• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • Massey Documents by Type
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • Massey Documents by Type
    • Theses and Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    The New Zealand whitegoods industry : from Fordism to single batch mass production ; a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Masters of Arts degree in Geography at Massey University

    Icon
    View/Open Full Text
    01_front.pdf (827.5Kb)
    02_whole.pdf (30.88Mb)
    Export to EndNote
    Abstract
    The establishment of the New Zealand whitegoods industry was largely a product of the regime of accumulation which solidified out of a series of structural reforms set in place during the late 1930s and 1940s. Central to the regime, which flourished from the 1950s through to the early 1970s, was the expansion of a highly protected, import substituting, manufacturing sector supported by an internationally competitive and technologically dynamic agricultural sector. Throughout this period the whitegoods industry mimicked the fordist technological and competitive principles of North American and Western European whitegoods manufacturers. This pattern of development saw the level of technological sophistication and concentration within the industry increase steadily throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The late 1970s and early 1980s saw the post-war regime of accumulation slide into an endemic state of crisis. This triggered a wide-ranging dismantling of the institutional matrix which had structured the post-war economy, in the hope that by allowing capital the freedom to do as it will New Zealand would move on to a new, sustainable, growth path. The success of these reforms remains to be seen. They have, however, greatly altered the competitive environment within which the whitegoods industry has been operating – increasing the volatility of the local market and exposing the industry to international competition. This has led to the withdrawal from the industry of all but two of the companies which survived into the 1980s. Through the development of a range of technological and organisational innovations which transcend the limitations which fordist production systems place on companies which produce only on a small scale, one company (Fisher and Paykel) has managed not only to continue to dominate the local whitegoods market, but also to expand into international markets. Central to Fisher and Paykel's production systems – which can usefully be labelled single batch mass production – is the achievement of a high level of market flexibility. The flexibility afforded by these systems allow Fisher and Paykel to respond rapidly to changes within its existing markets and to opportunities which arise in new markets. The other company which has survived, Simpson (NZ) which produces only stoves and cooktops, has on a much smaller and over a much shorter time scale attempted to develop similar flexible production systems.
    Date
    1992
    Author
    Latham, Alan
    Rights
    The Author
    Publisher
    Massey University
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10179/8558
    Collections
    • Theses and Dissertations
    Metadata
    Show full item record

    Copyright © Massey University
    Contact Us | Send Feedback | Copyright Take Down Request | Massey University Privacy Statement
    DSpace software copyright © Duraspace
    v5.7-2020.1
     

     

    Tweets by @Massey_Research
    Information PagesContent PolicyDepositing content to MROCopyright and Access InformationDeposit LicenseDeposit License SummaryTheses FAQFile FormatsDoctoral Thesis Deposit

    Browse

    All of MROCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Copyright © Massey University
    Contact Us | Send Feedback | Copyright Take Down Request | Massey University Privacy Statement
    DSpace software copyright © Duraspace
    v5.7-2020.1