Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Introduction to clip:
This clip adequately summarizes what mass production actually is. According to the clip, mass production is the name given to the method of producing goods in large quantities at low cost per unit. The mass production process is characterized by mechanization to achieve high volume, elaborate organization of materials flow through various stages of manufacturing, careful supervision of quality standards, and minute division of labour. With precision equipment, large numbers of identical parts could be produced at low cost and with a small work force. Stationary workers in an assembly line concentrate on a single task, performing it at a pace dictated by the machine, minimizing unnecessary movement, and dramatically increasing productivity.
Reflection:
I agree that mass production is indeed synonymous with globalization. Mass production, like everything under the sun, has its own pros and cons. Many people do not realize this, but even our food is made in assembly lines. Take for example the burgers from McDonald’s. One person is in-charge of frying the patties; another is in-charge of putting the patty and other ingredients together in between the bun halves. The finished burger is finally passed on to another person to be wrapped.
I think that it is quite interesting to note that McDonald’s burgers taste and look the same everywhere around the world. How can this be made possible? Fresh meat from farms is processed in factories using the same machinery everywhere around the world. This is the same for bun halves. The patties are fried in the same type of oil and machine for exactly the same duration around the world. Technology has made it possible for people to share information easily, in this case, cooking recipe and techniques.
Mass production as a result of globalization ensures that a quality of a companies’ product remain constant around the world. As mentioned in the earlier post, mass production allows for a product to be produced faster, cheaper and better. Of course, all the benefits of mass production do not come without disadvantages. Mass production has the potential to devalue a product by overproducing it. If a local market is flooded with identical products, their value will drop and they have to be exported to foreign markets for sale. In addition, many people consider working in an assembly as a mundane job. Low-skilled workers displace skilled workers in factories as skill is not a prerequisite for running machines. This result in a total breakdown of a company should the machines fail one day.
Technological expert, Jonathan Pung
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comments:
It is an interesting topic. Yes, it ensures that we have products of same quality and just as many modern technology, it saves time. One people is only in charge of a little part of the process, instead of doing all the works in the old days. But then I think there is another problem related to this, which is the loss of many beautiful handicraft arts. Nowadays, few people will like to make handicraft products as their jobs. It is certainly harder than woking in a assembly line that you simply do one thing all the time. This job then requires more skills and experiences. Many artisans started to learn when they are very young and they did this for their whole life. So it does require your passion on it. Also more importantly, it profits less compare to mass production because the number of products is limited. And in fact, many small priducts are cheap also. Of course, some of them do cost a lot and most of they are exquisite. So maybe this is another issue about globalization and our uniqueness.
[[your political expert Liu Sha]]
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