Analysis Of The Crisis Of Fordism

This essay critically examines and investigates the so-called ‘Crisis of Fordism’ and the structural changes associated with the economic transformation of the economy – i.e. how it moved from Industrial to Knowledge-based society. The essay begins by exploring the concept of Fordism and what it entails. It then progresses to an illustration of how Fordism evolved, from its conception to eventual ‘crisis stage’ in the 1960s-70s. A discussion on the crisis itself will follow. The essay will then see an analysis of the structural changes of the economy as a result of Fordism. A brief study will be undertaken to understand the meanings of the terms ‘Industrial’ and ‘Knowledge-based’ societies. And finally, the essay will finish with an examination

It was at this point that crisis arose. During this time, the world was seeing large technological progress and in simple terms, Fordism was becoming obsolete. These developments included things such as “Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM), Computer numerical control (CNC), Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) and Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS), the emergence of the Japanese Economy, an increase in oil and raw material prices and affluence of consumers looking for differentiated quality which contributed to a search for new organisational forms.” (From the Taylorism-Fordism to the Toyotism: Has there been an evolution in management thinking, 2007). The world had changed much since the glory days of Fordism and as Lane (1995 cited From the Taylorism-Fordism to the Toyotism: Has there been an evolution in management thinking, 2007) states, the Fordist model “became associated with rigidity and was pronounced unable to respond to the new problems and challenges.” By 1960, accumulation was grinding to a halt, and after 1966, real wages couldn’t continue to grow after the growth of social productivity was decelerating (Crisis of Fordism, no date). ‘Initially, the mark up procedures compensated for the fall in immediate profitability, however it led to a general increase of

Coate and MacLabhrainn (2009) when talking about Post-Fordist Ireland state that “The economic policies of the 1980s helped fuel the socio-economic changes that included the transition from an elite to a mass system of higher education. From ideology to the knowledge economy: the changes in this small but newly affluent country have been remarkable.” It is clear that Post-Fordism relies heavily on the intelligence and brain-capacity of workers. Workers in the old regime were unhappy with the rigidity of Fordism and demanded more delegation, involvement in decision making and the right to be creative in their work – all of which they were granted under Post-Fordism. This new ‘participatory and intelligent role’ (McRobbie, 2010) meant that people had to be educated in order to be proficient at the job and so, education became not only a want, but a need. Ireland is evidently a knowledge based society with approximately “€550 million spent on research and development in higher education institutions in 2005” (Forfás 2006, cited in Coate and MacLabhainn 2009). As a result, not only do businesses reap the benefits of an educated workforce but society as a whole gains from this