Global Production System Flashcards
What is Division of Labour? (DoL)
Adam Smith (1776) efficiency gains of DoL and specialisation of production process
Subdivide production process within a factory
What is Spatial Division of Labour (SDoL)
Spatial separation of components of production process
In past countries/regions specialise in parts of production process
Now see SDoL within firms (HQ in Tokyo, assembly in EU)
Social-spatial inequalities of SDoL (management v labour, high-skill v low-skill)
What are the origins of the Fordist Production System?
Late 19th/early 20th century more organised forms of productions, management and DoL
Henry Ford: 1913 Model T
High volume demand and production
Assembly line DoL and SDoL with ‘branch plants’
What are the dimensions of Fordism post WW2?
Spread of Fordist methods across industries in advanced economies
Era of economies of scale in mass produced and standardised goods
Large vertically integrated firms
Highly unionised routinised work
Cycle of supply and demand
Geography of Fordist GPS
National scale: Key regions at heart e.g. Ruhr, West Mids, Boston, Chicago
1960s+ new locations in overseas countries
Neo-Fordism?: MNCs developed to reorganise production internationally to search for the cheapest locations for production
Automobile and electronics at heart of increasingly complicated production networks
What was the crisis of Fordism?
Decline of post-war boom in industrialised countries, unemployment, decline in consumption
Overseas competition and emerging global economy
Inflexibility and high cost of Fordism in developed countries
Deindustrialisation of Fordist regions
Shift in production to lower cost overseas countries
Post Fordism and the GPS
Transformation towards a mix of more flexible forms of production
Due to: technological change, changing market demand, globalisation, more flexible firms
Evermore global reach and integration: Newer International Divisions of Labour
Emerging local scales within new GPS: New Industrial Spaces
Examples of newer International Divisions of Labour?
More indirect forms of FDI between developed and developing e.g. subcontracting
Increasing emphasis on shifts in service functions e.g. off-shoring call centres to India
Reverse FDI, flows from NICs to developed e.g. Tata (Indian) own Jaguar Land Rover
What are some New Industrial Spaces?
New Industrial Districts: Dense local agglomerations of SMEs specialising in high quality production of a good or service
High-Tech Local Areas: Research and design centres, knowledge driven, high skilled
Global Cities: High profile command points in global economy
