Henry Ford And Fordism Influences Cultural Studies Essay

Management techniques have gone through many different phases and go on to germinate even today. In the early portion of the twentieth century every bit good as the high growing periods of the US economic system after World War II, Fordism, was in the head, as it focused on mass production and mass ingestion as a agency of spread outing the economic system. However as the US economic system went through slow growing old ages, this peculiar system did non work and other direction systems took precedency.

Yet there are many administrations that continue to utilize Henry Ford 's doctrine even in the twenty-first century. And it is the aim of this research papers to analyze the relevancy of the constructs introduced by Henry Ford and the impact and influence it has on 21st century administrations.

Literature Reappraisals: When the transmutation from the agricultural age to industrial mass production took topographic point, Henry Ford and his doctrine that consisted of utilizing specialised tools, assembly lines and utilizing non-skilled labor in direct production were able to drive economic growing and enlargement at unprecedented degrees ( Shiomi & A ; Wada, 1995 ) .

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Likewise it was Ford 's doctrine that was the drive factor behind the car industry and this system is still used to a great extent by the car industry to day of the month. The car industry is still the universe 's largest fabrication industry and even though many of the prima auto shapers have automated their systems to a great extent and reduced their dependance on labor, they still use the assembly line method with the constructs that were introduced by Henry Ford ( Shiomi & A ; Wada, 1995 ) . This is non to state that the assembly line method was the inspiration of Henry Ford but instead that the assembly line of today has been greatly influenced by him and has non gone through many major alterations in the last seven or eight decennaries ( Gowing, Morris, Adler & A ; Gold, 2008 ) . The traveling assembly line that we have known through the old ages and is seen to day of the month even in this age of advanced robotics being used in the car industry was introduced by Henry Ford ( Laurie, 2000 ) .

There are presently a few schools of idea that have been happening it hard to make up one's mind if Fordism has had a direct impact on the current economic system that is non entirely based on mass production and ingestion as it was after World War II but instead a more streamlined method that is associated with socio-economic phenomena, that is prevailing in all industrial states throughout the latter portion of the twentieth century. While it may non be the same as the Fordism that was seen in the automotive industry during the epoch of Henry Ford, it is still mostly based on the system that was formulated by him. In his system employees worked on a production line and the undertakings that they performed were specialized in nature and most significantly it was insistent. The modern twenty-four hours construct of Fordism centres round the undermentioned constructs as opposed to the constructs that were discussed supra. These constructs are as follows

Production is in little batches instead than mass production

Economies of Scope are valued

The occupations and the merchandises that are manufactured are all specialised

Information Technology is widely used

The accent is on the consumer instead than the different societal categories in a society.

Alternatively of the blue-collar worker of the yesteryear we see a figure in the rise of the white-collar workers due to this construct.

The work force includes females as opposed to be male dominated like in the yesteryear.

( Kim, 2002 )

The above constructs have come into drama due to the impregnation of the key markets, which worked against the construct of mass ingestion. Due to this new constructs the accent is on elating the life criterions, which in bend has changed the mode in which the market is viewed from the makers ' terminal ( production/manufacturing stand point ) . Rather than the consumers being seen as a mass market that can be served by one generic type of point, makers began to see the consumers as persons that made up many different sections of market. Therefore it occurred to the makers that the consumers were better served if they were grouped in to batches and merchandises and services were provided that fit the ends and demands of those specific sections instead than the mass market ( Ray & A ; Reed, 1994 ) .

Therefore the mass market concept that was introduced by Ford has now been narrowed to markets that are specific to luxury points, usage made merchandises and positional goods. Production, which was homogeneous in nature at the start of Fordism, is today more focussed and hence is diverse and can be differentiated. Further as stated antecedently the economic systems of graduated table of the Ford epoch have now evolved into Economies of Scale due to the variegation and distinction that is taking topographic point in the market topographic point ( Raynor, 2004 ) .

The alterations that have brought about the twenty-first century administration, is mostly due to factors such as the altering planetary economic and political landscape and the alterations in outstanding political orientations. Due to the diminutions that were seen in national production ( that was prevalent in the station war America ) for a more globalised production system of the late 80 's and 90 's, along with the addition of planetary markets and multi national companies, flexible specialisation has replaced the mass markets of the station war epoch. Commanding the workers to act in a certain manner has now been replaced and direction wages more attending to communicating instead than telling as was seen in Ford 's clip. Further the centralised production procedure of yester twelvemonth is now replaced by outsourcing, franchising, sub-contracting, portion clip workers, impermanent workers, self employed persons and work-from place persons. Besides the economic alterations that took topographic point as stated above there have been many political alterations that have taken topographic point that has forced the development of Fordism ( Thomas, 2004 ) . The political alterations are chiefly the alteration from the category based political parties ( as seen in the United Kingdom and the United States ) to the political parties that are based on societal motions, gender, race, faith and part. Labour Union influence is today about non-existent North America and is now replaced by more localised entities that engage in works based dialogues. Further the rise of an entrepreneurialistic civilization has besides lead to the development of Fordism. Even instruction today is less standardised as it used to be and go more specialised with the work force seeing a diminution in the Numberss of persons choosing for blue-collar occupations and instead fall ining the ranks of the white-collar workers ( Lebowitz, 2004 ) .

