© 2013 IBM Corporation 100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM Ing. Zdenka Podhorská & Ing. Roman Ondruš 2013/2014

100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM 2 History of Assembly line part 1/2 Terracotta army - Qin Shi Huangdi 200 BC Body parts assembled in different workshops Marked for quality tracking Automatic flour mill Included a conveyor belt for transporting grain 1785

100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM 3 History of Assembly line part 2/ Olds Curved Dash was the first mass-produced vehicle made from the first automotive assembly line. (Ransom E. Olds – General Motors) Swift & Co. Meat assembly line – disassambly line Vertical Intergration – from the ranch to the customer

100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM 4 Please answer these questions as a group. Please make short notes and select one person who will be speaker of the group and will be able to speak using these notes. Please be ready in 15 minutes.  In October 1908, the first Model T Fords were sold for $950. By 1912, the car was selling for $575. The price of the Model T would continue to drop during its 19 years in production, at one point dipping as low as $280 –What was the main impact of the price decrease on the car industry? –What was happening with the supply and demand? –Who were his customers?  This reduction in price meant that the Ford Motor Company had smaller profit margins (on each Model T), but its revenue stayed the same. In 1909 the profit on a car was $220. By 1914, the margin had dropped to $99. – How was the company able to survive the decrease of the profit margin and keep the same revenue? Your task

100 Years of US Economics Through The Eyes of IBM 5 We will be discussing…. What was so special about Henry Ford’s activities related to demand and supply in the car industry in US in the beginning of the 20 th century? Panel Discussion