Fordism vs Post Fordism

Document Type:Coursework

Subject Area:Sociology

Document 1

To make this statement clearer, this task begins by defining both Fordism and post Fordism. Post Fordism and Fordism are ideas of contemporary economics and the social system. Fordism is associated with Henry Ford who is a celebrated American industrialist and the founder of Ford Auto Company. Ford also came up with the idea of the assembly line which he used in mass production and for which defined his work. It was a principle that guided the mass production of products but at low costs. The last principle defining Fordism was the fact that it championed the need to have machinery as the center of production. This would ensure that the workers move about the product as the assembly line was in use.

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To this end, there is a school of thought with the idea that Fordism covered a period of economic wealth as well as success as there were high employment and mass production. Nevertheless, the system collapsed after the Second World War, and this was due to lack of sustainability and due to the expansion of white-collar services (Hines, Matthias, & Nick, 995). Fordism is a model that is meant for the low-cost production of goods that are standardized and meant for mass markets. Post Fordism is also capable of assuming different forms in various contexts. While some scholars have intimated that post-Fordism would prove to be more stable, others are of the idea that the inherent contradictions of capitalism signify that post-Fordism is not likely to determine its stability than Fordism as it was previously thought.

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Post Fordism banked on the idea of producing what customers wanted and in the designed they wished them delivered. It operated on the principles of economic demands and supply theories. This system was particularly appealing to many workers in the sense that it adopted the concept of decentralizing its senior staff or the management line. The final products from were all customized and matched the standards that fulfilled the needs and desires of the buyer (Vidal, 301). Whereas Fordism aimed at controlling production over the market, post-Fordism stressed on the requirement of workers to literate and numerate, aside from acquiring technical skills and at least a higher education. Conclusion The industrial revolution was mainly driven by the division of labor, close labor supervision, intensive management, and planning.

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