Fordism

Fordism describes modern economic and social systems based on industrialized, standardized mass production and mass consumption. The concept (named for Henry Ford) is used in social, economic, and management theory about production, working conditions, consumption, and related phenomena, especially regarding the 20th century.

Fordism is "the eponymous manufacturing system designed to spew out standardized, low-cost goods and afford its workers decent enough wages to buy them". It has also been described as "a model of economic expansion and technological progress based on mass production: the manufacture of standardized products in huge volumes using special purpose machinery and unskilled labor". Although Fordism was a method used to improve productivity in the automotive industry, this principle could be applied to any kind of manufacturing process. Major success stemmed from three major principles:

These principles, coupled with a technological revolution during Henry Ford's time, allowed for his revolutionary form of labour to flourish. It is true that his assembly line was revolutionary, but it was in no way original. His most original contribution to the modern world was breaking down complex tasks into simpler ones with the help of specialised tools. Simpler tasks created interchangeable parts that could be used the same every time. This allowed for a very adaptable flexibility, creating an assembly line that could change its constituent components to meet the needs of the product being assembled. In reality, the assembly line had already been around before Ford, but not in quite the same effectiveness as Ford would create. His real accomplishment was recognizing the potential, breaking it all down into its components only to build it back up again in a more effective and productive combination, thereby producing an optimum method for the real world. The major advantages of such a change was that it cut down on the manpower necessary for the factory to operate, not to mention that it deskilled the labour itself, cutting down on costs of production. There are four levels of Fordism as described by Bob Jessop.

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