HENRY FORD

Henry Ford

Abstract

This paper is aimed at developing an understanding about the contributions made by Henry Ford to the current ways of life. Ford is one of the pioneers of the automobile industry who revolutionized the business world through his innovative approach. The paper discusses the various achievements of Ford throughout his life and the various problems he faced whilst running his Ford Motor Company.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

Introduction1

Biography1

Achievements and Contributions2

Major Problems Faced by Ford4

Patent held against Car Manufacturers4

Existing Industry Approach and Trends5

Inefficient and Manual-based Operational Procedures5

Employee Turnover and Lack of Motivation5

Communication Gap6

Supply Restraints6

Criticism against High Wages Offered6

Actions Taken to Address these Problems7

Success against the Patent7

The Assembly Line7

The Five-Dollar Day8

Narrowing the Communication Gap8

Restructuring the Supply Chain8

Educating the Workers8

Conclusion9

References10

Henry Ford

Introduction

Henry Ford is one of the most renowned names in the American history. He is recognized for revolutionizing the automobile industry in the US and making possible the shift from horse-driven wagons to engine road vehicles. Two of the greatest contributions of Henry Ford were the ideas of “Assembly Line” and “Mass Production”, which are one of the most popular concepts of modern manufacturing concerns. The system of Fordism, which led to the adaption of efficiency, division of labor, rationality and economies of scales in the enterprise, makes Henry Ford a popular hero amongst the American public (Marquis,2011).

Biography

Henry Ford was born in the year 1863 to a farming family on a farm in Dearborn, Michigan. He was the oldest amongst his siblings. His father was of Irish descent who had migrated to US as a result of the potato famine in 1847. Ford received his early education from public schools and always had a liking for machines. Refusing to become a part of his family occupation, Ford got himself enrolled for apprenticeship in 1880 with a mechanist in Detroit. At the age of 19, Ford returned home and started working part-time at Westinghouse Engine Company. He put up a workshop on his father's farm where he would carry out experiments to build steam tractors and horseless carriages. In 1988, Ford got married to Clara Bryant, a lady from his own Irish community (Brown, 2005).

Achievements and Contributions

Ford later went back to Detroit in 1891 and joined the Edison Illuminating Company as an engineer. He became good friends with the US inventor Thomas Edison, and took on various responsibilities over a period of next 20 years, becoming a Chief Engineer at the company. Ford continued experimenting in leisure time and developed his first vehicle, “Quadricycle” in 1896. It used a 4-horsepower engine and could attain speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. The car earned Ford $200, which he used for building his second machine that got completed in 1898. In 1899, Ford became a partner in the newly established Detroit Automobile Company (Zuehlke, 2007). The company intended to produce 10 cars in the first year and then gradually increase the manufacturing rate to 2 cars a day. The manufacturing was labor-intensive and each process required close supervision and manual precision. The lack of capital resulted in ...