Fordism Essay

     When you think about Ford, an automobile will usually come to mind. Most people don’t think about the man behind that name, Henry Ford. Henry Ford was the man responsible for the Ford Motor Company (FMC). He was also the creator of the invention that changed the mass production industry, the assembly line. As you read on you will learn about Henry Ford’s life, the FMC, and the assembly line.

Ford Motor Company, American automotive corporation founded in 1903 by Henry Ford and 11 associate investors. (htt28) It is the multinational corporation and the world's third largest automaker based on worldwide vehicle sales. The Company operates in two segments: Automotive and Financial Services. Automotive includes Ford North America, Ford South America, Ford Europe, and Ford Asia Pacific Africa region. Financial services include Ford Motor Credit Company and Other Financial Service. The Company manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. Its automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. Other Financial Services includes a range of businesses, including holding companies and real

Another major idea of freedom was presented in the workplace called “The Miner’s Freedom” (Foner, 607). It was established in the Gilded Age for worker’s economic independence (Foner, 607). “The Miner’s Freedom” was for the trustworthy, skilled workers who did not have to have managerial supervision at all times (Foner, 607, 610). In the progressive-era, there was Fordism. Fordism was a step towards mass production, which fueled the economic system by having more of the same products for the consumers (Foner, 693).

This onslaught of capitalism directly revolutionized modern industrialism as well as the industrial city. Machines morphed the predominately agricultural nation to a herd of factory and corporate workers. Swarms of people, both native and immigrant, flocked to major cities. “The present century has been marked by a prodigious increase in wealth-producing power. The utilization of steam and electricity, the introduction of improved processes and labor saving machinery, the greater subdivision and grander scale of production, the wonderful facilitation of exchanges, have multiplied enormously the effectiveness of labor.”(George, p.20) The major problem with this newfound industrialism was the way in which the workforce was treated. Capitalism was supposed to provide a way out, a way ascend the financial and social staircase, if you worked hard enough. This however was not the case, if you were a loyal, hardworking employee you simply got to keep your job, and if you were in any way injured or incompetent you were fired.

The implementation of the factory system of output required a state of high employment, in order to maximize output, thus, offering work to millions of Americans. For instance, in a journal published by the National Institute of Health, Charles Hirschman writes that the Market Revolution contributed directly to an increased standard of living in the United State. Specifically, he writes, “Theses changes [increased quality of life] were the direct result of the American [Market] revolution that was founded on rising investment, employment, and productivity in the manufacturing sector”(Hirschman 2). In his analysis, Hirschman writes that the Market revolution, which was paired with increasing economic and job growth, led directly to an increase in the number of jobs available for American citizens. Furthermore, this also led to increased labor market competition, raising wages and increasing the standard of living for those employed. Furthermore, in an Editorial written regarding working conditions, an author states: “It has been the object of the editor to encourage the cultivation of talent, and thus open and enlarge the sources of enjoyment…”(Document E). Concerning the cultivation of talent, the writer conveys that the introduction of the factory based system of work has led to new opportunities for the American worker, who now could rise upwards in the social ranks of the United States. Moreover, a report by the Federal Reserve claims that during that: “Over time, providence and human ingenuity make it possible for given amounts of labor and resources to produce more goods than they could before”(18). The report focuses on the evolution of the American economy during the time of the Market Revolution, and the analysis concludes that the development of new systems of labor led to an increased state of employment

Once referred to as the “poorest suburb in America,” the community has taken many steps to strengthen its future. In 1987, the village changed its name to Ford Heights.

