Introduction
Fordism was more than assembly lines; it was a stage of economic development, used to describe mass production system pioneered by Ford Motor company. The concept of Fordism was named after Henry Ford, and since then, it has become a social system that is entirely based on quantity production in industries. Fordism was a way of organizing working processes based on the assembly line within a single production unit leading to mass production. The manufacturing concept was designed to bring out low production costs while paying workers decent ages to sustain themselves. The model was used by companies to rely on unskilled labor, since its inception, together with special purpose machinery to achieve goals of mass production. It also relied on principles which included standardization of products whereby everything was made by machines, use of specialized machines that would give way for low skilled labor to operate, and an increase in wages of employees so that they can be able to afford the products made in the industry. The effectiveness of the principles made the concept of adaptable and bloomed during the technological revolution. Ford Motor Company, the source of Fordism, has experienced innovation in labor and management policies to suit the need of workers and the ever-changing technology industry. The company has been undergoing fundamental changes in how they approach quality, the process of manufacturing and more importantly, in how people are treated leading to innovation in management and labor policies.
Innovations in Management and Labor Policies
Innovations in management and labor policies in Ford Motor Company has been the driving force of the company towards mass productions. The company’s management policies were focused on unleashing the best out of people ( Reynolds, 2018) . For Ford Motors to become the world's most trusted mobility company, it required them to change the way they work, not just assembly lines. Innovation in company culture was motivated by unleashing the best in their workers. For over 100 years, the automotive business has moved from mechanical diesel-powered labor-intensive machines to automated smart vehicles that provide convenient and safe mobility solution to people. For the company to ensure consistency and quality in their work, it had to transform its management culture and policies which put people first to bring out human-centered designs to bring out the best in people. Innovative Labor and management policies implemented in the company included:
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Workplace Environment Policies
Ford Motor Company enforced work environment policies that put their employees first, who were considered the most valuable resources. In their guidelines, policies implemented in the company and all the branches worldwide maintained a safe working environment for all of their employees. It also incorporated basic elements included in recognized international labor standards. The workplace environment reflected what the company stood for; a workplace that does not tolerate discrimination and harassment of employees. With innovation in such policies, the company has managed to provide competitive compensation for its workers and has maintained a work environment that meets and even exceeds the occupational safety and health standards. Other than ensuring that both child and forced labor are not used in their organization, Ford Motor Company has innovative workplace policies that recognize and respects the right of employees to associate freely.
Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy
The company is motivated to promote equality to foster diversity in the workplace. The company’s hiring policy states that there should be no discrimination whatsoever to anyone. Common discrimination against individual of a specific gender, sexual orientation, race, belief, or even country of origin is a crime as the company’s employee diversity is a valuable asset in providing different ideas and opinions about matters of the company. Nondiscrimination policy is well elaborated to the employees to provide a safe working environment for anyone.
Anti-Harassment Policy
As an objective, Ford Motor Company has policies that discourage harassment and encourages a respectful work environment. Harassment may be the use of intimidating or offensive languages. These conducts may include bullying, threats or even use of practical jokes. Violations in this policy may eventually lead to disciplinary actions, and even termination from the workplace as innovation in this policy has enabled everyone to work as a team towards the company's objectives.
Health and Safety Policy
Ford Motor Company has implemented innovation in its policies to include safety policies whereby the company is committed to protecting health and safety in workplaces. In every decision the company makes, safety is always the priority. Health safety commitment statement of the company states that every employee is a valuable asset to the company, and nothing is more important than their health and safety. Compliance with the regulation is the minimum health safety concerns of the company since the company's health standards may go beyond the required standards in seeking ways to protect health and safety for the employees ( Duval and Furceri, 2018) . Core requirements of the safety policy require every individual in the organization to take responsibility for their safety, as zero injury incidences will be achieved only if everyone is committed to the course.
