Question

During the early 1800s and late 1900s, the United States underwent huge economic and technological changes. The development of a society that relied on free enterprise and innovation led to new inventions and increasingly efficient businesses. These changes helped make the United States one of the world’s strongest economies and industrial centers. From Thomas Edison’s light bulb to Henry Ford’s affordable automobiles to Frederick Taylor’s time-study analysis, US innovations influenced business, industry, and technology in the United States throughout the 1900s and into the present. How does the business environment and technological innovation in the modern United States resemble the United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the US culture of innovation throughout history and today?

Answer 1

The business and technological environment during the late 1800s and early 1900s was one of rapid change and advancement. The "Second Industrial Revolution," as that period is sometimes called, saw the introduction of electrical power, internal combustion engines, and many other culture-shaping inventions and innovations. In the early 2000s, a similar pattern of innovation and rapid change is occurring. Now the fields of innovation are in the areas of computer and communications technologies, robotics, artificial intelligence, etc. Old ways of doing business (such as retail sales in physical stores) are being challenged and often replaced by new ways (such as online sales and distribution).

The strengths of an innovation culture are the capacity for change and growth and new solutions to problems. The weaknesses are felt in terms of turmoil and uncertainty. People today may go through several types of careers rather than remaining in one stable company or career path for their whole life. Competition pushes everyone to keep innovating or risk becoming obsolete.