Henry Ford's leadership style

Abstract

Henry Ford, father of mass production and also popularly called the father of assembly line automation production, was a man of great qualities, both inside the factory and outside. Ford methods of production and waste reduction are widely recognized and accepted in the world of business and management today. Ford's dream that every American has a right to own a car came into reality through his outstanding leadership abilities. Ford was a charismatic man with ambitions. He was a transformational leader, with great ideas up his sleeves that revolutionized the transportation industry and gave the business world innovative ideas for producing at a lower cost and wastage. This paper focuses on the transformational style of leadership adopted by Henry Ford that helped him make his dream a reality.

Henry Ford's leadership style

Introduction

The history of management and business has its own mark in the field of social sciences. Many great men in the past have changed the course of management and business and have generated ideas for the modern management. Modern management makes best use of the ideas that were suggested and put into play by the major players of the past and use those ideas as a platform to excel in their field. Of all the great men of business and management, Henry Ford has his own share of the cake.

Henry ford was an industrialist of American national, born on the July the 30th, 1863, to leave his mark in the field of management and production. He was the founder of a car manufacturing company that came into being on the 16th of June, 1903, (Richard et al, 2003). He was also the developer of a very important concept of assembly line automation in production, thus known as the father of assembly line automation, (Hallsteinsen et al, 2008). He is also famous for developing an affordable automobile that middle class Americans could afford. He is also referred as the father of mass production, committed to eliminating waste, (Levinson, 2002).

He became one of the most famous and richest people in the world, due to his Ford motor company. He revolutionized transportation. In fact, he revolutionized the American industry. He is famous for the mass production of inexpensive goods and also credited for high wages of the workers. He was a man with a vision. His ideas spoke high about his commitment for lowering of production costs and creating countless innovations. After his death, his wealth was left for the Ford foundation, controlled by his family.

In our discussion, we will be focusing on the leadership style that was adopted by Henry Ford in the corporate business world. We would also be discussing the examples he set.

Discussion

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.” These are the famous words of this extraordinary man. This is what he stood for, and this is what made this brilliant man a transformational leader. He was in a practice of ...