© 2013 IBM Corporation

100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM

Ing. Zdenka Podhorská & Ing. Roman Ondruš2013/2014

2

100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM

History of Assembly line part 1/2

Terracotta army - Qin Shi Huangdi

200 BC

Body parts assembled in different workshops

Marked for quality tracking

Automatic flour mill

Included a conveyor belt for transporting grain

1785

3

100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM

History of Assembly line part 2/2

1901-1904 Olds Curved Dash was the first

mass-produced vehicle made from the first

automotive assembly line.

(Ransom E. Olds – General Motors)

Swift & Co.

Meat assembly line – disassambly line

Vertical Intergration – from the ranch to the customer

4

100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM

Please answer these questions as a group. Please make short notes and select one person who will be speaker of the group and will be able to speak using these notes. Please be ready in 15 minutes.

In October 1908, the first Model T Fords were sold for $950. By 1912, the car was selling for $575. The price of the Model T would continue to drop during its 19 years in production, at one point dipping as low as $280– What was the main impact of the price decrease on the car industry?– What was happening with the supply and demand?– Who were his customers?

This reduction in price meant that the Ford Motor Company had smaller profit margins (on each Model T), but its revenue stayed the same. In 1909 the profit on a  car was $220. By 1914, the margin had dropped to $99.– How was the company able to survive the decrease of the profit margin

and keep the same revenue?

Your task

5

100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM

We will be discussing….

What was so special about Henry Ford’s activities related to demand and supply in the car industry in US in the beginning of the 20th century?

Panel Discussion