What was Fordism - Essay Example

What was Fordism? Introduction Fordism refers to a production system in the manufacturing sector that entailed the production of standardized mass products, targeted at the mass market. Thus, the concept of Fordism operated under the assumptions and expectations that the markets would consume the products that have been produced in mass (Coopey and McKinlay, 112). In this respect, the Fordism system maintained a substantial quantity of both unfinished and finished products in terms of stock, to ensure that there is constant supply of the products in the market, during the time when new products are undergoing production through the normal lengthy production lifecycle. This discussion seeks to analyze the concept of Fordism, with a keen interest to determine its characteristics, mode of operation, while establishing how the concept of the regime of mass production and mode of regulation collaborate to avoid the inequalities in development created by capitalism. Additionally, the discussion seeks to determine the applicability of Fordism to the Canadian economy situation, and determine whether the Canadian Fordism is any different from the generic form of Fordism. Discussion Fordism as a production system focuses on both the market and its employees as the central determinants of the production process, seeking to supply a mass of products to the markets, while at the same time ensuring that the workforce is sufficiently catered for in terms of good wages, in order to be able to consume the products it produces (Smardon, 202). In order to realize the mass production envisaged by Fordism, the basic resource allocation method is the concentration of the resources of the producer of the goods and services in the asset capital assessment, mostly in machineries and equipment, such that the producer is able to produce many products at any one particular time. Thus, Fordism is characterized by several basic tenets. Basic tenets of Fordism Standardized production is a major characteristic of Fordism (Jenson, 677). This characteristic entails the production of products that of similar quality, with no variation at all, considering the fact that all production is machine dedicated. In this respect, there is little or absolutely no hand involvement of the workers in the production process, other than for the running of the production machines, which in turn undertakes the whole production process. On the other hand, all the machines in the production process are molded such that they produce products that are standardized (Coopey and McKinlay, 121). Use of specialized tools is yet another characteristic of Fordism, which entails the use of tools that are specifically tailor-made to suit the nature of the standard products that are expected (Smardon, 201). The special-purpose tools make the assembly line possible, so that the product flows from point of the production cycle to the other points without any disruption or hand involvement of the workers. Therefore, the products are started and finished without any skills or craftsmanship being involved in the process, considering that the involvement of craftsmanship might lead to the production of products that are not standardized. The other characteristic of Fordism is that workers are paid high living wages (Vivekanandan and Kurian, 244). The payment of rising wages is meant to address two major issues. First, considering the fact that Fordism is a production system that seeks to produce and sell the products massively, the workers are considered as an important part of the market. Therefore, the workers are paid rising living wages, so that they can be able to purchase the products they make in turn, thus ensuring that there is a constant ready market for the products. Secondly, the workers are paid rising wages in return for entering into certain compromises with the product manufacturer, so that the work environment can remain stable, and thus the manufacturer is assured of non-disruption of the production process through worker-initiative process such as strikes and go-slows. Finally, Fordism is characterized by focusing on reduced costs of production rather than the maximization of profits (Littler, 187). This being the case, Fordism seeks to produce products at the lowest possible costs, so that the products can be delivered to the market at affordable prices, making it possible for the products to be purchased massively. Therefore, as opposed to focusing on the quality of the workforce, Fordism seeks to ensure that the machinery and tools used in the production process are competent, while the workforce is semi-skilled, since there is no skills or craftsmanship that are required from the workers. Since the assembly line has been designed and achieved through the use of special-purpose tools and dedicated machines that performs a single but repetitive task, the workers only keep doing one thing over and over again, thus requiring less or no skills (Jenson, 679). Mode of operation of Fordism The mode of operation of Fordism is the creation of a producer-market system that works on the basis of a cycle of production and consumption that is uninterrupted. The basic economic principle of Fordism is the economies scale of production, where the huge investment in capital assets in terms of machinery and equipment is regarded as a fixed cost, which is then distributed amongst the numerous units of production that are manufactured by the plant and machinery assembly line (Coopey and McKinlay, 108). The consequence is that each unit product carries a very small fixed cost of production, while the variable cost is also minimized by the fact that the variable costs such as labor are low, since more machinery and equipment is used at the expense of labor. Therefore, the profit margin of the unit product still remains substantial, even when the product is sold at a relatively low cost in the market, so that it can be purchased in masses (Jessop, 63). How the regime of accumulation and the mode of regulation work to offset alleviate uneven capitalist development The regime of accumulation and the mode of regulation under Fordism work together in a manner that alleviates uneven capitalist development, through the regime of accumulation operating in a virtuous cycle that entails mass production and mass consumption, while the mode of regulation entails a stable, uninterrupted and functional production cycle that ensures constant supply in the market (Smardon, 182). The regime of accumulation applies the Taylorism concept of economic efficiency, where the variable costs are reduced through the use of few and semi-skilled workers to ensure that the producer of the products does not incur much costs through labor. Thus, through the Taylorism concept of economic efficiency, the high fixed costs for machinery and equipment are distributed among the mass products to lower the costs per unit product. This enables the firm to lower the costs of production reasonably. On the other hand, the mode of regulation applies the concept of compromise, where the producer of the products enters into a compromise