Outline   * Introduction   * Mass Production   * Increasing Labor Productivity via Taylor’s Scientific Management   * Downside of Mass Production   * Flexible Production   * Summary   * References Introduction The first and second industrial divides according to Piore and sable Before the industrial divide that was claimed by Piore and Sable in 1984, some countries were engaged in mass production like US auto industry that was commonly referred to as Fordist Method (After Henry Ford of the Ford Auto Company) and others followed the path flexible production like the clothing industry in France. Both of these modes of production were quite successful from the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s up to the mid 20 th century when flexible production proved to be more successful than mass production (Piore & Sabel 1984). In this essay, we will spell out the characteristics of the two modes of production and their inception from the Industrial Revolution. In the early 1800s, two major methods of technological growth in production were competing against each other. There was the craft production (which was the earlier form of Piore and sable’s flexible production) which entailed the use of the producer’s knowledge to create flexible machines in the production process (Piore & Sabel 1984). The second one was mass production. This involved the use of machines to replace the producer’s knowledge and create a huge quantity of products at the lowest costs possible and in the shortest amount of time. Mass production filled the gap of demand of products which could not be sustained by a craftsman like mode of production. However, the craft production was able to produce products of higher quality but to be able to sustain them in the market the various products had to be sold at a higher price than the mass produced accessories. The justification for the higher price was that craftsmanship only targets a particular market hence the general demand for their products is generally low and a lot more time and resources are consumed in the production process. This is seen today in the high-end fashion stores and personalized jewelry stores Other businesses that were simply pushed by cheaper mass produced products are usually found at the fringes of the market but they still survive because they offer a particular brand of products (Braverman). Mass Production There are several changes that occurred as businesses strived to produce goods cheaply and quantitatively that increased the rate of industrialization. Division of labor together with the invention of various machines was the way to go so as to produce goods quickly and at the least possible costs. The movement of people from rural areas to urban areas so as to work in factories saw the balance of power swing towards rich businessmen and hence they hard more sway in dictating their policies. This is clearly illustrated by Fredrick Taylor when he introduced the concept of “scientific management” at the Midvale Steel Plant in Philadelphia. Scientific management entailed breaking down every task in the factory into units, measuring how long the workers assigned to these units take to complete their respective jobs and furthermore setting targets for these workers so as to increase production (Taylor 2008