An industrialist, a trend setter, entrepreneur, all these define one personality- Henry Ford. Starting off with a single car manufacturing, he went on to develop a completely new concept that would become world famous pattern of manufacturing in the longer run. He also had a trace of philanthropic element in him and aimed at improving the working conditions and overall life style of the workers involved in different industrial processes.
Henry Ford was born in the year 1863 in Michigan. His family had a descendance of farming and agricultural background. His personal inclinations did not show compatibility with the agricultural work and he found his way out of it at an earlier stage. He went on to live till the age of 83 and passed away in 1947.
A small event that took place in his early teenage was sign of events to come. This came about when the young boy was presented by his father with a wrist watch. Much to the surprise of all, he went on to create a replica of the same model by following the specifications and details. The community got the word and he became center of attention around them. This was an event that spoke volumes of what the mind possessed and that would be transformed into something big in future. Still young, It was his bold decision that paved the way for future endeavors accomplishment. It came about when he agreed to be an apprentice in a mechanic workshop. This gave him the first hand chance to get familiar with the mechanical device that would later on become an integral part of his professional career. His first professional intercourse as an engineer came about in around 1890 when he started working with the Edison Illuminating Company.
Incremental steps were taken towards the giant milestone that would be achieved in longer run. The novel idea came about in late 19th century when he took upon the challenge of developing a conventional horse carriage without a horse and powered by machine. This was the major leap towards the main idea and once the idea was floated to the owners of the company the idea never looked back and he was fully supported by the Edison Company in the invention that would bring about significant development in the automobile industry. The beginning of the 20th century dawned upon Henry Ford with massive success. Undertaking the venture of a solo project in form of Ford Company development, a specific model of car was developed in the first phase.
The impact of this invention had a direct saying upon the live style of the workers. It allowed them working in a more better working environment and more output in terms of the wages and working hours against the earlier manual phases involved in the manufacturing processes.
Assembly line mechanism:
Under this process the automated production and process handling was performed. With similar items grouped together in a unit and clustered into the machine for next stage processing. This allowed saving time, resources and work force efforts and ultimate direct benefit to the organization. This pattern was later on adopted by other manufacturing plants of different organizations as well and ended up being known as the assembly line manufacturing process. Reducing the production time from 728 minutes to a mere 90 odd minutes was a remarkable achievement and a feat in its own which was applauded universally.
Mass production technique introduction:
The major breakthrough for which he is world famous came about in 1914. It was a process that would make the life of investors, workers, managers and all the stakeholders far easy. It would reduce the reliance on manual processes, time consumption, labor safety factors. This process came in form of mass production technique in form of the assembly line manufacturing. He further came up with the idea of incentives for those workers who would work more devoutly. While the major trade unions were developed around the second decade of 20th century, he introduced this concept unannounced in the early 1914-15 and this can be termed as a positive impact Henry Ford and his policies had on the living patterns and overall welfare of the workers that had been target of exploitation in past.
Social impact:
The social impact that the policies laid on the overall American society was that of ownership, reward, acknowledgement and appreciation towards the working class. Regardless of any background anyone who worked hard on the given day would earn 5 dollars a day which was far more than any other firm offered at that time ((Jacques, 2008, 27). This was first of its kind in industrial development process in recent times. Although industrial revolution had brought about progress in the field of machine and automatic operations yet little attention was paid towards workers welfare, the in duty protection, their satisfaction and health care look after. This had a direct positive impact on the overall health of industry in terms of productivity and the employees’ satisfaction. Those members who showed loyalty to the company were paid the appropriate dividends in return. He can be clearly dubbed as the engineer, the investor and creative individual.
Apart from his impact on the American lifestyle at that time and improving the overall working conditions, he set precedence for diligence, honesty, human resources consideration and workers well being. This allowed the American corporate world operating in more professional manner in times ahead. Hence his overall impact was not just limited to the industrial efficiency but also the mindset of the top management and its subsequent positive impacts on the middle class and low ranked workers. Another contribution in the social field was the establishment of the Ford Foundation. This was a joint collaboration of the overall family. The aim of this foundation was to work for the social welfare of the common man and develop new methods techniques and approaches that would facilitate better working environments and overall increased profits. Other notable works and efforts of Henry Ford include his vehement disownment and denouncing the United States of America’s role and participation in the First World War and he advocated the practices and policy of dialogue and development rather than confrontation and catastrophe.
On business front, his contributions helped the overall crippling economy of America in times when America along with the rest of the world was inflicted with the Great Depression in the late 1920s. Henry Ford’s policies and adjustments of the working class and through development of industry somewhat helped easing of the pressure that had surmounted on the government in that era.
References:
Jacques, A. K. (2008). Inside the Crystal Palace: A History of Henry Ford's Highland Park Plant. ProQuest.Press.