Womack’s “The Machine That Changed the World,” and Milkman’s “The New Linden” jointly tell a story regarding the development, practice, and global adoption of “lean production” by auto manufacturers in the mid-20th Century. Furthermore, these writings support the notion that during this time period, the American workplace was rapidly changing, which held varying implications for the worker, management, and unions. With the rise of “lean production” came an improvement in labor-management relations with focus on the individual-- through stronger job protections, and positive interactions between employees and technology in the workspace. Despite this, these improvements came at the cost of decreased union influence, and the ability to

Throughout the 1920’s, while the economy was stable, there was quite a large unemployment rate. This allowed many individuals to come up with ways to provide for more jobs and make jobs more cost effective. One method of this was popularized by Henry Ford known as “mass production”. This being created in the 1910’s was brought to its best by henry ford creating more, easier, better-paying jobs for anyone. Mass Production techniques in industries and factories allowed larger numbers of products to be created more easily with less effort, better wages for employees, and cheaper retail costs. The most popular method of mass production was the efficient use of the Assembly Line, as used by Henry Ford and the production of the Model T automobile.

There are many very interesting people that invented various things, but for several reasons Ford is my favorite. The main reason is he was an engineer with great character who lived his faith in all situations. At home, he was obedient and respectful to his mother. In the workplace, he was kind and encouraging; he only failed once, and that was to help the lives of his workers. When he was president, equity and justice guided his actions.

Ford planned to introduce the new electric car and it tried to compete against Tesla and GM, which is the two dominated company in the electric car industry. The car which made by Ford satisfied consumer’s needs (see “Fords plans electric vehicle to compete with Tesla Model 3, Chevy Bolt “, Chicago Tribune). Ford also planed that it would try to add 13 electric cars and hybrids to its lineup in

Capitalism continues to be a revolutionary form of social organization. Modes of production, the ordering of daily activities, and the material practices and processes of social reproduction have undergone numerous changes since capitalism’s inception. Mapping a history of capitalism’s different stages and forms – both social and institutional – would be an arduous task, complicated by the fact that in each of capitalism’s stages, features and characteristics of past and future stages abound. Nevertheless, the current form of capitalism marks a unique departure from previous stages. Euphemisms and catchphrases concerning late 20th

Since it is such a unusual idea to the dominant opinions, theories of ‘post-Fordism’ have suffered some strong criticism. Pollert(1988), one who is opposed to the opinion that ‘Taylorism’ and ‘Fordism’ have been replaced by ‘post-Fordism’, argues that theories of flexibility are too simple to believe and at times incorrect. She says that the comments, which indicate the ‘Fordism’ once dominated the production method are incorrect. She otherwise, points out that the flexibility to produce specialized products are nothing new and the key of Japanese business success is cheap, well designed and reliable products rather than a small amount of specialized products. Thus, flexible specialization and ‘post-Fordism’ was not that successful. To the issue about relationships between flexibility and skill levels, she maintains a different view that flexibility at times also leads to some opposite effects. In addition, Pollert(1988) also worried about introducing new technology or new management proposals into practices, since it may cause conflicts between workers and management. Apart from Pollert, Stephen Wood(1989) also questions whether the flexibility has led to a greater requirement of skills. And he doubts that the people who support the ‘post-Fordism’ theories exaggerate their cases.

Although there are significant methodological, political and theoretical differences between the ‘regulationists’ and the ‘institutionalists’ they both agree that sometime between 1965 and 1975 Fordism entered a period of crisis in which both mass production and mass consumption could no longer be sustained because of the development of micro-processor technology, the information society and the increasing dis-aggregation and fragmentation of customer demand. Out of this crisis, arose a third aspect of Fordism, in which new forms of Labour Processes such as flexible specialization and new flatter organizational forms replaced Taylorism and the bureaucratic organization under the general aegis of the enterprise culture

In this essay the focus is on Henry Ford and Fordism. The first paragraph of the essay is an introduction of Fredrick W Taylor, and how Fordism is derived from the ideas of Taylorism. It also looks at the main ideas behind Fordism and scientific management. Further in the essay the importance is to look at the different ideas of Fordism (the mass-production, the $5 day, the division of labour and management style), and on why it was important at is time and the effect following from those ideas. The essay has two different paragraphs discussing the positive and the negative effects of Fordism on management and organisations, and workers and society. In the end of the essay there is some paragraphs about the new forms of

This system worked by simplifying the process into multiple, easy to do tasks, thus specializing workers in one specific , repetitive and easy to do task. This simplification of task gave birth to the assembly line concept.