Ford & Taylorism and Thomas Friedman on Globalization: A Report

This report analyzes Fordism and Taylorism, contrasting them with Thomas Friedman's perspective on globalization. It examines the core principles of Ford and Taylor's management theories, focusing on efficiency, division of labor, and their application in modern contexts such as call centers. The report also delves into Friedman's concept of a 'flat world' and its implications, discussing the risks and opportunities presented by globalization. Through a series of questions, the report applies these theories to contemporary scenarios, evaluating their continued relevance and impact on organizations operating in a global environment. It concludes by emphasizing the enduring significance of these concepts despite their historical origins, highlighting their adaptability and influence on modern management practices.

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Management and Organizations in a Global Environment
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Executive Summary
In essence, this blog is composed of two major sections. The first section will briefly outline the
main concepts learned from the Ford and Taylorism theory and Thomas Friedman on
Globalization whereas the second section will focus on the application of the two concepts.
Notably, the two theories present some interesting facts as discussed in this paper. The two
theories can be applied in various areas. Taylorism, for instance, is used in call centres.

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Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................2
Introduction..................................................................................................................................4
Section One..................................................................................................................................4
Key Ideas from Ford and Taylorism............................................................................................4
Key Ideas from Thomas Friedman on Globalization...................................................................5
Section Two.................................................................................................................................5
Ford and Taylorism......................................................................................................................5
Question One................................................................................................................................5
Question Two...............................................................................................................................5
Question Three.............................................................................................................................6
Thomas Friedman on Globalization.............................................................................................6
Question One................................................................................................................................6
Question Two...............................................................................................................................7
Question Three.............................................................................................................................7
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................7
Bibliography.................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Taylorism is an effort to formulate business decisions on the grounds of data or
information that is quantitatively studied and tested. Frederick Winslow Taylor advocated for
Taylorism and regarded it as a management function to pinpoint methods in which expenses
could be accounted for effectively to improve the functionality of an organization. Consequently,
Fordism denotes the adoption of Henry Ford’s concept of mass production coupled with an
autocratic management. In other words, this means limited democracy at the workplace and high
labor division, but a considerable consolidation of huge salaries. On the other hand, Thomas
Friedman defines globalization as “the inexorable integration of markets, transportation systems,
and communication systems to a degree never witnessed before” (Lackner, 2017 p.60) This
integration happens in a process that enables individuals. Countries, and corporations to spread
across the globe cheaply, deeply, and faster than ever before.
Section One
Key Ideas from Ford and Taylorism
It was in 1908 when Henry Ford, in partnership with Alexander Malcomson, formulated
visionary ideas which led to the launching of a car manufacturing company named “The Ford
Motor Company” (Vidal, 2015 p.283) In essence, his idea was to produce cheap cars with the
highest level of simplicity possible. This could be realized by innovating a new method of
producing cars. With this burning desire in mind, Ford admired the efficiency of Fredrick Taylor.
In brief, Taylor’s management theory was based on the concept that the productivity of an
employee would be improved if he/she was assigned roles that perfectly match with their

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strengths and personal abilities (Mortenson, Doherty and Robinson, 2015 p.583). It must,
however, be noted that this can only be attained if unnecessary physical movements are
eliminated and the issue of time management is given the necessary attention. To clinch the
desired production level, Ford then applied his groundbreaking concept, wherein, his employees
would stay in the same position while the car bodies moved through the multiple workstations.
As a result of the application of the assembly line automated technique, the time of production
reduced significantly.
Key Ideas from Thomas Friedman on Globalization
According to Friedman, globalization is the interweaving of telecommunications,
technology, markets, and information systems so as to compress the globe from a medium size to
a considerably small size, and making it possible for people to navigate the world cheaply,
deeply, and faster than ever seen before, and making it possible for the world to come closer to
the people cheaply, deeply, and faster than ever seen before (Ezcurra and Rodríguez-Pose, 2013
p.100). Friedman further notes that globalization is an international system that was initiated to
take over the Cold War system (Ritzer and Dean, 2015 p.33). Whereas the globalization system
was based on one overarching characteristic which is integration, the Cold War system was
grounded on one overarching characteristic which is division.

