Which term describes the factory production system associated with standardized tasks and efficiency, commonly linked to Henry Ford?

• A. Fordism
• B. Taylorism
• C. American standard of living
• D. Knights of Labor

Answer: (A)

Fordism describes the factory production system built around standardized tasks and rapid assembly-line production, a model Henry Ford popularized to boost efficiency and output. It relies on moving belts, interchangeable parts, and workers performing small, specialized duties to speed up manufacturing. This approach also ties mass production to higher wages and broader consumer access, since better pay helps workers buy the cars they helped produce. Taylorism, by contrast, focuses on scientific management and time‑motion studies to squeeze more efficiency from any task, but isn’t the specific Ford-linked system. Knights of Labor was a labor organization advocating workers’ rights, not a production method, and the American standard of living is an outcome rather than a production technique.