Albert Pope, Columbia Bicycles, and Mass Production Assignment

Albert Pope, Columbia Bicycles, and Mass Production - Assignment Example Pope’s response reflects the American capitalist culture which emphasizes that individual ability and inventiveness are the bedrock of successful businesses. 8. Pope held that the US produced bicycles of superior quality and more profitability than Britain due to the absence of labor unions, facilitating the introduction of labor saving machines and cutting down on the number of employees. 9. The Fordist factory shows specialized departments, vertical integration and large volume of manufacture. Flexible firms are vertically disintegrated, have no specialization, and employ geographically scattered labor. Pope’s factory was concentrated geographically into one industrial complex; there were specialized departments for the manufacture of various components; vertically integration was emphasized, with Pope buying out his suppliers, such as the Weed Sewing Machine Company and the Hartford Rubber Works. In addition to innovation in bicycle parts, Pope adopted innovations in the production process, such as stamping and pressing methods, cold drawn steel, case hardening, swaging, annealing, electric welding, and die making. 15. The ownership of valuable patents constituted assets for the company; competition led to investment in technological innovation and industrial espionage; rapid innovation in technology made older models obsolete. 25. In order to promote the use of bicycles by women, Pope attempted to overcome the obstacle posed by the lack of socially accepted, appropriate dress for women cyclists. By donating $ 100 for a competition at the elitist Waldorf Hotel for the best doll in a cycling costume, Pope promoted cycling among the upper classes, secured a socially-sanctioned bicycling costume and received favorable publicity. 26. Pope countered church criticism of bicycling on Sundays by portraying cycling as a means of exercise leading to good health, and therefore meriting divine approval. He also indicated that

Control labor costs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Control labor costs - Essay Example The company has to satisfy both the customer and the laborer in order to run a profit oriented business in a highly competitive world. Laws and legislations governing the workforce have evolved over the passing decades. Labor issues have always been sources of conflict and they are highly problematic. The employer has to study and develop techniques to control labor costs; he must create solutions which can be implemented and enforced in his company, with a view to garner maximum profits. One of the major reasons for spiraling labor costs is the unauthorized and unscheduled absenteeism of the workforce. The attendance and the time spent by the workforce must be monitored and the wages must be calculated on the basis of the percentage of the hours worked. This kind of labor monitoring can definitely lead to increasing efficiency. But such a timekeeping system must be devised which does not in anyway question the employee's integrity, but at the same time enables the employer to track the workforce. Labor costs can be kept under control by improving the productivity and efficiency of the employees. This can be done by imparting good training to the workforce and through the use of cost and time saving equipment. The government plays a major role in decisions regarding the compensation rendered to the employees. It is the duty and the responsibility of the government to ensure that the laborers are not subjected to any kind of wage or gender discrimination. The government must prevent exploitation of the workforce, especially child labor. The unemployed and disadvantaged who are on the dole need both minimum wages and insurance cover, which is provided by the government. The federal and state governments have laws concerning minimum wages for even jobs with low productivity. Standards have been set by the federal government regarding the compensation of employees. They are: Davis Bacon Act (1931), Copeland Act (1934), Walsh-Healey Act (1936), Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)(1938), Equal Pay Act (1963), Title VII of Civil Rights Act(1964), Service Contract Act (1965), Age Discrimination Act (1967) and Wage Garnishment Law (1968). This is an age of increasing mobility. Multi-national companies employ global nationals, expatriates, local nationals, and third-country nationals. Employees move around the world; therefore it is a highly complicated task to devise compensation packages for employees working in disparate situations. There are different types of employees in multi-national corporation - third country nationals, expatriates and local nationals. Third country nationals are those who belong to another culture or nation having similarities with their place of work. Expatriates are those living outside their country of citizenship. Local nationals are those who are employed in the nation of their origin. Employers, by and large, have adopted different paths toward controlling labor costs. Most of the employers have discovered that investment in labor management can reap the reward of greater efficiency. This in turn, would give rise to happier employees. Efficient labor management techniques can control spiraling labor costs. Data collection for creating the payroll of employees and the automation of the payroll system reduces labor cost to a great extent. A survey conducted by Clark Consulting in 2004 found that institutional investor limits and uncertainty about the future accounting treatment for stock-based compensation