In the business industry human resource management is very important as managing human resources well can make a company become very successful. Human resource management (HRM) is a highly contested term that does not yet have one particular definition (Hendry, 2012). Boxall & Purcell (2003) define HRM as something that includes anything and everything associated with the management of employment relations in a firm. One particular very famous method of HRM is Fordism. Fordism is a social/economic system used by Henry Ford during the 1920s-1930s that aimed to produce mass production methods (Amin, 2011). Many people think that Fordism no longer exists and that it has been completely left behind, but others think that certain elements of Fordism still exist in today’s society. After reading the article by Taylor & Bain (1999), this paper will discuss the manner in which call centre work can be viewed as an extension of Fordism.
Before discussing whether certain elements of Fordism continue to exist in call centres, with particular reference to the studies done in the article by Taylor & Bain, Fordism has to be properly defined.
According to different sources, Fordism is a management system that was based on rules made by Henry Ford with the objective of achieving the highest possible productivity through efficient standardized work with minimum cost. Fordism involves growth based on high efficiency, growing productivity based on minimization of costs, higher incomes linked to