succeed in the retail industry. Building a brand and
keeping it strong is and always has been hard work. But if a company keep its focus on
making a promise and delivering on the simple things their chance of success is
unlimited. Their reaction to lawful and social obligation matters effect the appearance that
stakeholders have of the business. Target must keep in mind that with press releases, it is vital
to be transparent and truthful with their audience. Consumers are always in tune of changes,
rumors, scandals or any news that comes from a major corporation. Consumers at least for
Target makes up the business so it is important for Target to be socially aware of releasing
information to the press due to possibilities of damages to their brand.
To: Ford Employees
From: Mark Mathis COO
Subject: Termination of Bryco Inc. Contract
Bryco Inc., our overseas supplier of spark plugs, has recently encountered an issue with
complaints of poor working conditions in their Mexican manufacturing plant. An extensive
investigation revealed that employees were being forced to work sometimes twenty ho urs or
more with no breaks and no access to drinkable water or food. Due to the nature of the
findings in the Bryco plant, Ford has terminated all contracts with Bryco Inc. effective
immediately.
It is always our goal at Ford to partner with companies that align with our values and our
brand. Ford takes the treatment of all workers seriously and works to create a safe and healthy
environment for all of its employees and of those within our network. Any company that does
not meet our standards of workplace conditions will be removed from any association to our
brand and replaced by a better suited replacement.
Ford always strives to be the best and we will never accept anything less from our vendors
and partners. We must all work together to ensure a great balance of work/life and that can
never come at the price of our values.
Thank you for all your hard work and continued commitment here at Ford.
Sincerely,
Mark
Legal:
The companies that are headquartered in the United States need to follow the labor laws
established within the country they are conducting business in. More and more companies
over the years have depended on suppliers that are located overseas. The overseas companies
do not need to follow the labor laws set forth in the U.S. The company has no legal hold over
the suppliers in how they treat their employees however they can control the companies that
they partner with. More and more companies are adding to their code of conduct the
expectations that they hold their suppliers too in regards to labor. Companies need to not only
set the expectations with their suppliers outside the US but also follow thru. Companies need
to check in and audit their suppliers to ensure they are conducting business as set forth in the
code of conduct that they agreed upon. Companies even competitors have begun to work
together to help improve the labor issues with overseas suppliers.
Compliance:
When a company partners with suppliers outside the US and those companies do not comply
with the expectations such as labor laws it can be detrimental to the company’s relationship
with their stakeholders. Companies need to communicate their expectations to their onshore
employees as well as any company that they partner with. Companies need to consistently
communicate with their suppliers to set their expectations on how they expect the company to
conduct business. Companies also need to monitor to ensure that the suppliers are being
compliant with the agreements that they have made with the company.
Brand:
A company’s brand is the perception that stakeholders have of a company. The perception
might be based on truthful information or false information. It is important for companies to
communicate internally to inform their employees of the issues. Employees are the face of
the company and they need to be aware of the issues and action plans. If an employee is not
confident in the company’s brand how can the public have confidence in the
company? Information needs to be provided as soon as possible and with as much
information that is possible. Initial communication needs to be made and also continual
communication needs to take place to provide updates on the situation.
Recommendations:
The email communication is a good way to communicate with the employees. I do question if
an email would be effective for Ford because a lot of the employees are line workers and do
not have access to email or even a company email account. It is important when
communicating to make sure that the communication method will reach all the intended
targets. An email is a great way to communicate, but there might be a need to also have
meetings at the different locations.
References
McLaughlin, J. (2011). What is a Brand, Anyway? Forbes. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jerrymclaughlin/2011/12/21/what-is-a-brandanyway/#45a6b16c2a1b
Morris, S. (2014, July 28). Retrieved from Deloitte Insights:
https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/deloitte-review/issue-15/fighting-supplychain-labor-abuse.html