Debbie Roth wrote:
> Here is some additional information from the 10/24 article I had cited
> from the Financial Times.
--snip--
>
> Donkin recites Pfeffer's description of Henry Ford's response to Ralph
> Waldo Emerson's piece on "Compensation" - Ford reportedly gave his workers
> a significant pay increase and, Donkin says, Ford said it was among the
> most effective moves he ever made to cut costs. Donkin also refers to
> comments by ServiceMaster's Chairman, William Pollard, in the 1995 annual
> report, regarding the superior value of the company's people as compared
> with profit motivation, not to mention machines.
[Host's Note: Debbie told me she wrote based on the print article; she
could not find the article in the electronic (web) edition of the FT.
...Rick]
I'll look for the article you cited, Debbie, and look forward to the book.
If you have the URL for the reference you cited, please send it to me.
Michael Harrington, the noted American socialist, wrote at length about
"Fordism." He credited Ford with substantially changing the face of
capitalism in the US, by understanding the basic premise that mass
production required mass consumption. By paying, what was then an
incredible wage of $5 a day (pre-World War I), and by helping buyers with
automobile financing, he ensured that there would be a market for his
product. Shortly after, the Rockefellers incensed the nation by hiring
outlaws to kill wives and children of striking workers in Colorado. It
took awhile for the Rockefellers and other "captains of industry" to catch
onto Ford's strategy, but after a few years it became more prevalent.
Industrial psychology was also making a name for itself at this
time--giving more and more workers the feeling that they were
participating in the decision-making process (sound familiar?), though it
was more of an illusion than reality. This so-called "welfare capitalism"
(David Brody's term) was eventually nationalized by Roosevelt, after the
Great Depression had eliminated the ability for the masses to buy back
their own products.
regards,
Doc
-- Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery. Today is a gift, That's why we call it "the Present."-Anonymous
Richard C. "Doc" Holloway Your partner for workforce development Visit me at http://www.thresholds.com/community/learnshops/index.html Or e-mail me at <mailto:learnshops@thresholds.com> Mailing Address: P.O. Box 2361 Phone: 01 360 786 0925 Olympia, WA 98507 USA Fax: 01 360 709 4361
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