The early 1900’s was a time where the topic of enterprises and big businesses became an enormous factor in the country’s economy. After the industrial revolution, genius American business men began to innovate their industries to out surpass all the competition typically illegally. This is of course a time when our legislation was no wear near in depth and articulate as it is today. I am of course referring to regulation and its effects then as compared to now. Monopolies were a much more common thing to occur because of the lack of government interference on industries. The large enterprises provided much benefit for the commonwealth however. Thousands of jobs were created, millions of tax dollars were funded and large philanthropic endeavors eventually occurred because of the owners. This can cause it to be difficult for other businesses to obtain sustainability because of these illegal business strategies. Henry Ford created an enterprise legally and heavily relied on his dreams and innovation to dominate a market he helped create.
When I refer to Henry Ford helping create the automobile market, I am not meaning that he was the individual who created the invention of the car. However, back then the automobile was a patented product that was not allowed to be created by any entrepreneur. You see, Mr. Ford had a vision of creating cars at a low enough price where they could become widely available to the average American. The Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers would take a percentage of the profits and not allow Ford to sell the automobile at a lower price. This lower price is what created so much value to the customer and took automobiles from a luxury item to the new innovation of personal transportation. Henry takes on regulation in court and actually ends up winning the case and is given the green go to produce his product. It is often we see entrepreneurs cause regulation, but it is not to see one remove it. It is strange to think that cars were once a patented product in our country. An idea that was owned by a corporation who could take royalties from companies wanting to innovate their idea. In today's society the “car” is not a patented idea, but there has been the implementation of new regulations in such field. Today if a company wants to create a car there are requirements that still must be met. This could be safety requirements for the passenger or equipment regulations. You can even discuss the point of the air pollution regulations to help preserve the ozone layer. They are created and added on over time to benefit consumers and society typically.
Henry Ford began outshining the competition by not innovating a product, but instead innovating the production process and the overall efficiency of his workers. His invention of the assembly line created a whole new process to efficiently create value that would turn over to profits. These higher profits could then be given to the workforce there in exchange for far more livable wages then other factories could provide. This genius innovation caused a ripple effect for the future of factory workers to come. For example shortly after, the companies Hershey's chocolate and Wrigley's Chewing gum began thriving in the market thanks to Mr. Ford’s innovation. This innovation from the entrepreneur eventually affects other industries and society (the thousands of factory jobs nationally). These higher wages provide more buying power/optionality for consumers in the market to spend on leisure or other markets in the economy.
One entrepreneur’s innovation can lead to the creation or development of numerous other industries in the market. Henry Ford did not only just help the state of industrial factories, but he also inspired other manufacturers in the transportation industry. For example, Harley Davidson began shortly after, and they made other cheap means of transportation. Henry did not want to have complete control but rather to exceed competition. This competition is what drives the market today. There is no need for monopolies and because of that we have regulations preventing such. This instead inspires entrepreneurs to innovate and create better outcomes for the consumers satisfaction. We eventually reached a point where anyone can become rich and experience the American dream through creative ingenuity. As the movie quotes, It matters, “How big do you wanna dream, and how hard do you wanna work.”
