Grassroot Leadership - Ford Motor Co.
Ford has always attracted and nurtured capable managers and technicians, but it has failed to do the same for change agents and leaders. So, as part of the automaker's cultural overhaul, Ford is embarking on a sweeping attempt to mass-manufacture leaders. It wants to build an army of “warrior entrepreneurs” — people who have the courage and skills to topple old ideas, and who believe in change passionately enough to make it happen. Ford Motor Company announced key changes to its senior management team as it continues to strengthen its automotive business, improve the company's operational fitness, and accelerate a strategic shift to capitalize on emerging opportunities. In announcing the leadership changes, Ford President and CEO Jim Hackett said Form is “very fortunate to have an experienced and committed executive team in place to significantly strengthen their business while building towards their vision of becoming the world's most trusted mobility company. Their objective is to lead business to new levels of operational fitness, product and brand excellence and profitability”. Ford views grassroot leadership as the best vehicle for creating a successful business
The focus on operational fitness, product excellence, and profitability shows that Ford's leadership changes aim to:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Balance efficiency with long-term strategic goals
Option (1) Replace human leadership with automation — Incorrect. Ford wants to build more leaders, an “army of warrior entrepreneurs”, not replace them with machines.
Option (2) Balance efficiency with long-term strategic goals — Correct. Operational fitness means running today’s business efficiently. Product and brand excellence and profitability, together with the “strategic shift” to new opportunities, look to the long term. The leadership changes aim at both at once.
Option (3) Prioritize control over innovation — Incorrect. Ford wants leaders who “topple old ideas” and believe in change. That is innovation, not control.
Option (4) Avoid accountability for results — Incorrect. The changes are made to improve results such as profitability, which means being answerable for them.
Note 1: The passage is the NCERT case study ‘Grassroot Leadership - Ford Motor Co.’, the opening case of the chapter Directing, which has been reproduced by NTA in the exam. Note 2: It seems that there is a mistake in the original NTA paper, which prints “Jim Hackett said Form is …” in the passage when it should read “Ford”. The slip is NCERT’s own: both the current NCERT book (2026-27) and the pre-rationalised NCERT print “Form”. NTA copies lines from NCERT word for word, even where the book is wrong.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “Grassroot Leadership - Ford Motor Co. … Ford Motor Company announced key changes to its senior management team as it continues to strengthen its automotive business, improve the company’s operational fitness, and accelerate a strategic shift to capitalize on emerging opportunities. In announcing the leadership changes, Ford President and CEO Jim Hackett said Form is…” “Their objective is to lead business to new levels of operational fitness, product and brand excellence and profitability.” |