Modern Management Theory: Henry Ford

Modern Management Theory:  Henry Ford 

Before going into the challenges of modern management theory, I will do an overview of how it has changed in the last century. Understanding this will give us the background to see what is going on today in corporate life, and why corporations struggle to survive in the long term. Henry Ford [1] (1863 - 1905) was an American business man, founder of the Ford Motor Company.  Although his motor company and legacy with the American people would have been well established, he went and added one more important piece to his repertoire: The Assembly Line. In Britain, cars were assembled slowly and carefully by hand. The process took several weeks from start to finish. These cars were so expensive that they were not accessible to the individual. These were the days when cars were just luxury for the rich. In 1908, Henry Ford set out to make a car for everyone: it was called the Model T. It was a car for the farmers. His challenge was to bring the cost of the model down. He watched the men in the plant as they moved from car to car, assembling them a piece at a time. He noticed that it takes too long to put a car together that way, and that was what was keeping the prices up. He introduced the moving assembly line, which was to become one of the biggest industrial developments of the 20th century. He changed the production processes, so that the cars would move past the men in a steady unending procession, growing part by part as they move. The main assembly line was fed by smaller sub-assembly lines that floated into it, all perfectly tied and synchronized so that every part was delivered at exactly the right place at the right second. In this way, he cut production costs and moved towards mass production. Now everybody could afford their own car!!! The Model T changed the whole social structure of the US. Soon, all the nation was claiming better highways for their new cars. It broke the isolation of the farmers, and brought together farm and city with faster ways of communication.  The Model T had an international appeal, when sales offices and plants were assembled around the world.Henry Ford also revolutionized corporate life. He shared profits with his employees, lowered the 9-hour work day to 8 hours, and doubled the minimum wage. He believed that working people should be treated in a certain way and be paid accordingly to their efforts. Henry Ford was well ahead of his time. The model T was used in farming, were the burden of work was taken away from the farmer and put on the machine. This lead to the appearance of the tractor. By the mid- 1920s the Ford company had grown into a huge industrial complex, with continuous international development. In the 1930s, dark clouds emerged over Europe again with the appearance of Nationalistic groups and the rise of unemployment and hunger. Henry Ford’s answer to bad times was to keep producing. In 1932 the company put out a new model: it’s first V8, ensuring employment for thousands that otherwise would be jobless. The mass production system was then implemented in other industries, bringing down production costs for everyone. With greater productivity came greater well-being and more leisure time for the average citizen.    Henry Ford was one of the most influential figures in the 20th century. His visionary style led to the transformation of industrial processes and inspired a new generation of entrepreneurs. He will always be remembered by all. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ford