Ford is an American automobile company with its headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. The company founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, the year 1903 emerged to be one of the United States’ major multinational companies. The company has several brands. The ford brand deals in selling commercial vehicles while Lincoln deals in selling luxurious cars. The company also owns smaller stakes in several places in the world for example Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the United Kingdom. Based on sales in 2010, ford is the second largest and most successful automobile seller in the world and comes in fifth in the world making revenues worth 118.3 billion dollars in the year 2009.
Global stratification refers to the inequality among countries in the world concerning their differences in poverty or richness of the countries is concerned. The global companies such as Ford therefore have to attain a balance to satisfy both rich and poor countries. The solution at hand include harmonizing sales of international companies to satisfy the uneven distribution of opportunities, wealth distribution, power, prestige and several influences among individuals in the different countries in the world.
Global stratification affects the cultures of different countries in several ways. Most citizens in developed countries are economically stable hence can afford commodities considered as luxurious in undeveloped countries. They can manage to live in better housing facilities and most can afford to have at least one car. Most multinational companies Ford included have a responsibility of producing goods that are in favor of all the countries in the world for both developed and undeveloped countries. Actually, stratification influences cultures for example the dietary cultures of developed countries differ from those in undeveloped countries. Most people living in developed countries can afford balanced diets frequently while most of their counterparts living in undeveloped countries rarely afford three meals a day leave alone a balanced diet. Owning a car in developed countries is a normal thing while in undeveloped countries seems a luxury.
The effects of global stratification are both negative and positive on the cultures of nations in the world. One of the negative effects is that because high-income countries are highly industrialized, having many multinational companies such as Ford that tend to pollute the environment leading to global warming at the expense of developing countries having fewer industries. The other negative effects of global stratification are on the purchasing power. Multinational companies in developed countries tend to influence global economy hence making decisions on the price of commodities hence people in developing countries tend to strive more to live up to the standards of people living in developed countries. Multinational companies such as Ford in developed countries also take advantage of undeveloped countries for attaining cheap labor.
However, global stratification also has several positive effects among them the fact that developed countries offer grants and aid to undeveloped countries. This helps undeveloped countries set up industries and hence makes them economically develop. Ford as a multinational company offers employment to people living in the United States and their branches in undeveloped countries. Most multinational companies set up their branches in undeveloped countries in trying to help the countries grow economically even though they take advantage of the availability of cheap labor
Global stratification has also a very considerable impact on the United States in both positive and negative ways. The US and other developed countries take advantage of the ready and cheap labor in undeveloped countries hence growing economically. Multinational companies in this case Ford also take advantage of the ready market in undeveloped countries to sell their products since most undeveloped countries do not have automobile industries. The positive effects on the other hand are that Ford just as other multinational companies make affordable goods, cars in this case that are very useful to the undeveloped countries that cannot afford manufacturing them.
Developed countries therefore emerge to benefit more on global stratification that helps them grow more economically powerful. The fact that multinational industries in developed countries take advantage of the cheap and available labor in under developed countries plus the fact that underdeveloped countries offer ready market for the companies’ product is an example of this benefitting.