Main trends in US economy: urbanization, industrialization, mass production, environmental impact.

The United States has a broader base of large cities than any other region, and that explains their greater economic clout.Today, the metropolitan areas of New York and Los Angeles are the world’s second and sixth largest, respectively, by GDP. The Industrial Revolution spanned the industrialization of society with its three major aspects: the division of labor, specialization, and mechanization. Each of these three factors helped to create the modern industrial society with the vision of mass production and the assembly line. The Industrial Revolution transplanted from England to the Untied States caused what was, by the 1850s, known as the "American system of manufacturing"

Later on, the assembly line was introduced. It illustrates the fundamental principles of mechanization: standardization, continuity, constraint, and the reduction of work to simple labor. Taken together, these principles form the core of industrial culture in the mid 20th century in the United States. Also, these fundamental principles form the basis of the "American production system," which until recently, was the undisputed leader in global manufacturing.In an assembly line, workers attach the same parts day after day long a conveyor belt knowing that all of the parts taken together will complete the entire product. Technological changes in manufacturing practices, such as mass production and the assembly line, increased the scale of production of goods by standardizing productive operations. This created a large class of machine operators in American factories who, overall, had lower skills than the craft production workers that were displaced.

The start of mass production, originally called "Fordism" led to the use of mass production in other automobile companies with manufacturers of consumer durable goods soon following. Mass production was viewed by industrialists as industry on a scientific basis while social critics decried its dehumanizing effects on the workforce. The assembly line, and its derivatives, are still a significant force in the manufacturing world of today. Now called traditional manufacturing, the system of melding worker to the machine is used to build almost all durable goods. And, the development of hierarchy and planning, which are maximized by this system, are still common in American production.

An environmental impact assessment is an assessment of the possible positive or negative impact that a proposed project may have on the environment, together consisting of the natural, social and economic aspects.The purpose of the assessment is to ensure that decision makers consider the ensuing environmental impacts when deciding whether to proceed with a project. The International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) defines an environmental impact assessment as "the process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the biophysical, social, and other relevant effects of development proposals prior to major decisions being taken and commitments made."

Дата добавления: 2015-11-30