This assignment is a White Paper, but I did not see that option. So I chose a Research Paper because it is the closest to a White Paper.
Research suggests that Henry Ford of Ford Motor Company was at the top of the top in the automobile market in the early 20th century. Regrettably, due to the “sheer ineptitude of Ford Management,” the organization lost its core competencies to its competitors, such as General Motors (Link, 2018). Henry Ford’s layout for coordinating work in a manner that optimized proficiency ensured monotony for those sentenced to do it. Managers were faulted for the enduring of laborers through the steady tension and strain they forced during the workdays (Ken & McKinlay, 1994). In return, the organization had a quick turnover rate, but this did not agonize Ford. To be frank, he did not care! Wages were so high that employees were begging to work for the organization. “Ford’s decision to increase wages dramatically is most plausibly the consequence of labor problems of the kind efficiency wage theorists stress” (Raff & Summers, 1986). Due to Ford’s leadership style, Ford Motor Company’s reign of success was short-lived until his successor put the organization back on top. Fortunately, many fortune 500 companies relevant today used the trials and tribulations Ford’s management styles had to shape their success, Ford Motor Company being one of them. Therefore, unpacking Ford Motor Company’s 100 year long “triumph” is an appreciable topic to discuss.
Though Henry Ford’s management style seems unethical today, what made Ford Motor Company so successful for so long? What can today’s leaders pull from Henry Ford’s approach and incorporate into their management?
References:
Link, Stefan. “The Charismatic Corporation: Finance, Administration, and Shop Floor Management under Henry Ford.” Business History Review, vol. 92, no. 1, 2018, pp. 85–115., https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007680518000065.
Raff, Daniel M.G., and Lawrence Summers. “Did Henry Ford Pay Efficiency Wages?” Journal of Labor Economics, vol. 5, no. 4, ser. 2, 1986. 2, https://doi.org/10.3386/w2101.
Starkey, Ken, and Alan McKinlay. “Managing for Ford.” Sociology, vol. 28, no. 4, 1994, pp. 975–990., https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038594028004011.
