Ford versus `Fordism': The Beginning of Mass Production?

Karel Williams, Colin Haslam and John Williams
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Karel Williams: University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Colin Haslam: East London Polytechnic
John Williams: University of Wales, Aberystwyth

Work, Employment & Society, 1992, vol. 6, issue 4, 517-555

Abstract: This article questions the stereotypes of Fordism and mass production. It does so by demonstrating that there is a contradiction between the stereotypes and the reality of Henry Ford's manufacturing practice in production of the Model T at the Highland Park factory between 1909 and 1919. Highland Park was not an inflexible factory which combined dedicated equipment, Taylorised semi-skilled workers and a standardised product. More positively, the article quantifies Ford's heroic achievement in taking two-thirds of the labour hours out of the product at the same time as he built more of each car. Ford used productive intervention to realise manufacturing flow through proto-Japanese manufacturing techniques which involved a commitment to continuous improvement.

Date: 1992
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:6:y:1992:i:4:p:517-555

DOI: 10.1177/095001709264001

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