Overview Of Fordism

1538 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Henry ford research essays

“They can have it any colour, as long as it’s black” was famously said by Henry Ford, in reference to his car factory, without realising he was about to create an era that is often referred to as the machine that came in and changed the world. Throughout the essay we will be looking at several aspects of Fordism- its features and its influence on revolutionising the organisational world. Fordism is a hard area to describe, but in brief it refers to the system of mass production and consumption that produced sustained economic growth and widespread material advancement (Jayne, 2006). Before Henry Ford came into the equation and introduced his new working methods, there were several problems already occurring in the working world that Fordism helped to address. For example, there was divided authority between workers and managers, as well as inefficiencies, contradictions of interest and market competition. Whilst Fordism helped improve certain areas of management and society, there were also a few problems that arose from it.

Fordism was truly revolutionary touching all areas of the industrial sector, creating a new scientific management. It brushed away the old fashioned features related to the early 20th century capitalist society whilst at the same time sustaining economic development. Merkle, 1980 states Fordism wasn’t completely compatible with capitalism, however Henry Ford succeeded in slowly eliminating the ‘bubble and glut economy’ (Lind,M., 2013). Ford really pushed the idea of a ‘high-wage, high-demand economy’ (Lind,M., 2013) by paying his workers enough money to afford the cars they produced. This was only at a national level; internationally the export and import of goods and services from industrial nations all...

... middle of paper ...

.... Fast food chains, ie. McDonalds require low skilled staff to produce a standardized product and service; just like the production line workers at Ford.
Furthermore, expanding on the idea of mass production, it meant that more products were available for a cheaper price and for a wider range of people, which had a big influence in society. Jessop (in Amin, 1994, p. 9) agrees with this as it expresses the idea that Fordism is an industrial paradigm that involves mass production which is its main source of dynamism. Mass production meant that finally there were products available to everyone and not just the higher classes. Ford was all about the welfare of the customers and wanted his products to be available to everyone. This was evident as he said, “It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages.”

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Scale In The Flivver King

    739 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Flivver King, written by Upton Sinclair, Henry Ford started his own manufacturing in the back cottage on Bagley Street in the city of Detroit. The young inventor began to tinker and to make improvements to his new invention of the horseless carriage. Once he finally gained confidence to take it out for the public to see, the people were unsure if it was a joke or a step in civilization (8). Ford decided to look at the matter from an entirely different angle- the horseless carriage as a useful article for everybody instead of as a toy for the rich (10). Henry Ford’s Model T helped him to accomplish economies of scale because he took the steps to use a standardized model, use the assembly line, and revolutionize mass production.

    Read More

  • Ford Motor Company

    1589 Words  | 4 Pages

    Until recently, the Ford Motor Company has been one of the most dynastic of American enterprises, a factor which has both benefited the company and has brought it to the brink of disaster. Today Ford is the second largest manufacturer of automobiles and trucks in the world, and it’s operations are well diversified, both operationally and geographically. The company operates the worlds second largest finance company in the world, and is a major producer of tractors, glass and steel. It is most prominent in the US, but also has plants in Canada, Britain and Germany, and facilities in over 100 countries.

    Read More

  • Rise of Big Business and Organized Labor

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    Henry Ford was a captain of industry. He owned Ford Motors, which was an automobile company. Ford was a man who always wanted his own way and he got it most of the time. The creation he is most famous for is the FORD MODEL T, the car for the commoners. His car became an instant hit amongst the people- the local people and the working class of people because it was very affordable and was not just for the rich. Ford was a very successful businessman but not particularly a nice guy. He expected a lot from his workers but thing is that he also cared for his workers, because he knew that not only were they dependent on him but also that he depended upon them, they were the ones due to which he was gaining popularity and success throughout America. Ford’s great strength was the manufacturing process for his cars. Instead of having people put together the entire car he created organized teams that added parts to the Model T as it moved down the assembly line, this lowered the production prices and also the time and energy required to put together the cars.

