The following is an extract from an online publication, Mr. Alan Mulally's first impression with Ford Motor Company - NO BUSINESS PLAN.

Ford Motor Co.’s new ex-Boeing CEO Alan Mulally has said in an interview with Fortune magazine just 12 days into his new job that when he arrived, when asked where decisions were being delayed while he ‘got up to speed’, “Boy, I don't think so. One of the first things that I noticed was that Ford had many separate meetings about the business: product development, quality, production, marketing and very, very, good meetings.
"But what we didn't have was a business plan. And so my experience, that has been that it's an absolutely critical part of the management system to review every week what the plan is that we're on: the business environment of the customers, the vehicles, the revenues - every part of it."

My comment: Yes. Every business unit is excellect. But, if all of the units are working without a common goal, each is pulling into different direction, the results is, still the old saying, sum is far less than the addition.

Mr Mulally agreed that an estimated $3,400 unit cost advantage over Ford enjoyed by Toyota’s US-produced vehicles was about right, and emphasised the need for Ford to restructure to operate profitably at lower volume, and to accelerate product development, “where we get a chance to evolve the designs so they are easier to manufacture and have more common parts.”