Reference
- factoryplace of production characterized by wage labor, the use of machinery, and the division of labor. The large-scale use of machinery differentiates factory production from simple manufacture, and the division of labor sets it apart from even the most elaborate handicraft establishments. Standardized goods are produced and sometimes sold more cheaply by the factory system, and occasionally the goods are better than those made by artisans. The factory system makes possible huge increases in output per man-hour though at the same time division of labor deprives individual workers of much of their sense of creativity. However, in the 19th and first half of the 20th cent., the factory system gave rise to serious social problems, some of which persist. The tedious routine of assembly line work resulted in boredom and frustration among the workers; this could reduce productivity and product quality. The concentration of large plants and factories in urban areas also helped create urban congestion, pollution, slum dwellings and traffic jams. To minimize these problems, employers have attempted to increase productivity and quality of product by introducing robots to perform some of the tedious operations, by introducing systems that reduce the tedium of assembly line work, and by involving workers in the plant management. Since the 1960s, the closing of factories in urban areas in the United States has reduced environmental pollution and other social problems associated with factories, but has also created decreased employment opportunities for unskilled workers. Since the 1960s, factory production has been globalized, creating goods that are assembled in more than one country. Global production has also induced multinational corporations to move their factories out of industrial countries to areas with lower overhead and cheaper labor. Because of the importance of factories to an area's economy, local governments in the United States have offered subsidies to encourage companies to build or maintain factories in their areas. In 1988, Congress passed legislation requiring large employers to provide notice before closing a plant.
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Perspectives
Behemoth
Factories, with their ingenious machinery and miraculous productivity, are celebrated as modern wonders of the world. Yet from William Blake's "dark Satanic mills" they have also fuelled our fears of the future. Telling the story of the factory, Joshua B. Freeman takes readers from the textile mills in England that powered the Industrial Revolution to the steel and car plants of twentieth-century America, Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, to today's behemoths making trainers, toys and iPhones in China and Vietnam. He traces arguments about factories and social progress through such critics and champions as Marx, Ford and Stalin. And he explores the representation of factories in the work of Margaret Bourke-White, Charlie Chaplin and Diego Rivera.
Mill
The mills at Wicksbridge are imaginary, but their planning, construction, and operation are quite typical of mills developed in New England throughout the nineteenth century.
Farm to Factory
To say that history's greatest economic experiment--Soviet communism--was also its greatest economic failure is to say what many consider obvious. Here, in a startling reinterpretation, Robert Allen argues that the USSR was one of the most successful developing economies of the twentieth century. He reaches this provocative conclusion by recalculating national consumption and using economic, demographic, and computer simulation models to address the "what if" questions central to Soviet history. Moreover, by comparing Soviet performance not only with advanced but with less developed countries, he provides a meaningful context for its evaluation. Although the Russian economy began to develop in the late nineteenth century based on wheat exports, modern economic growth proved elusive. But growth was rapid from 1928 to the 1970s--due to successful Five Year Plans. Notwithstanding the horrors of Stalinism, the building of heavy industry accelerated growth during the 1930s and raised living standards, especially for the many peasants who moved to cities. A sudden drop in fertility due to the education of women and their employment outside the home also facilitated growth. While highlighting the previously underemphasized achievements of Soviet planning, Farm to Factory also shows, through methodical analysis set in fluid prose, that Stalin's worst excesses--such as the bloody collectivization of agriculture--did little to spur growth. Economic development stagnated after 1970, as vital resources were diverted to the military and as a Soviet leadership lacking in original thought pursued wasteful investments.
The Factory
The book goes beyond the assembly line to examine the physical environment of the industrial landscape. What machines are used to make cars and computer chips? Who are the people who make the products? When did robots replace humans on the assembly line? Why are factories configured the way they are? The Factory: A Social History of Work and Technology answers these questions and more, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look into the wonders of mass production. The book traces the history of the factory from the first small cottage workshop through the Industrial Revolution to the large, clean room it is today. It also examines the people behind the machines and how their roles have been defined by the design of factory buildings. Lastly, it illustrates the broader world of industrialization in relation to the effects it has had on workers and the consumer society that feeds it. Appeals to readers interested in world history, industrial tourism, and the robotics industry Explains the significance of the factory to American history and culture Tells the story of American factory work through spaces and objects Details how factory buildings have evolved over the years
The Industrial Revolution in the Eighteenth Century
This classic volume, first published in 1928, is a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of the Industrial Revolution. Arranged in three distinct parts, it covers: * Preparatory Changes * Inventions and Factories * The Immediate Consequences. A valuable reference, it is, as Professor T. S. Ashton says in his preface to this work, 'in both its architecture and detail this volume is by far the best introduction to the subject in any language... one of a few works on economic history that can justly be spoken of as classics'.
