The industrial revolution

The industrial revolution

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  THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Principlesof Management SUBMITTED BY: MEHREEN SHAFIQUE
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  1 Brief History ofthe Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in the period from about 1760 to sometime between 1820 and 1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, improved efficiency of water power, the increasing use of steam power, the development of machine tools and the rise of the factory system. Textiles were the dominant industry of the Industrial Revolution in terms of employment, value of output and capital invested; the textile industry was also the first to use modern production methods. The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain and most of the important technological innovations were British. The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. In particular, average income and population began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth. Some economists say that the major impact of the Industrial Revolution was that the standard of living for the general population began to increase consistently for the first time in history, although others have said that it did not begin to meaningfully improve until the late 19th and 20th centuries. At approximately the same time the Industrial Revolution was occurring, Britain was undergoing an agricultural revolution, which also helped to improve living standards and provided surplus labor available for industry. The First Industrial Revolution evolved into the Second Industrial Revolution in the transition years between 1840 and 1870, when technological and economic progress continued with the increasing adoption of steam transport (steam-powered railways, boats and ships), the large-scale manufacture of machine tools and the increasing use of machinery in steam-powered factories. Origins of the Movement Before the Industrial Revolution, the products that were produced by people were all handmade and had to be constructed individually. This meant that the production of a product took a much greater amount of time for construction and that the individuals that made said products had to be specifically trained to master that skill. This all would change in the 1800s as with the start of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain. There are largely considered to be three major changes that helped to bring about the Industrial Revolution: They are: (1) The invention of machines to do the work of hand tools (2) Use of steam, and later of other kinds of power, in place of the muscles of human beings and of animals (3) The adoption of the factory system (Hackett)
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  2 The Industrial RevolutionIntroduced Modern Life These three fundamental changes in the way in which people did business all played important roles in the way in which the Industrial Revolution occurred and shaped people’s lives for centuries to come. With the invention of many machines that could do the work of hand tools at a quicker pace, individuals no longer had to specially train to be a part of the production of a particular product. All that the worker had to be capable of doing was operating the equipment that was necessary for the production of the product. Incorporating steam power into production made it possible to achieve physical tasks that would normally have taken multiple people or a team of animals to complete. Again, this allowed for an individual that was not highly trained to be in control of working on a task with the aid of a powered machine that could accomplish something that the worker was physically unable to do by them. Finally, the factory system allowed for the streamlining of manufacturing the products of a business (which China would dominate later in the 20th century). Workers were able to focus on completing a single task of the production stage, which allowed for a team of workers to cheaply and efficiently turn out a high volume of that product in a relatively short timeframe. These changes drastically altered the way in which production occurred because they allowed for many unskilled workers to be able to contribute to the production of certain products and the speed of production for said products increased astronomically. Important technological developments The commencement of the Industrial Revolution is closely linked to a small number of innovations, beginning in the second half of the 18th century. By the 1830s the following gains had been made in important technologies:  Textiles – mechanized cotton spinning powered by steam or water greatly increased the output of a worker. The power loom increased the output of a worker .The cotton gin increased productivity of removing seed from cotton Large gains in productivity also occurred in spinning and weaving of wool and linen, but they were not as great as in cotton.  Steam power – the efficiency of steam engines increased so that they used between one-fifth and one-tenth as much fuel. The adaptation of stationary steam engines to rotary motion made them suitable for industrial uses. The high pressure engine had a high power to weight ratio, making it suitable for transportation. Steam power underwent a rapid expansion after 1800.  Iron making – the substitution of coke for charcoal greatly lowered the fuel cost for iron and wrought iron production. Using coke also allowed larger blast furnaces, resulting in economies of scale. The cast iron blowing cylinder was first used in 1760. It was later improved by making it double acting, which allowed higher furnace temperatures. The puddling process produced a structural grade iron at a lower cost than the finery forge. The rolling mill was fifteen times faster than hammering wrought iron. Hot blast (1828) greatly increased fuel efficiency in iron production in the following decades.