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Section Two
Ford and Taylorism
Question One
In the modern world, employees in the aforementioned nations would be skeptical about
the idea of Taylorism in its initial form. This is so because technological innovations have
changed the way things operate and adopting the theory would prove troublesome (Logue and
Yates, 2001 p 59). For Taylorism to work in the current era, however, it needs to pass through a
series of modifications.
Question Two
Considering the design of scripts for use in the call centers, it is evident that the theory of
Taylorism has been applied, though partially as call centers operate in divided sections. With this
in mind, the division of work is executable at the call centers depending on the job roles and area
of specialization (Parker, 2005 p. 39). Notably, Taylor’s management theory was based on the
concept that the productivity of an employee would be improved if he/she was assigned roles
that perfectly match with their strengths and personal abilities.
Question Three
Indeed, it is not right to ignore ideas on the basis that they are out of date. Besides this, it
is wrong to say that the world has moved on. There are many industries across the globe and
definitely, a section of them might still need the ideas even if they were used many years ago.
While the ideas in the clip were applied one hundred years ago, they still have a deep-rooted

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impact in the modern world. The concept of division of work, for instance, is widely accepted in
many modern industries. In addition to this, many employers deem rewarding their excellently
performing workers as essential to the success of their businesses (Pieterse, 2012 p.41). Taking a
look at the start-up businesses, the launch of simple production methods keeps them afloat in the
midst of the highly competitive market (Pieterse, 2012 p.43). Therefore, it is true to conclude
that the age of the clip does not really matter. Rather, the thing matters is how these principles
are utilized in the modern era.
Thomas Friedman on Globalization
Question One
Essentially, there are multiple notable risks of living in a flat world of globalization as
explained by Friedman. According to Friedman, a flat world presents a platform devoid of
barriers thus people have the freedom to unite, communicate, and work without boundary
constraints (Friedman, 2005 p.33). However, Friedman submits that there are evident drawbacks
associated with a flat world of Globalization 3.0. One of the disadvantages of living in such a
world is that, as a consequence of business ethics, organizations face a lot of limitations and are
forced to move to other nations, perhaps the developing ones, so as to cut on costs. The second
drawback is that every person has his/her own thoughts; the thoughts of person A, for instance,
are different from those of person B. As a result, conflicts may be witnessed. Third, in the
absence of boundaries, people are given the freedom to formulate their own trade rules and this
can be detrimental (Friedman, 2005 p.34). In addition to this, terrorist attacks may become
rampant as there is freedom of movement.

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Question Two
I agree with Friedman’s rules for reasons well explained in this section. In reference to
the rule, “when the world is flat, whatever can be done will be done” (Friedman, 2005 p.33). And
it will be done by only you.” As a consequence of technological advancements, every
person is free to execute his/her own actions. Looking at a recent development from
the Southwest Airline, for instance, passengers can download and print their own air
ticket online. In other words, the airline allowed people to act as their personal
ticket agents. Therefore, it is upon each individual to come up with new concepts
and have freedom do what they please ( Friedman, 2005 p.35).
Question Three
I oppose the statement that the level of globalization is uniform across the world.
Perhaps, it is worth mentioning that globalization is affected by multiple factors. Taking a look at
developed countries, for instance, their level of technological advancement is far beyond the
developing nations (Parker, 2005 p.26). As a result, the developed nations will globalize at a
faster rate, leaving the others behind.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this paper has outlined the concepts of Ford and Taylorism and moved a
step further to apply them in a real-life scenario. As seen in the paper, even though the clip was
recorded 100 years ago, the underlying principles are still relevant in the modern era. In addition
to this, Thomas Friedman presents some compelling arguments about globalization as outlined in
this paper.

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References
Ezcurra, R. and Rodríguez-Pose, A., 2013. Does economic globalization affect regional
inequality? A cross-country analysis. World Development, 52, pp.92-103.
Friedman, T.L., 2005. The world is flat: A brief history of the twenty-first century. Macmillan.
Lackner, H., 2017. Travel accounts from the United States and their influence on Taylorism,
Fordism and Productivity in Austria. In The Americanization/Westernization of Austria (pp. 38-
60). Routledge.
Logue, J. and Yates, J., 2001. The real world of employee ownership. Cornell University Press.
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.
Parker, B., 2005. Introduction to globalization and business: Relationships and responsibilities.
Sage.
Pieterse, J.N., 2012. Periodizing globalization: histories of globalization. New Global
Studies, 6(2).
Ritzer, G. and Dean, P., 2015. Globalization: A basic text. John Wiley & Sons.
Vidal, M., 2015. Fordism and the Golden Age of Atlantic Capitalism. The SAGE Handbook of
the Sociology of Work and Employment, p.283.

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