Fordism. The Ubiquitous Approach to Fulfilling Your Customers Need
Contrary to popular belief, Henry Ford wasn’t denying the fact that customers know best when he famously said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” If one were able to read between the lines of that famous saying, one would be able to see that the perspicacious Ford, had indeed found the solution to a faster horse for his prospects.
The only hurdle was to get everyone to agree that the “faster horse” he offered would have a mechanical heart, running legs made of steel and with interchangeable parts for torn muscles.
Ford realised, he had to make the Model T, ubiquitous.
This, he cleverly achieved by mass producing the automobile, making them identical in every way, including its colour; keeping the cost low and affordability high. The Model T was truly economical, selling at only US$825 in 1908 ($ 23,010 today) and furthermore Ford made certain that the price would continue to fall every year, that by 1920s, the Model T could be seen everywhere in America.
Fordism or the school of thought of where goods can be produced inexpensively through mass production whilst keeping wages high for workers, was the new black.