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  3 Social effects Factory system Priorto the Industrial Revolution most of the workforce was employed in agriculture, either as self- employed farmers as land owners or tenants, or as landless agricultural laborers. By the time of the Industrial Revolution the putting-out system whereby farmers and townspeople produced goods in their homes, often described as cottage industry, was the standard. Typical putting out system goods included spinning and weaving. Merchant capitalist provided the raw materials, typically paid workers by the piece, and were responsible for the sale of the goods. Embezzlement of supplies by workers and poor quality were common problems. The logistical effort in procuring and distributing raw materials and picking up finished goods were also limitations of the putting out system. Some early spinning and weaving machinery, such as a 40 spindle jenny for about six pounds in 1792, was affordable for cottagers. Later machinery such as spinning frames, spinning mules and power looms were expensive (especially if water powered), giving rise to capitalist ownership of factories. Many workers, who had nothing but their labor to sell, became factory workers out of necessity. Impact on women and family life Women's historians have debated the effect of the Industrial Revolution and capitalism generally on the status of women taking a pessimistic side, Alice Clark argued that when capitalism arrived in 17th century England, it lowered the status of women as they lost much of their economic importance. Clark argues that in 16th century England, women were engaged in many aspects of industry and agriculture. The home was a central unit of production and women played a vital role in running farms, and in some trades and landed estates. Their useful economic roles gave them a sort of equality with their husbands. However, Clark argues, as capitalism expanded in the 17th century, there was more and more division of labor with the husband taking paid labor jobs outside the home, and the wife reduced to unpaid household work. Middle-class and women were confined to an idle domestic existence, supervising servants; lower-class women were forced to take poorly paid jobs. Capitalism, therefore, had a negative effect on powerful women. In a more positive interpretation, Ivy Pinchbeck argues that capitalism created the conditions for women's freedom. Tilly and Scott have emphasized the continuity in the status of women, finding three stages in English history.  In the pre-industrial era, production was mostly for home use and women produce much of the needs of the households.  The second stage was the "family wage economy" of early industrialization; the entire family depended on the collective wages of its members, including husband, wife and older children.  The third or modern stage is the "family consumer economy," in which the family is the site of consumption, and women are employed in large numbers in retail and clerical jobs to support rising standards of consumption.
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  4 Food and nutrition Chronichunger and malnutrition were the norm for the majority of the population of the world including Britain and France, until the late 19th century. Until about 1750, in large part due to malnutrition, life expectancy in France was about 35 years, and only slightly higher in Britain. The United States population of the time was adequately fed, much taller on average and had life expectancy of 45–50 years. In Britain and the Netherlands, food supply had been increasing and prices falling before the Industrial Revolution due to better agricultural practices; however, population grew too, as noted by Thomas Malthus. Before the Industrial Revolution, advances in agriculture or technology soon led to an increase in population, which again strained food and other resources, limiting increases in per capita income. This condition is called the Malthusian trap, and it was finally overcome by industrialization. Transportation improvements, such as canals and improved roads, also lowered food costs. Railroads were introduced near the end of the Industrial Revolution. Transfer of knowledge Knowledge of innovation was spread by several means. Workers who were trained in the technique might move to another employer or might be poached. A common method was for someone to make a study tour, gathering information where he could. During the whole of the Industrial Revolution and for the century before, all European countries and America engaged in study-touring; some nations, like Sweden and France, even trained civil servants or technicians to undertake it as a matter of state policy. In other countries, notably Britain and America, this practice was carried out by individual manufacturers eager to improve their own methods. Study tours were common then, as now, as was the keeping of travel diaries. Records made by industrialists and technicians of the period are an incomparable source of information about their methods. Another means for the spread of innovation was by the network of informal philosophical societies, like the Lunar Society of Birmingham, in which members met to discuss 'natural philosophy' (i.e. science) and often its application to manufacturing. There were publications describing technology. Encyclopedias such as Harris's Lexicon Technicon (1704) and Abraham Rees's Cyclopedia (1802–1819) contain much of value. Cyclopedia contains an enormous amount of information about the science and technology of the first half of the Industrial Revolution, very well illustrated by fine engravings. Foreign printed sources such as the Descriptions des Arts et Métiers and Diderot's Encyclopedia explained foreign methods with fine engraved plates. Periodical publications about manufacturing and technology began to appear in the last decade of the 18th century, and many regularly included notice of the latest patents. Foreign periodicals, such as the Annals des Mines, published accounts of travels made by French engineers who observed British methods on study tours.
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  5 Concluding Thoughts There isno doubt that the Industrial Revolution was one of the most influential time periods of human history. It was almost solely responsible for propelling society into the modern economies that we still have in place today. The technological advances of this time are what allowed for the mass production of goods and services for society, which allowed for trade to be conducted on a much larger scale. Additionally, the average family saw in increase in the amount of income that they received because an unskilled worker could find work in one of the many new factories that were opened to produce the goods needed for the business world. Unfortunately the workers of the time were usually taken advantage of because of their apparent lack of skill and the abundance of workers available for the same jobs. This created a work environment especially negative for women who would be treated unfairly in the workplace and would receive less pay for the work that they did. Prompted by the oppression that many in the working class felt, literary works were put out to inspire the workers to take back their freedoms.  Karl Marx advocated for a revolution of the working class over the management that held them back.  Bakunin advocated for the overthrow of the government to get society to a natural state of harmony, and the Pope pushed for a united workers front where the government protected its citizens from being oppressed in the workplace. Over the course of the Industrial Revolution the worker saw vast changes, which ultimately lead to the economic times we have now that are improved from the days of the past. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________