"If we could only realize it, these are the best times we ever had" The Business Strategy of the Ford Motor Company during the Great Depression

In 1929 Henry Ford, the most successful business leader of the early 20th century, has recovered from a serious business crisis and has regained market dominance again, which he held in the early 1920s. The future seemed to be prosperous, for the company as well as the country. But later in the same year the situation completely changed, and an economic downswing started, which later became known as the Great Depression. Ford at first resisted to react to the crisis in a way different to his usual strategies (increasing wages and decreasing prices). But later he developed more creativity and accepted another model change and various forms of cost cuts, mainly hidden from the public. Nevertheless his image was damaged by some serious conflicts and a climate of fear at the company. Thus in the end, Ford was successful in surviving the Depression, but he performed worse that his competitors.