Ford vs. Firestone

The two companies I chose for this assignment were Ford Motor Company and Bridgestone/Firestone Americas Holding, Inc. Despite the fact that the two companies operate in different industries, they complement each other very well. The reason why I chose Ford Motor Company was because they are thought of as leaders in their industry for total quality management. The minute I decided to use Ford Motor Company as one of my companies, the Firestone tire recall of August 2000 was the first thing that popped into my head. Because the recall made such a huge impact on Ford Motor Company and individual consumers, I felt that it would be a perfect company to use to demonstrate the aspects of poor total quality management versus superb total quality management and how that affects not only individual consumers but also business consumers.
Ford Motor Company began a manufacturing revolution with its mass production assembly lines in the early 1900s. Now the company is firmly entrenched in the sta...