100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM
Ing. Zdenka Podhorská & Ing. Roman Ondruš
2013/2014
© 2013 IBM Corporation
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
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100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM
History of Assembly line part 2/2
Swift & Co.
Meat assembly line – disassambly line
Vertical Intergration – from the ranch to the customer
1901-1904 Olds Curved Dash was the first
mass-produced vehicle made from the first
automotive assembly line.
(Ransom E. Olds – General Motors)
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100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM
Your task
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?
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100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM
Panel Discussion
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?
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