Madam C.J Walker and Henry Ford
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, America underwent significant economic and social changes. The industrial of the early 1800s had set the pace for these changes to occur. The transition to new approaches in manufacturing and overall economic production provided considerable opportunities for entrepreneurs to thrive. Further, innovative entrepreneurs were able to exploit the existing niches in the market to become titans of industry. Madam C.J Walker and Henry Ford are some of the business people that took advantage of their innovations to immerse wealth during that period. In this essay, an evaluation of their innovations and the business ideals that have come to be associated with the two entrepreneurs will occur.
Madam C.J Walker played a crucial role in the establishment of the modern beauty industry. She achieved this feat by innovating and investing in the hair care industry. Her innovation entailed the development of a hair formula used for straightening of kinky hair (Gates, 2013). The innovation took advantage of another existing innovation, the hot comb. Schultz (1971) contends that a business practice qualifies as an innovation if it solves a significant problem within society. Walker’s hair products achieved this aspect by providing women with an accessible and affordable means of making their hair. Her innovation was primarily useful for women of color because of the tendency of their hair to be coarse (Gates, 2013). A factor that made its straightening difficult.
Notably, Walker did not reinvent the wheel because similar products already existed in the market. However, she applied creative business practices that enabled her to obtain a competitive advantage over her competitors. For instance, she used the concept of personal branding by incorporating her name into her hair products. Secondly, she employed a bottom-up marketing strategy. In this approach, a marketer identifies a marketing method and then leverages on it to create a more coherent marketing strategy. Walker adopted this method by not only branding her own products but also starting a hair school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Consequently, this technique enabled her to leverage her students as marketers for her products. Moreover, it also allowed her to create a labor force that can use her products professionally; thus, preserving quality and brand image, especially at a time when the professional hair beauty industry was still at its nascent stage.
Henry Ford also played an integral role in the innovation space. He improved on the production process for automobiles. Substantively, the entrepreneur did not invent the automobile — numerous prototypes of the vehicle were already in existence. Nonetheless, the production of such cars was an expensive process. The high cost restricted the available market for the inventions. As noted by Schultz (1971), an innovator is one who seeks to improve on an existing process to entrench efficiency. In turn, high levels of efficiency lower the cost of production. Ford’s innovation centers on this aspect. He streamlined the production process through various means. First, he introduced the concept of mass production of vehicles in large plants in Michigan (History, 2018). Mass production allows cost savings because of economies of scale. Additionally, he pioneered the notion of a moving assembly where each category of employees had a specific task. Previously, a single employee would be involved in the entire production process, an occurrence that was both inefficient and time-consuming. Accordingly, in 1908, Ford’s firm began making and selling the Model -T under the new business approach. It became a successful venture and ushered the globe into the age of mass production of automobiles. This aspect lowered the cost of a car; hence, making it more affordable to individuals and families that could not afford them in the past.
Numerous comparisons exist in the business practices of Henry Ford and Madam C.J Walker. None of them invented their products; instead, they only improved on them. This element has considerable effects even on modern-day business leaders. It highlights the necessity of efficiency in improving business outcomes — one does not necessarily have to invent a product. However, their innovative practices also highlight that some conceptual problems that modern-day business leaders should learn. One of the major drawbacks of mass production techniques is the difficulty in restructuring the production process because of the high financial and logistical resources needed to do so. This situation then implies that a firm is unable to respond to changes in consumer demand fast enough. For Walker, her death in 1919 led to a deterioration of her business (Gates, 2013). These downsides highlight the need for today’s business leaders to learn consumer behavior practices to ensure that their mass production systems are optimal relative to consumer demand. Secondly, business leaders need to have formal succession plans to ensure that their incapacitation or death does not hurt their businesses.
In conclusion, the industrial revolution has considerable effects on society. Its impact led to economic and social changes in America whose implications persisted even in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The changes created a conducive environment for entrepreneurial development as highlighted by the achievements of Henry Ford and Madam C.J Walker. They adopted unique business practices that allowed them to become industry leaders.
References
Henry, G. (2013). Madam Walker, the First Black American Woman to Be a Self-Made Millionaire. PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/100-amazing-facts/madam-walker-the-first-black-american-woman-to-be-a-self-made-millionaire/
History. (2018). Henry Ford. https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/henry-ford
Schultz, T. (1971). Investment in Human Capital. The Role of Education and of Research. New York, NY: The Free Press.