Henrik Glimstedt
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199269044
- eISBN:
- 9780191717123
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269044.003.0006
- Subject:
- Business and Management, International Business
By emphasizing the rigid character of centralized bargaining, many students of Sweden's political economy end up by wrongly characterizing its national industry as ‘Fordist’. By contrast, this ...
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By emphasizing the rigid character of centralized bargaining, many students of Sweden's political economy end up by wrongly characterizing its national industry as ‘Fordist’. By contrast, this chapter argues that the strategic responses to increased competitiveness actually varied across sectors. In motor vehicles and electrical engineering, the experience of diversity of market realities, heterogeneous institutions, and conflicting political goals forced enthusiastic proponents of Americanization to modify or abandon their view on the fundamentals of industrial efficiency. Pressure from customers for innovation, small batch production, adaptation, and successive upgrading of existing products created obstacles to standardization. It was not until increased liberalization of world trade and competitive pressures began to make themselves felt in export as well as domestic markets that the ambiguities of Swedish industrial practices became manifest, spurring national industry to redefine its identity through a process of strategic debate and selective adaptation.Less
By emphasizing the rigid character of centralized bargaining, many students of Sweden's political economy end up by wrongly characterizing its national industry as ‘Fordist’. By contrast, this chapter argues that the strategic responses to increased competitiveness actually varied across sectors. In motor vehicles and electrical engineering, the experience of diversity of market realities, heterogeneous institutions, and conflicting political goals forced enthusiastic proponents of Americanization to modify or abandon their view on the fundamentals of industrial efficiency. Pressure from customers for innovation, small batch production, adaptation, and successive upgrading of existing products created obstacles to standardization. It was not until increased liberalization of world trade and competitive pressures began to make themselves felt in export as well as domestic markets that the ambiguities of Swedish industrial practices became manifest, spurring national industry to redefine its identity through a process of strategic debate and selective adaptation.
Michael J. Piore
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199269761
- eISBN:
- 9780191710087
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199269761.003.0007
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability
This chapter offers a historical reconstruction of the evolution of governance structures in the modern history of the US; seen through the lenses of Polanyi's thesis, the main problem of ...
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This chapter offers a historical reconstruction of the evolution of governance structures in the modern history of the US; seen through the lenses of Polanyi's thesis, the main problem of contemporary economic organization is the clash between the competitive market and the social nature of human beings. This chapter analyses how this clash was resolved in different historical phases: by the adjustment of the social system to the requirement of production under the old regime of mass production, by negotiation and unionization under the New Deal. It characterizes the current phase as one of ‘disarticulation’ of the relationship between the economic and the social structures, where they are neither separate nor related in any clear way, to which a solution is yet to be found.Less
This chapter offers a historical reconstruction of the evolution of governance structures in the modern history of the US; seen through the lenses of Polanyi's thesis, the main problem of contemporary economic organization is the clash between the competitive market and the social nature of human beings. This chapter analyses how this clash was resolved in different historical phases: by the adjustment of the social system to the requirement of production under the old regime of mass production, by negotiation and unionization under the New Deal. It characterizes the current phase as one of ‘disarticulation’ of the relationship between the economic and the social structures, where they are neither separate nor related in any clear way, to which a solution is yet to be found.
Chris Freeman and Francisco Louçã
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199251056
- eISBN:
- 9780191596278
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199251053.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
The key inventions that led to the internal combustion engine, to the automobile, the truck, the tractor, and the tank, were made in Europe, but the innovations that led to the assembly line, to mass ...
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The key inventions that led to the internal combustion engine, to the automobile, the truck, the tractor, and the tank, were made in Europe, but the innovations that led to the assembly line, to mass production and consumption, were made at the Ford plant in Detroit in the early years of the twentieth century.These technical and organizational innovations gave such an impetus to productivity, profitability, output, and exports of the US automobile industry that the plant became a Mecca for visitors from all over the world and ‘Fordism’ became a dominant management philosophy as well as an economic and cultural ideology, believed to herald the dawn of a ‘new economy’.The chapter devotes considerable attention to possible explanations for the collapse of this boom and the advent of the ‘Great Depression’ of the 1930s, concluding that, as with previous clusters of innovations, the assimilation of a major new technology into the social system gave rise to enormous political and social tensions and to structural crises of adjustment, both at national and international levels.These tensions and conflicts led ultimately to a Second World War, a motorized war in which tanks and aircraft proved decisive weapons and oil was the essential fuel for the motorized armed forces.The world economy after the war was no less dependent on abundant cheap oil, and became a system dominated by the mass production of cars and consumer durables, as well as motor highways, the mass media, mass tourism, mass education, mass culture, and the political and military supremacy of the US.Less
The key inventions that led to the internal combustion engine, to the automobile, the truck, the tractor, and the tank, were made in Europe, but the innovations that led to the assembly line, to mass production and consumption, were made at the Ford plant in Detroit in the early years of the twentieth century.