with the workforce for the provision of high living wages in exchange for uninterrupted workflow that has no strikes or go-slows. Therefore, the regime of accumulation and the mode of regulation work together to offset shortage of supply in the market, as a contradiction of uneven capitalism through enhancing constant flow of goods into the market, at an economic efficient price (Vivekanandan and Kurian, 256). The other manner in which the regime of accumulation and the mode of regulation work together to offset the contradictions of uneven capital development, is through the regime of accumulation ensuring mass production, while the mode of regulation allows for monopoly of few but large firms. Consequently, there is high supply of goods and service at a reasonably low competition in the market, thus offsetting any contradiction of uneven capital development (Smardon, 195). Finally, the regime of accumulation and the mode of operation works together to alleviate uneven development, through having the government intervene to ensure there is full employment on the one hand, while there is a state of welfare on the other hand (Vivekanandan and Kurian, 244). This way, it becomes easy to offset any uneven capital development. How Canada fits within the narrative of Fordism The narrative of Fordism fits in the economy of Canada, considering the fact that there was a major reorganization of the Canadian industrial entrepreneurship in the 1880s, the same time that Fordism was making a revolution in the USA manufacturing industry. This change was motivated by the transnational investment that occurred in Canada, with major US companies investing in the country and thus introducing the Fordism culture of industrial management (Coopey and McKinlay, 109). In addition, the Canadian-owned forms of capital business borrowed heavily on the American technological system of manufacturing and the work ethic, eventually adapting Fordism as the major system that run the Canadian manufacturing industry, a transformation that happened between the 1880s and 1914 (Jessop, 72). This transformation saw a drastic change in the nature of the Canadian business, from initially small family-owned or partnerships to large organizations that were capable of reaping the benefits of the economies of scale, characteristic of Fordism. Further, the government policies and regulations also changed in favor of the large-scale organization in the industrial sector, through the introduction of tariffs and subsidy incentives in the first decade of the twentieth century, thus motivating the formation of few large-scale industrial organizations and businesses in Canada. This also replicated the government intervention role of Fordism, where the government intervenes in ensuring full employment of resources through large-scale production (Johansson, 456). Therefore, there are all indications that the Canadian industrialization was a function of Fordism. Slimming of the workforce is yet another factor that characterized the industrialization of Canada, where some organizations were constantly shedding their workforce and replacing the same with machineries and technologies that would perform the labor more efficiently, yet creating cost effectiveness (Jenson, 661). This was also interpreted as a characteristic Fordism, which entails the use of few workers to undertake regularly repetitive tasks in the production process. Capital movements also indicated a shift in the industrialization of Canada, with cheap capital flowing in from foreign investors, especially from the USA, who in turn introduced a system change in the Canadian manufacturing industry, as a way of ensuring their capital was safe. Therefore, the Canadian industrial development was based on building on the capital that was obtained from the USA, following almost the same structure of industrialization in the USA, and thus qualifies to be a form of Fordism (Smardon, 184). Whether the Canadian Fordism is any different from the generic form of Fordism Nevertheless, the Canadian Fordism seems to unique and different from the generic Fordism, considering the fact that; as opposed to the full employment of resources characteristic of generic Fordism, the Canadian industrialization entailed the continuation of a commercially based economy, indicating lack of a shift to a fully industrial-based economy (Smardon, 187). However, the New Canadian Political Economy (NCPE) has a contrary view of Canadian industrialization, arguing for an economy that was commercially defined, as opposed to one that was developed through Fordism (Smardon, 190). Despite this view, there is an agreement even by NCPE that the development in Canada was under a controlled environment. The NCPE advances the view that the Canadian development was not characteristic of Fordism, considering that there was a big reliance on stable exports to the USA, as well as a greater reliance on the technology and capital, thus limiting the growth of the Canadian economy from reaching the level of the other industrialized countries at the time (Johansson, 477). Additionally, the fact that Canada still remained a staple exporting economy during this period of industrial revolution in the country demonstrates some uniqueness in the Canadian Fordism. This is because; as opposed to the mass consumption of the products made in the country domestically, which is the fundamental principle of Fordism, Canada continued to export. The other factor that demonstrates that the Canadian Fordism was entirely different from the generic Fordism is the fact that; while the government intervention in generic Fordism takes the form of supporting the monopolization of the economy, the Canadian state continued to support agrarian and staple export, while giving a narrower form of support to manufacturing development (Smardon, 192). Thus, despite the fact that the Canadian development had shown the adoption of the USA structured Fordism in the early decades of the twentieth century, the same changed for the later part of the century, meaning that the Canadian development did not represent a complete move towards the generic Fordism. In this respect, the Canadian Fordism was unique in its own nature. Works Cited Coopey Richard and McKinlay, Alan. Power without Knowledge? Foucault and Fordism, 1900-50. Labor History 51, 1, 2010. 107-125. Print. Jenson, Jane. Representations in Crisis: The Roots of Canadas Permeable Fordism. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 23, 4, 1990. 653-683. Print. Jessop, Bob. The Future of the capitalist State. Polity Press, 2002. 54-281. Print. Johansson, Alf. The labor market and the emergency of Taylorism. Economic and industrial democracy 7, 1986. 449-485. Print. Littler, Craig. Understanding Taylorism. The British Journal of Sociology 29, 2, 185-202. Print. Smardon, Bruce. “Rethinking Canadian economic development: the political economy of Canadian Fordism, 1880-1914”. Studies in Political Economy 85, 2010. 179-208. Print. Vivekanandan, B. and Kurian, Nimmi. Welfare States and the future. Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. 237-271. Print. Read More