    Read More

  • Fordlandia by Greg Grandin

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    By 1927, Ford was a very successful industrialist, who had made a fortune out of manufacturing cars and displayed a new model of industrial production. He paid his workers much higher than average wages and offered various other incentives to encourage them to live the lives he thought they should. However, he was not a totally honest employer. He was violently anti-union and employed thugs to intimidate anyone who tried to organize and represent his workforce. Ford's generosity as a boss was dependent on letting the company make decisions for the workers, not just in the factories but in the way employees lived their lives, spies were actively out and about observing workers' off duty lives. Ford thought he could create a vast rubber plantation in Brazil, thus ensuring a reliable supply of latex for his new Model A as well as for his Ford trucks and tractors. In the process, he intended to show the world that his system of production would also elevate the lives of his workers.

    Read More

  • Henry Ford Biography Summary

    1508 Words  | 4 Pages

    The automobile went from being a toy for society’s elite to being an essential item within the economic reach of nearly every American, all thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of Henry Ford. His dedication to quality and attention to detail earned him not only dozens of racing titles, but also the reputation of a respectable businessman. Ford understood his market so well that he knew what the people wanted before they could even ask for it, always ahead of the curve. Ford was a pioneer of American commercialism, and so his production methods were centred around efficiency and mass production, thus allowing him to increase productivity and decrees cost to meet the demand of the masses. Lastly, consideration of the working class and philosophy of raising the wages instead of raising the price point and focusing only on profit. There are a great many lessons to be learned from distinguished businessmen in history, and Henry Ford is no

    Read More

  • Henry Fords Fight

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Henry turned 40 he was broke and washed up. Even after this he went in to the ALAM to get a licence to build his cars, he was shot down. He went on to try for more investors, he again was shot down. Now without investment and no licence he still went on to try and build his cars. This time he just did the necessity not the lucry. This worked! In the first month of his work he built and sold 1700 cars. This was a big thing back then! But he doesn't stop there he goes on to sell 300,000 cars yearly!! Thats half of today's sales!! Ford became one of the highest selling cars available. He came from the bottom to the top l...

    Read More

  • Henry Ford: Pioneer of the Automobile Age

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    Henry Ford is responsible for “perhaps the most revolutionary development in industrial history.” (Watts 2005,

    Read More

  • Henry Ford

    1753 Words  | 4 Pages

    Henry Ford was one of the most brilliant entrepreneurs in creating the automobile assembly line, it was his controversial characteristics and unorthodox approach towards administrating the Ford Motor Company which resulted in the conglomeration of one of the most successful corporations in the world. At the turn of the century everything was booming! The growth of the economy and stock market increased the job opportunities as well as morals. As a result of this industrial revolution, out of the woodwork came a humble yet driven man, Henry Ford. Between the five dollar/day plan, his policies on administrating the company, and his relations with his customers, Ford was often presented as a suspicious character. This controversial behavior epitomized the success of the company, it did not lead to his own downfall as many suspect. The Anti-Semitic accusations, and the belief that Ford was taking advantage of his customers, were by far overshadowed by his brillianc!e and strong hand in running his company.

    Read More

  • The Impact Of Henry Ford And The Ford Motor Company

    1250 Words  | 3 Pages

    The 1920’s was a time of great social, political, and economic change. The early automobile industry was no exclusion. It appears that throughout history, the figures that stand out the most are either worshipped or despised, and there is very rarely an in-between. Henry Ford, an icon of the 1920’s and the early automobile industry is no exemption. Many people love Ford for his innovative and entrepreneurial skills, while on the other hand, Ford is disliked by many due to his association with Anti-Semitism. Regardless of how Ford is viewed, many decisions he made significantly impacted the automobile industry. These decisions included installing the moving assembly line in his plant, and introducing the Five-Dollar Day. Through the implementation of the Five-Dollar Day, Ford was able to drastically change how the Ford Motor Company company operated, and how business would operate for years to come.

    Read More

  • Henry Ford

    2306 Words  | 5 Pages

    In this report, we will present a brief history of the era in which Henry Ford lived, the background from which he came, and important management trends he followed.