The Factory in a Garden
When we think about Victorian factories, 'Dark Satanic Mills' might spring to mind - images of blackened buildings and exhausted, exploited workers struggling in unhealthy and ungodly conditions. But for some employees this image was far from the truth, and this is the subject of 'The Factory in a Garden' which traces the history of a factory gardens movement from its late-eighteenth century beginnings in Britain to its twenty-first century equivalent in Google's vegetable gardens at their headquarters in California. The book is the first study of its kind examining the development of parks, gardens, and outdoor leisure facilities for factories in Britain and America as a model for the reshaping of the corporate environment in the twenty-first century. This is also the first book to give a comprehensive account of the contribution of gardens, gardening and recreation to the history of responsible capitalism and ethical working practices.
Dark Satanic Mills
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The Industrial Revolution involved the invention or reinvention of machines, power, labor, and capital. But industrial growth could not go on forever without serious social consequences, manifested in the first labor strikes, union organizations, and workingmen's political parties in the 1830s.
Steam Engines and Pin Making
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowContinue your investigation of the Industrial Revolution with a look at how the invention of the steam engine allowed us to produce more goods more efficiently. Then examine the division of labor and Adam Smith's story of pin making to see how the integration of social and technical innovations caused dramatic improvements in production.
Mass Production
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowManufacturers began to mass-produce products they could sell cheaply and in large numbers through nationwide advertising campaigns. Henry Ford perfected the automobile assembly line in 1914, reduced the price of cars, and raised his workers' wages, which increased their loyalty and made them potential buyers.
Online Articles
- Industrial Revolution and Urbanization: towns and factories, 1750-1850Historians have seen the Industrial Revolution as a benchmark in the
history of humanity. Industrialisation has often been situated in an urban
environment because increasing industry meant expanding cities. However,
contrary to what contemporaries might have thought and opposite to our
own experience, when we look at industrialised areas today, industrial and
urban development did not always go hand in hand. In fact, different phases
of industrialisation are associated with different phases of urbanisation.
In general terms, we can say that the rise of capital and industri - Mechanical Science on the Factory Floor: The Early Industrial Revolution in LeedsEvidence suggests that the scientifically-informed, shop floor experimentation that transformed the woolen and linen industries in Leeds had its roots in the scientific culture and experimental habits that developed in 18th-century Britain.
- The Role and Regulation of Child Factory Labour During the Industrial Revolution in Australia, 1873–1885This study investigates child factory labour in Victoria, the most populous and industrialized colony in Australia in the second half of the nineteenth century. Three sources of primary data are analysed: Royal Commission reports, texts of bills and statutes, and parliamentary and public debates. The findings inform current academic debates by enhancing understanding of the role played by child workers during industrialization. They show that children were low-cost substitutes for adult males and that child labour was central to ongoing industrialization. A wide range of industries and jobs is identified in which children were employed in harsh conditions, in some instances in greater proportions than adults. Following the reports of the Royal Commission, the parliament of Victoria recognized a child labour problem serious enough to warrant regulation. While noting that circumstances were not as severe as in Britain, it passed legislation in 1885 with provisions that offered more protection to children than those in the British factory act of 1878. The legislation also offered more protection than factory laws in other industrializing colonies and countries. The findings throw light on the character of colonial liberal reformers in a wealthy colony who sought to create a better life for white settlers by adopting policies of state intervention.
Industrial Revolution: The Textile Trade
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowDiscover what Great Britain's burgeoning textile trade in the 18th century reveals about why this nation was the heart of the Industrial Revolution. Consider how the introduction of a popular new product generated significant market demand, how inventors solved problems, and why the steam engine is rightly considered the decisive factor that facilitated large-scale industrial production.