Auto Mobile Industry

Wesleyan University

The Honors College

The Development of the M-form in the American Automobile Industry by Daniel Joseph Koblenz Class of 2010

A thesis submitted to the faculty of Wesleyan University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Departmental Honors in General Scholarship
Middletown, Connecticut April, 2010

Table of Contents Acknowledgements.................................................................................... ii Introduction................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1 – The Development of the Modern Corporation ...................... 8
Introduction to Williamson, Chandler, and the Modern Corporation ................................... 9 The Development of the H-form......................................................................................... 12 The Development of the U-form......................................................................................... 17 The Development of the M-form ........................................................................................ 24

Chapter 2 – The Successes and Failures of Ford’s U-form ..................... 29
Two Founders with Two Very Different Philosophies ....................................................... 30 The Origins of Ford and General Motors............................................................................ 31 The Initial Success and Subsequent Failure of Fordism ..................................................... 38 Social Controls at Ford Produce Mixed Results ................................................................. 45

Chapter 3 – The Successes and Failures of GM’s H-form ...................... 52
Durant’s First Reign as President of GM ............................................................................ 53 Enlisting Pierre du Pont, Durant Retakes GM

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