    Read More

  • Impact of the Automobile in America

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    This radical idea of the automobile permeated throughout America with most, if not all credit renowned to Henry Ford. Observed as a technological mastermind, Ford commenced experiments involving machinery from the time he was adolescent to launching his career working at the Edison Illuminating Company. He examined internal combustion engines and gasoline buggy ideas eventually resulting in removing himself from Edison’s company and his introduction in the emerging automobile industry. Following in 1903, he established the Ford Motor Company, which expeditiously became a leader in the automotive industry and would gain extensive wealth within only a few decades. While other manufacturers strove to produce automobiles to be extravagant and luxurious predominantly for the wealthy, he immensely focused on efficient mass production of durable, affordable vehicles for the expanding middle-class market.

    Read More

  • Henry Ford Thesis Statement

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    Behind every great business these us a great vision from the founder. We all know or should know that the future hold for us. Henry Ford was one of them people that had a great vision for the future. He was for the Americans with average incomes. He a vision to change the way we get around in our everyday lives. Mr. Ford was born on a farm in (birthplace). Where he spent his time indulging into his engineering efforts on the farm by working on ways to work smarter and not harder. Henry Ford did not like working on the farm as he was coming up because he found the work very tedious. His parents put a work bench in the house so Henry could study things such as a watches. He would take something a part such a watch and analyzed the inner moving

    Read More

  • Fordism is the Scientific Management for Contemporary Organizations

    1988 Words  | 4 Pages

    Comparisons that can be made include Fordism's mechanisation of mass production and Taylor's attempts at using employees as machines. Taylor designed this using his principles of management that included developing a science for each element of work and finding the quickest way the job could be done.

    Read More

  • Henry Ford

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    Henry Ford was one of the most important and influential inventors and businessmen in the short history of America. He revolutionized the business world and he changed forever the efficiency of factories around the world. One of the reasons that Henry Ford can be considered such an important man is that his ideas and concepts are still used today. Boron on July 30, in the year of 1863, Henry Ford was the oldest child of the family. His parents, William and Mary Ford, were “prosperous farmers” in his hometown of Dearborn. While they we’re well off for farmers, Ford certainly wasn’t spoiled and fed from silver spoons. Ford was just like any other typical young boy during the rural nineteenth century. From early on there we’re signs that Henry was going to be something more than a farmer. He looked with interest upon the machinery that his father and himself used for their farming, and looked with disdain at the rigorous chores of a farmer. In the year 1879, Henry being a meager 16 years old, he moved to the city of Detroit where he would work as an apprentice machinist. Henry would remain in Detroit working and learning about all varieties of machines. Although he occasionally came back to visit Dearborn, he mostly stayed in Detroit, picking up more and more valuable knowledge. This apprenticeship allowed him to work in the factories of Detroit and learn what a hard working blue-collar job was like. When he did return to Dearborn he was always tearing apart and rebuilding his fathers machines, along with the dreaded farm chores. Henry Ford was a hard worker and that was proven by him getting fired from one of his jobs in Detroit because the older employees we’re mad at him because he was finishing his repairs in a half hour rather than the usual five hours. Clara Bryant would represent the next step in now twenty-five year old Henry Ford’s life. The two lovers we’re married in 1888 and would endure good times as well as bad. In order to support his new wife Henry was forced to work the land as he ran a sawmill that was given to him by his father. His father actually attempted to bribe Henry to stay in the farming business as he gave him the land only under the condition that he would continue on as a farmer.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Taylorism and Fordism on the US Motor Vehicle Industry

    1853 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ford used Taylor’s scientific management principles and come up with the mass production and assembly line. This benefitted the motor vehicle industry highly. The effects of Taylorism and Fordism in the industrial workplace were strong and between the period of 1919-1929 the output of industries in the U.S doubled as the number of workers decreased. There was an increase in unskilled labour as the skill was removed and placed into machines. It lead to the discouragement of workers ability to bargain on the basis of control over the workplace.

    Read More

More about Overview Of Fordism

Open Document