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Pros And Cons Of Fordism

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Fordism - a good idea or a bad one?

The purpose of this paper is to state that Fordism was not a stable production system, even though it achieved great success when it was first applied by Henry Ford. The Fordism production method will be critically assessed on the segregation it built between workforce and management and how it established a dominant American industry. The study will also define the concept of Fordism and how it influenced the motor vehicle industry, in which this production model was first implemented.
By the beginning of the 20th-century technology had become advanced enough to introduce the motor vehicle. Despite this, for many years the automobile remained an expensive luxury item created by craftsmen. It was something only the wealthy could afford. That was until Henry Ford, a son of the Scientific Movement of Management, developed a new line of thought. He wanted to make cars available to the “masses” by changing the production process in a way that would reduce costs, so more people could afford the product. Ford introduced a new approach to production, which included standardization, specialization and the usage of the assembly line and the conveyor belt system (Smith, 2011). His business model was so successful that it sparked a revolution in the entire industry. Even today, a century later, the world is still greatly influenced by Fordism.
Authors variously interpret the term “Fordism”. According to Knights and Willmott (2007: 385) “Fordism

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