Reconsidering Ford’s Highland Park assembly line: new data vs. old ideas

Wilson, J.M. (2011) Reconsidering Ford’s Highland Park assembly line: new data vs. old ideas. In: 71st Annual Academy of Management Meeting, San Antonio, TX, USA, 12-16 Aug 2011, pp. 1-6. (doi: 10.5465/AMBPP.2011.65869138)

Abstract

Ford’s Assembly Line at Highland Park is one of the most influential production system conceptualizations. Anecdotal commentary and a limited set of annual data have provided the foundation for popular opinion about Ford and past research on his factory and its management. New data is used to explore Ford’s development of the assembly line. This confirms and strengthens research on line’s effect on labor productivity, but raises several significant incongruities vis-à-vis its modern stereotype. These are important for they show Ford’s assembly line was used differently than modern ones and their production systems were more flexible than previously recognized.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Keywords: Operations Management, Past or Current Movements or Trends, History of Modern or Long-Running Industry
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Wilson, Dr James
• Authors: Wilson, J.M.
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2011 The Author
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced with the permission of the author