Italy is a really good illustration of how the constructs of Fordism have evolved over the old ages. In countries such as Milan, Turin and Genoa, production used to be focused on the construct of mass production for mass ingestion, nevertheless during the 1970s and subsequently, the bunchs of little companies and fabrication workss started developing in countries such as Tuscany, Umbria and Veneto to call a few. Each of these parts specialized and produced a different set of merchandises that were all really slackly related to one another. Each of the mills frequently employed workers that numbered between five and 50 ( a bulk of which were below 10 ) . This is what is called the economic systems of range and a far call from the economic systems of graduated table that we saw in the initial phases of Fordism ( Williams, 1998 ) . The characteristic of these fabricating units was that the merchandise that were manufactured were of high quality and the workers who were employed were extremely skilled and extremely paid due to the high degree of accomplishments. There was deep integrating and much engagement between the enterprisers, the interior decorators every bit good as the applied scientists in each of these workss and the workss themselves were design oriented and multi-disciplinary in nature.

Japan is another good illustration of the development of Fordism that took topographic point. After universe war II and the devastation of the state, the company construction within the state changed drastically, this caused the trade brotherhoods to be replaced with direction friendly brotherhoods, increased figure of persons who were less specialised and more multi-skilled. Further the company had a pool of portion time/temp and unskilled workers for fringe workers ( Perkins, 2005 ) .

Further due to the trade embargoes that the state was faced with after World War II, the production processes within the state could experiment on the domestic market and when the trade stoppages were eventually lifted and imported engineering and procedures came into the Nipponese market, the production industry was ready to absorb the techniques and better it through doctrines such as TQM ( Total Quality Management ) etc. Due to the monetary value repair that was prevalent in the market, competition in the domestic market could merely be won by distinction. Further due to the demand for a broad scope of merchandises the state was able to hold a broad scope of installations that were flexible and able to changeover and bring forth a big merchandise line. Therefore alternatively of standardising the state had a immense figure of mills and workss that were specialized in a broad assortment of merchandises. Sub-contracting and supply webs were first born in Japan, which changed the Fordist position that American companies of the clip were diligently following. Alternatively of holding dearly-won production machinery, the evolved Fordist constructs were more focussed on multi-purpose engineerings that were low-cost for little and average graduated table manufacturers who were deluging the market ( Pettibone, 2006 ) .

Findingss: Even though assembly lines are thought to be a thing of the yesteryear and Henry Ford 's constructs of direction are thought to be disused, the largest fabrication industry in the universe, which is the car industry, still uses the method and the constructs even though it has gone through a few transmutations. However the constructs that were introduced by Ford has evolved to a great extent today and is used in companies in many different signifiers.

Analysis: With the two phase transmutations that the constructs went through in the last century, Henry Ford 's constructs are still relevant in the twenty-first century as they were in the twentieth century. While many may reason that his constructs have gone through many different phases of development this is non the instance. The car industry that is still in being in North America and around the universe use many of Ford 's constructs, and many of the constructs that are in different phases of development. Therefore it can be stated that the Automobile industry being the largest fabrication industry in the universe is one of the most of import illustrations of the impact that Fordism has had on the twenty-first century company.

The Automobile industry uses a combination of the mass production and flexible specialisation. The flexibleness that was introduced into mass production would non hold been possible if Ford had non foremost introduced mass production, hence even though Fordist constructs possibly concealed and changed beyond acknowledgment over the old ages, it is evident that without Ford 's constructs the foundation for modern twenty-four hours production would non hold been built and hence modern twenty-four hours theoretician would non hold had much to construct on to acquire to where they are today ( Bencivenga, 2002 ) . Therefore it can be concluded, that even though Fordism and Ford himself is frequently forgotten in our flexible, engineering driven, multi-skilled, multi-purpose, positional and customized production epoch, the influence of Ford and Fordism is really strong and none of this would hold been possible without him and his constructs and methods.

Decision: Based on the immense figure of administrations that still extinguish skilled labor in direct production, use particular tools and equipment through the assembly line, all go to demo that the constructs that were introduced by Henry Ford are still relevant even in the twenty-first century even though mass production/mass ingestion can non be considered as a economic driver for enlargement. Further even in companies that the above is non true, the constructs in topographic point are all constructs that have evolved from Fordism.