Principle of Fordism - Term Paper Example

Running head: PRINCIPLE OF FORDISM Principle of Fordism: Industrial Revolution PRINCIPLE OF FORDISM 2 Principle of Fordism: Industrial Revolution It is easy to suspect that Fordism has something to do with the owner of the car assembly company, Henry Ford (Huw, 2006, p27). This is a correct assumption, although Fordism is much more than that. It has a political and social component as well (Gottfried, 2000, p237). Fordism was the customary practice and scheme in the industrialization of developing countries because it gives emphasis on the effectiveness of mass production (Huw, 2006, p31).

Its fundamental principle has an inflexible process that was supervised by a hierarchical and bureaucratic management, and served as the groundwork of a large processing facility (Gottfried, 2000, p237 and Huw, 2006, p34). The tasks are mostly repetitive and highly-specialized, and the managerial process consists of hiring a semi-skilled labor force for these jobs (Gottfried, 2000, p241). Fordism’s dominant political and social characteristic is the importance it gives in protecting the national market.

The target market is the nation’s population, and jobs are confined within the borders of the country (Rio, 2006, p186). Henry Ford’s is known for his practice in the manufacturing process of cars (Huw, 2006, p17). His novel idea of Fordism quickly spread to other industries and was almost immediately considered as the major component of continuous economic progress. Basically, Fordism is all about standardization, centralized control, and ability to meet the requirements of mass consumption of products and services (Gottfried, 2000, p237 and Huw, 2006, p34-5).

The interesting facet of Fordism, though, is that this style is also noticeable in Soviet’s economic system (Rio, 2006, p185). Furthermore, since mass consumption is the main focus of Fordism, there is little to no emphasis on individuality and personal tastes, rather, it views the buying market as a joint unit (Rio, 2006, p186). Although there are modern ideas on production of goods and services, large industries manufacturing mainstream products are more likely to stick to the principles of Fordism.

Almost every fast food and automobile company is structured along the ideas perfected by Henry Ford (Huw, 2006, p45). References Gottfried, H. (June 01, 2000). Compromising positions: emergent neo-Fordisms and embedded gender contracts. British Journal of Sociology, 51, 2, 235-259. Huw, B. (2006). The Fordism of Ford & Modern Management. Cheltenham: Edward elgar Pub. Rio, C. (January 01, 2006). Review. Rethinking Marxism, 18, 1, 185-186.