Question

At the turn of the 20th century, Henry Ford reshaped not just how cars were built but how industrial labor was organized. His innovations — from standardizing parts to refining the moving assembly line — cut costs and sped production, making the automobile affordable for many Americans. Equally important, Ford changed expectations about factory work itself, introducing policies that had lasting effects on wages, turnover, and the relationship between employers and employees.

Ford’s treatment of his workers was revolutionary and paradoxical. In 1914 he introduced the famous $5 workday and shorter shifts, a policy that raised living standards for many employees and dramatically reduced the chronic turnover that had plagued factories. Those higher wages helped stabilize the workforce and created a pool of consumers who could buy the cars they made, reinforcing mass production’s market. At the same time, the assembly line’s extreme division of labor made tasks repetitive and monotonous, drawing criticism that Ford’s system deskilled workers and treated them as cogs in a machine. So while Ford improved pay and created new economic opportunities for his employees, his methods also sparked debates about dignity, control, and the human cost of industrial efficiency.
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Answer 1

At the turn of the 20th century Henry Ford reshaped both car production and industrial labor: standardizing parts and refining the moving assembly line cut costs and sped output, making automobiles affordable for many Americans. He also changed expectations about factory work — most famously with the 1914 $5 workday and shorter shifts — which raised living standards, slashed turnover, and helped create a pool of consumers for mass-produced cars. Yet Ford’s extreme division of labor made tasks repetitive and deskilled workers, prompting criticism that his system treated employees like cogs and raised lasting questions about dignity, control, and the human cost of efficiency.