Scientific Management and Globalisation

Question: Discuss about theScientific Management and Globalisation. Answer: Ford and Taylorism The video compares between two factories and their method of manufacturing automobile. The Vulcan Motor Company Limited in the United Kingdom manufactured cars in the unscientific process which took weeks. The cars were very costly and could be only be afforded by the rich (Vulcanmotors.boschauto.co.uk 2017). Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company in the United States of America introduced the scientific management process proposed by the American mechanical engineer, Fredrick Winslow Taylor. Ford used scientific method of manufacturing cars by using conveyer belt where the parts passed down from one worker to the next. This scientific management of manufacturing automobiles made production cheaper which resulted in production of cheaper cars affordable by many. The process converted cars from a status symbol of the rich to the prized assets of many Americans. Ford in order to ensure uninterrupted production and retention provided good salary to his staff. It can be that F ord introduced the strategic management of the human resource, machinery and material to bring down cost of production. He did not allow intervention of trade unions in order to ensure dynamism in production. This system of automobile manufacturing spread to entire America and later to big European markets like Germany. Henry Ford brought about innovation and modernisation in manufacturing which came to be known as Fordism (Ford.com 2017). The workers in Australia, Europe and America would accept Taylorism today. Fordism refers to the scientific management of people, resources and machinery to achieve economies of scale. There are several small companies in these three continents which work in the small acale industry. These firms can apply Taylorsim and management their production process in a scientific way. The companies who are seeking to bring about innovation in their products can also use Taylorism to sustain the market (Mortenson, Doherty and Robinson 2015). The callers in the call centres use scripts of questions which are designed keeping the consumers needs in consideration. These callers use the script to speak to the customers using telephone or internet connections are supervised by their seniors. Hence, the call centres use Taylorism to manage their production team in a scientific way to ensure generation of revenue. The video shows the happenings in the Ford Motor Company dating centuries ago which seem to have become out of date. The statement can hold true for the multinational companies like Ford Motor Company and Unilever who have their own dynamic business models. However, there are small firms which manufacture FMCG goods and exist in the fear of being engulfed by big players like Unilever. These firms can use Fordism and bring about innovation in their production process. They can also manage their workforces and promotion scientifically to reduce their cost of production and increase their revenue. These small companies can adopt Taylorism to sustain in the market and prevent the multinational companies from engulfing them (Sorge and Streeck 2016). Thomas Friedman on Globalisation; 3 Eras of Globalisation; World is Flat The first oration by Thomas Fried deals with the three ages of globalisation. The first era was the era of global arbitrage that reduced the size of the huge earth to medium. The second era of globalisation coincided with expansion of European powers like England and Spain into new lands. The empowerment of individuals to communicate and transact with whole world using advanced technology has reduced the size of the world even smaller. The orator in the next video spoke about his friend discovering and releasing eco friendly Peruvian dishes in China. He also laid stress on the importance of awareness among individuals regarding the resources and their usage (Friedman 2014). The flat world of today is dominated by individuals who interact with the whole world by the virtue of advanced technology poses risk. The key drawback of this empowerment is that it has exposed people to huge resources which they can use to satisfy their own needs. The key risk is that today radical groups like terrorists have huge power to cause massive damage to the economies. The risk is that these groups have the power to damage property worth billions and even threaten the existence of the multinational companies (Khajenoori, Parnian and Jafari 2014). The iron rule of Friedman states that the business world and education today is exploring new entrepreneurial ventures and innovation. The companies today can bring about new innovations and improvements in their strategies. There is a great scope of entrepreneurial ventures and start-ups in todays world due to availability of resources (Baylis, Smith and Owens 2013). The level of globalisation is not uniform all across the world and there are different levels of economical and technological developments. The nations like the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Germany are advanced countries. These are home to big multinational companies like Unilever and Ford Motor Company. The markets like India, China, Brazil are emerging markets which also have their own multinational companies. These two markets have several business tie-ups and enter into bilateral trade agreements. There exists steady flow of money, employment, investments, goods and services between these two markets. There are many countries like the poor countries of Aftica, Asia and South America which are technologically and economically weak. These countries are very poor and have lack of entrepreneurial ventures. Their markets are not profitable and fail to attract big companies. Hence, it can be opined that the level of globalisation is not uniform and differ between co untries. Conclusion: The videos and the question discuss two topics, Taylorism and Globalisation. The video on Taylorism tells tale of the production process in the British and American company. The video shows that innovation and management can bring development in any industry. The questions then prove that Taylorsim may be historical incidence is still very pertinent in the small industries round the world. The second video educates the readers on the ages and stages of globalisation. It shows how the advancement associated with globalisation made the world a smaller place. The video also throws light on the dangers that globalisation has brought with itself. Friedman in his oration also stressed on the need of responsibility and awareness among individuals to derive benefit from globalisation. References: Baylis, J., Smith, S. and Owens, P., 2013.The globalization of world politics: an introduction to international relations. Oxford University Press. Easterly, W. and Levine, R., 2016. The European origins of economic development.Journal of Economic Growth,21(3), pp.225-257. Ford.com. 2017. Ford New Cars, Trucks, SUVs, Crossovers Hybrids | Vehicles Built Just for You | Ford.com. [online] Available at: https://www.ford.com [Accessed 29 Apr. 2017]. Friedman, J., 2014. Global System, Globalization and the Parameters of Modernity: Is Modernity a Cultural System?.Occasional Paper, (14), pp.5-30. Khajenoori, B., Parnian, L. and Jafari, M., 2014. A Study of the Relationship between Cultural Globalization with Individualism and Collectivism (Research Subject: Shiraz City).Development,49, pp.31-35. Mortenson, M.J., Doherty, N.F. and Robinson, S., 2015. Operational research from Taylorism to Terabytes: A research agenda for the analytics age.European Journal of Operational Research,241(3), pp.583-595. Sorge, A. and Streeck, W., 2016.Diversified quality production revisited the transformation of production systems and regulatory regimes in Germany(No. 16/13). MPIfG Discussion Paper. Vulcanmotors.boschauto.co.uk. 2017. WELCOME - Vulcan Motors. [online] Available at: https://vulcanmotors.boschauto.co.uk/ [Accessed 29 Apr. 2017].