Question

Henry Ford used Frederick Taylor's methods of management to revolutionize the automotive industry with the inception of the assembly line. What was the main criticism of Ford's management methods?

a. Ford allowed people to select any color car they wanted, as long as it was black
b. People got tired of performing the same task over and over again
c. It was difficult to make friends at work due to turnover
d. There were not sufficient studies of consumer demands

Answer 1

The main criticism of Ford's management methods was the monotonous and repetitive nature of assembly line work, which led to a high worker turnover rate, but Ford attempted to mitigate this with higher wages and shorter work hours. so, option c is the correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

The main criticism of Henry Ford's management methods was that the work on the assembly line became tedious and monotonous, as workers had to perform the same task repeatedly. This arose from Ford's implementation of Frederick Taylor's principles of scientific management, which aimed to increase efficiency but also led to a situation where workers felt dehumanized and turned into machine-like entities. Ford's strategies, while revolutionizing the automotive industry by enabling mass production and lowering costs, resulted in a high turnover rate due to the repetitive nature of the work.

Despite the negative aspects, Ford aimed to offset these criticisms by offering his workers higher wages and reducing work hours, which was innovative for the time. Ironically, improving the economic power of his employees inadvertently helped create a consumer base for his automobiles. Nevertheless, the overall discontent with the repetitiveness of the work was a significant drawback of Ford's management approach.