'The Fordist system led to both labour market and production inflexibility, which prevented organizations from competing in increasingly fluid markets'. Discuss

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Charlie Hanson

0402968

Industrial society

'The Fordist system led to both labour market and production inflexibility, which prevented organizations from competing in increasingly fluid markets'. Discuss the economic and workplace policies which were proposed under the broad title of 'flexibilisation', providing relevant examples.

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Between 1908 and 1929, Henry ford clearly established the linkages between division of labour and mass markets. His methods of mass production came under the title of 'Fordism'. According to Meyer (1981) Fordism 1908-1913 had four basic principles; standardised product design, extensive use of new machine tool technology, flow line production and the implementation of Taylorism in relation to work processes. Taylorism involved a general principle of the maximum decomposition of work tasks, the divorce of direct and so called indirect labour, by which meant setting up, preparation and maintenance tasks on machinery and the minimisation of the skill requirements of any task leading to the minimum job-learning times (Litter 1985). Taylorism therefore in its purest form involves deskilling. This is then reflected in the main policies of Fordism, the idea of taking skill away from the worker and transferring it to the use of machinery. Fordism also