Is it true most people prefer not to think and to work on a production or assembly line?

Question

That's what Henry Ford thought. It was part of the philosophy behind the way we conduct business today. Was he right?

I personally don't agree with Ford. I think that all humans enjoy thinking and that people should have greater access to using their creative abilities on the job. I just think that Ford's views became infiltrated in our work lives and educational experiences.

P.S.
I have worked on an assembly line. Had to ask to go to the bathroom. People got fired if they sang or talked to much. The whole time you were having to count from one to ten over and over, so thinking was sometimes difficult. I didn't know anyone around me who loved their job.

P.S. In reference to one of the statements, I'm not recruiting. Not 'in' politics except as a voter. Sorry that the question seemed offensive to you. It was more throwing out something philosophical to think on.

Answer 1

I think that most people would have a more complete feeling of accomplishment if they were able to create a whole product. Since assembly line work has been around since Ford's time and the schools have modeled their system by that model, people don't think much about their thoughts or lives being much different than that. This is a way of life (success) that has been modeled for each and everyone here in the USA. It is harder to think about a different model when you are busy surviving in this one?

Answer 2

First of all , understand the purpose of an assembly or production line . It is a very structured process of building products , whether autos , TV's or what have you , and which require 100's to hundreds of thousands parts to make them a finished commodity .

The intent of this methodology is to produce a product as efficiently , quickly , and trouble free as is humanly possible . To say it deprives one of thinking is a half truth . The process takes away the need to think , but only in regard to how , when , or where , a part is to be installed . An assembly line is no place for people to become creative , or to put a part on one way today and differently tomorrow . Standardization is the driving force in designing the parts , installation methods , and the number of people and time required to build each product . Thus , without going into detail , a complex process is controlled in respect to cost , trouble shooting , and as I mentioned , efficiency .

Henry Ford realized this and began with somewhat stationary assembly lines , where the people moved around the vehicles putting on parts . A cumbersome process and thus , the advent of moving lines , where the vehicle traversed through its assembly stages and the people were stationary .

I presume , and I hope , you asked this question with an inquiring mind and not stating a fact , under the subtlety of it being a question . I wonder , because I don't recall having ever read that Henry Ford made that statement . But I'm not a historian .

I too am a Detroiter and I spent a lot of time in the assembly plants . I was a white collar worker and thus an easy target for harsh remarks from some of the assembly line workers . And , if I should have set foot in the plant , say , during union contract negotiations , the remarks directed to me were often extremely harsh . But that's life in the Big City , I understood .

So , I met "those kind of people" . But I met all kind of people in the assembly plants , extremely religious , college grads , high school dropouts , alcoholics , drug addicts , many down on their luck , many happy , or at least content , super nice people , and bastards . Guess what ? I met many more of "those kind" in the so-called sterile confines of the engineering and executive environment . Guess what else ? I've met "those kind" of people just about everywhere . That's life in the Big City !!

Some of the responses made me cringe ! How disgustingly elitest can people be ? The words I read had to belong to someone born with a silver spoon in their mouth , and still had traces of "mothers' milk" behind their ears . To judge someone on the basis of the job they hold or to judge the multitudes on the basis of one bad apple is very narrow thinking .

I am not a milquetoast , I'm not a martyr , not a champion of causes but I am a little more on the conservative side . But above all , I'm a human being , one that expects the respect due me and I in turn show that respect towards other human beings . As one respondent stated , you should spend time in an assembly plant . I did , and I learned a lot , I got to know many people there , and made many friends , but I worked at it . I too wondered how a person can get up every morning , go to a job that was the same each day , putting on the same parts , at the same six to eight feet of line space , within the seconds or minutes allotted to perform his/her operations . Well , I asked many of them how they felt about it , how they did it . The responses would fill a book .

You want to learn about life ? Go to an assembly plant , talk to "those people" and then thank your parents , and God , for what you have . You know , everyone has the right to seek a legitimate means of surviving and providing for themselves and their families . But not everyone was granted the background , brilliance or oppurtunities to achieve some lofty position whereby they can look down their noses at the lesser privileged .

Then again , perhaps these "better than thou" types should just continue their path . Who knows , they may one day achieve a position whereby they can take the work away from "those people" and ship it out to "those people" living in some Third World nation . A little extreme perhaps , but there are consequences for all the judgments that people make , good and bad . There's an old adage , "engage your brain before you put your foot in your mouth".

Answer 3

I have worked on an assembly line several times throughout my life. I actually found that it gave me massive amounts of time to think.

I guess it just comes down to the individual and how much they think at anytime. Sort of like work, you are geared towards it or not!

This question (or the answers) actually tells quite a bit of underlying reasons for liberal/conservative views.

Answer 4

I definately prefer to think. Thinking is good, it keeps me from becoming a vegetable. Also production work is mind numbing and dull (IMO). If I had to choose, I would definately take thought over emptiness. But for people that enjoy production (My boyfriend), I am sure they have a completely different opinion. I agree with the person above who said it was for streamlining purposes.

Answer 5

Uh no, have you ever worked on the "line" Try it It will change your attitude (Nissan Plant Canton Mississippi) And that is a slap in the face to many auto workers in our great country to say such a thing

Answer 6

So you think the common man does not think...you post this question that insults so many fine Americans from every background and you want us to what? join your political party?
you ARE in politics here...are you recruiting? well I don't believe that statement is either fair, accurate, or intelligent.

Answer 7

Ralph Waldo Emerson may have 'said' it best when he wrote: "The most difficult thing for a man to do ... is to think".

Answer 8

I think so. Growing up in Detroit I saw these types of people on a daily basis.

Answer 9

well, I don't know about "prefer not to think"...

but it seems to be much more efficient... taking the "thinking" out, it streamlines the process and I think it eliminates errors in the end...

Answer 10

It depends on what kind of person you are, are you a follower, or are you a leader?

He claimed this, but it certainly didn't apply to him, did it?