Use of Company Assets and Safeguarding Policy
Use of company assets policies encourages individuals entrusted with company assets to be responsible in protecting company assets by the company policies. Company resources such as iPods, computers, fax machines and even electronic data stored in company computers are the property of the company. No privacy is allowed while using company assets such as computers and the internet as it has the mandate to monitor or access documents in their system at any time of their convenience. Restriction to use company resources is enforced when individuals use the resources for personal use or personal business gains.
Protecting Company Information Policy
Company information is a valuable asset and should be managed and stored effectively and securely. All information acquired while performing company duties is company information, including the files and documents stored in the company computers. Some of this information may include, car designs, strategy papers, product plan or even communication between senior officials in the company. Management of this information is necessary to maintain a competitive advantage against their competitors. Protection of company information is necessary, and therefore, innovation in the policies is necessary to enable employees to put safe information free from unauthorized access.
Consequences of Management and Labor Policies on Employees
Management and Labor policies affect employees either positively or negatively depending on the policy to be effected. A labor policy such as the anti-harassment policy of Ford Motor Company has a positive impact on the work output of employees. A working environment free of harassment due to effected policies to curb the vice from rogue employees is a safe environment which promotes innovation and creativity among the team members. Promotion of diversity and equal opportunity while hiring has enabled Ford Motor Company to propel its technology to safer driving experiences and more effective cars and automobiles on the roads. Such policies have changed from the initial Fordism period that was focused on single production lines and higher employee payment whose motivation was not enough to encourage innovation among employees ( Kennett, 2018, p. 25) .
While output might be the outcome of any policy, a focus on employees’ needs and health is an innovation in labor and management policy which enabled the company to be a leader in the business. Making employees the greatest and most valuable resource in the company is a policy innovation that outdid traditional Fordism policy periods ( Vooren et al., 2019) . Protection of company assets and resources such as confidential information policy innovation have enabled employees to be aware of the risks associated with loss of information to competitors or even hackers. Loss of information might lead to huge company losses. Management and labor policies and innovations have affected employees in mostly positive ways as the policies are in line with legal regulation standards, and focuses on employees needs and demands.
Other impacts of management and labor policies on employees are strong employee relationships. Every employee in the organization will be able to cooperate when strong labor policies that remove vices such as harassment and bullying are enforced. A healthy and safe workspace environment will enable employees to trust their employer, Ford Motor Company with their intellectual property when it comes to innovations as they have built a stronger trusted relationship with each other. Therefore, impacts of management and labor policies are mostly positive as the policies go together with the company objectives ( Mishra and Kanti, 2019) . When the company objectives put employees and the human resource at large as their most valuable resource, policies that are formulated will focus on them. In return, employees will have a great work-life balance whereby they are comfortable and happy in their workspaces, and also they receive good pay that is sufficient to sustain themselves and their families. Ford Motor company success over the past years is attributed to the focus on innovation of management and labor policies that strongly reflect employees’ needs and demands. The innovation of smart and secure cars which provides safe and efficient transportation in recent years, and long term financial successes is because of proper management and labor policies.
References
Kennett, P., 2018. Exclusion, post-Fordism and the “new Europe”. In Economic restructuring and social exclusion (pp. 14-32). Routledge.
Reynolds, A., 2018. Digital Activism Within Post-Fordism: Interventions Between Assimilation and Exclusion. Second International Handbook of Internet Research , pp.1-20.
Duval, R. and Furceri, D., 2018. The effects of labor and product market reforms: The role of macroeconomic conditions and policies. IMF Economic Review , 66 (1), pp.31-69.
Vooren, M., Haelermans, C., Groot, W. and Maassen van den Brink, H., 2019. The effectiveness of active labor market policies: a meta‐analysis. Journal of Economic Surveys , 33 (1), pp.125-149.
Mishra, D. and Kanti, S., 2019. Innovative Financial Instruments & Risk Management Policies: Misjudgment of Misfortunes. Innovative Financial Instruments & Risk Management Policies: Misjudgment of Misfortunes (January 3, 2019) .
