Question

Compare and contrast car manufacturing before and after the introduction of the moving assembly line. Drag each statement to the correct category.

(2 points)
Put responses in the correct input to answer the question. Select a response, navigate to the desired input and insert the response. Responses can be selected and inserted using the space bar, enter key, left mouse button or touchpad. Responses can also be moved by dragging with a mouse.
Before assembly lines

Both

After assembly lines

Answer 1

Before assembly lines
- Cars assembled by skilled craftsmen at fixed workstations; parts were brought to the car
- Low production volume; each car took many hours or days to build
- Higher prices; cars were largely luxury items and often customized
- Production relied on broadly skilled labor

Both
- Factories used machinery and raw materials (steel, rubber, glass) and required coordination of parts and processes
- Required workers, supervisors, and some specialized trades (maintenance, machine operators)
- Quality control and workplace safety were ongoing concerns

After assembly lines
- Moving assembly line/conveyor brought the work to workers
- Dramatically faster production and much higher output
- Use of standardized, interchangeable parts and fewer model variations
- Mass production lowered costs and made cars affordable to many more people
- Jobs became more specialized and repetitive, with less skill required per task
- Management imposed stricter pace/control of work; firms used higher wages and shorter hours (e.g., Ford’s policies) to reduce turnover