Henry Ford's 5 Day Plan example essay topic

Born July 30, 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan, Henry Ford was the first child of William and Mary Ford. As a young man he became an excellent self-taught mechanic and machinist. At age 16 he left the farm and went to nearby Detroit, a city that was becoming an industrial giant. There he worked as an apprentice at a machine shop, while months later he would begin work with steam engines at the Detroit Dry Dock Co., where he first saw the internal combustion engine, the kind of engine he would later use to make his automobiles... On April 11, 1888 he married Clara Bryant and soon after they had their first son Edsel.

By Christmas Eve 1893, Henry completed his first gasoline engine and started to build racing cars. In 1901 his car beat what was then the world's fastest automobile in a race before a crowd of eight thousand people in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. The publicity he received for this victory allowed Ford to finance a practical laboratory for refining his auto ideas. In 1903 the Ford Motor Company was formed. People did not believe he could make a car that the working man could afford.

He achieved his goal of having a car that the average man could afford by using the idea of mass production. Ford soon began production on his most famous car the model T. It took a while but in 1913 Ford created the first moving assembly line in his plant. Soon demand for his affordable cars soared. Of course, there were not always supporters of Henry Ford. If fact, there were many critics who believed that Henry Ford was so controversial that it prevented the potential of Fords from becoming greater than it is today.

By the mid twenties the Ford was already the worlds most successful automobile company, but their great reputation would soon decline. On January 5, 1914 Henry Ford's announcement of the incredible $5 dollar / day plan swept the newspapers across the nation. The Detroit Journal announced, The surprise of the labor leaders and the consternation of manufacturers, Henry Ford announced on Jan 5, 1914 that a minimum wage of $5 dollars / day would be instituted immediately in the Ford plants, along with a profit sharing plan for all male employees. Not only did Henry Ford's new deal shock the nation; it sent a tremendous number of workers to Detroit. For the next ten years people would do anything to become a worker of one of Henry Ford's plants. It was unheard of to be offered $5/day by any automobile company.

In fact the average salary for most was a mere $2.50/day at GM and Chrysler's. But Henry Ford's $5/day plan was truly an illusion, it allowed for greater control of his workers. It was said, "The 5 dollar / day plan was an important early attempt at implementing a corporate welfare program". Ford wanted to see his company prosper his employees were a part of this company.

Of the most controversial actions of Ford was his hiring of criminals. In fact it was said that, "thousands of former criminals were taken on the Fords payroll over the course of the years, all at Mr. Fords Requests". Not only was this a highly questionable decision, but it startled everyone. It was odd, especially when there was such a demand to work at Ford. Not only did the new workers please Henry Ford, but they also helped the company itself.

Ford's controversial new policy of hiring criminals not only surprised the River Rouge workers, but it swept across the nation. Many news articles were printed concerning Ford's policies. In effect Ford was receiving free advertising. Whether it was his intent or not, Ford's ideas, sometimes eccentric helped market the company for the good.

Workers were expected to work faster, and harder. Department heads were ordered to ban all talking and whistling while work was in progress. This was Because Ford needed to know every move of his workers. Secondly, Ford began to fire older workers and hire younger workers. His ideology was that the younger workers could work more productively and more efficiently.

Which in turn would send more money flowing into his pockets. Workers were forced to do what they were told or would be out of a job. development of his River Rouge plant was considered a "industrial Cathedral". Hundreds waited month after month in front of the employment building hoping to be hired. To foreign immigrants it meant hope and a successful future. The River Rouge plant employed over 50,000 employees. Pols, Lithuanians, Germans, almost every Western Europe country could be represented at the Ford Plant.

Like a Father Henry Ford began educational programs, teaching his illiterate Employees how to read English. Company picnics, and dinners were all part of Ford's policies that were so unusual, yet so brilliant at that time. The financial success was extraordinary. By 1914 Ford's had over 600 cars daily rolling off the assembly line. Between 1914 and 1921 earnings soared from 25 million to 78 million. All of Ford's efforts and expectations came to a pinnacle when; "at the close of 1923 there were 6,221 passengers cars in the city of Detroit, one for every 6.1 persons.

Of these 6,221 cars, 41% were Fords". After WWI Ford ran unsuccessfully for the Senate on the Democratic ticket. He never ran again, but was always outspoken on political subjects. He violently opposed labor organizations and actively worked against the United autoworkers trying to unionize his plants. In 1927 Ford decided to stop production on the model T after 15 million had been sold.

During this time Ford became the leading auto manufacturer in the country. In addition to the moving assembly line, Ford revolutionized the auto industry by increasing the pay and decreasing the hours of his employees, ensuring he could get enough and the best workers. Driven by his childhood sense of duty and obligation, Ford was also an active philanthropist throughout his life. He built a hospital for his employees in Detroit, and in 1936 established the Ford Foundation for the purposes of 'advancing human welfare. ' Since its founding the Ford Foundation has issued more than $8 billion in grants worldwide. Henry Ford died at his estate, Fairlane, in Dearborn, Michigan in 1947 at the age of 84.

Before he died he signed the company over to his grandson, Henry Ford II.