These technical and organizational innovations gave such an impetus to productivity, profitability, output, and exports of the US automobile industry that the plant became a Mecca for visitors from all over the world and ‘Fordism’ became a dominant management philosophy as well as an economic and cultural ideology, believed to herald the dawn of a ‘new economy’.
The chapter devotes considerable attention to possible explanations for the collapse of this boom and the advent of the ‘Great Depression’ of the 1930s, concluding that, as with previous clusters of innovations, the assimilation of a major new technology into the social system gave rise to enormous political and social tensions and to structural crises of adjustment, both at national and international levels.
These tensions and conflicts led ultimately to a Second World War, a motorized war in which tanks and aircraft proved decisive weapons and oil was the essential fuel for the motorized armed forces.
The world economy after the war was no less dependent on abundant cheap oil, and became a system dominated by the mass production of cars and consumer durables, as well as motor highways, the mass media, mass tourism, mass education, mass culture, and the political and military supremacy of the US.
Simon Head
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195179835
- eISBN:
- 9780199850211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179835.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Behavioural Economics
This chapter examines the history of the mass production system in the manufacturing and service industries in the U.S. The mass production model's triumph first came with its application in the ...
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This chapter examines the history of the mass production system in the manufacturing and service industries in the U.S. The mass production model's triumph first came with its application in the armaments industry during World War 2, this was followed by its application in the consumer economy in the late 1940s and the 1950s and the renewal of the mass production model by Japanese manufacturers in the 1970s and 1980s. This chapter contends that the roots of mass production run deep in American history and the early wave of mass production was not confined to the commanding heights of the American industry.Less
This chapter examines the history of the mass production system in the manufacturing and service industries in the U.S. The mass production model's triumph first came with its application in the armaments industry during World War 2, this was followed by its application in the consumer economy in the late 1940s and the 1950s and the renewal of the mass production model by Japanese manufacturers in the 1970s and 1980s. This chapter contends that the roots of mass production run deep in American history and the early wave of mass production was not confined to the commanding heights of the American industry.
Michael H. Best
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297451
- eISBN:
- 9780191595967
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297459.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic Systems
Explores the links between a firm, region, or nation's production capabilities and productivity. Productivity is explained in terms of fundamental principles of production that underlie the ...
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Explores the links between a firm, region, or nation's production capabilities and productivity. Productivity is explained in terms of fundamental principles of production that underlie the organizational design of business enterprises and production systems. Industrial development, and enhanced competitiveness, is about making the transition to more advanced principles of production and associated levels of production capabilities. A ten‐scale production capabilities spectrum is presented to identify both where a firm or a region's firms fit in the world economy and the specific and critical challenges and opportunities to increased industrial productivity. The evolution of production principles and capabilities is illustrated with five examples of enterprises that established industrial leadership by the application of an enduring production principle: the American System of Manufacture and the principle of interchangeability; Ford and the principle of single‐product flow or mass production; Toyota and multi‐product flow or JIT; Canon and multi‐product flow applied to new product development; and Intel and systems integration.Less
Explores the links between a firm, region, or nation's production capabilities and productivity. Productivity is explained in terms of fundamental principles of production that underlie the organizational design of business enterprises and production systems. Industrial development, and enhanced competitiveness, is about making the transition to more advanced principles of production and associated levels of production capabilities. A ten‐scale production capabilities spectrum is presented to identify both where a firm or a region's firms fit in the world economy and the specific and critical challenges and opportunities to increased industrial productivity. The evolution of production principles and capabilities is illustrated with five examples of enterprises that established industrial leadership by the application of an enduring production principle: the American System of Manufacture and the principle of interchangeability; Ford and the principle of single‐product flow or mass production; Toyota and multi‐product flow or JIT; Canon and multi‐product flow applied to new product development; and Intel and systems integration.
Vernon W. Ruttan
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195188042
- eISBN:
- 9780199783410
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195188047.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Economic historians have characterized the American system of manufacturing, or more appropriately the New England armory system, as the assembly of complex products produced from individual ...
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Economic historians have characterized the American system of manufacturing, or more appropriately the New England armory system, as the assembly of complex products produced from individual interchangeable parts. Its first important application was the manufacture of firearms at the U.S. army armories in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and Springfield, Massachusetts. During the second half of the 19th century, “armory practice” spread to other branches of manufacturing, such as sewing machine and bicycle manufacture and, in the early twentieth century, to the “Fordist system” of mass production of automobiles.Less
Economic historians have characterized the American system of manufacturing, or more appropriately the New England armory system, as the assembly of complex products produced from individual interchangeable parts. Its first important application was the manufacture of firearms at the U.S. army armories in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and Springfield, Massachusetts. During the second half of the 19th century, “armory practice” spread to other branches of manufacturing, such as sewing machine and bicycle manufacture and, in the early twentieth century, to the “Fordist system” of mass production of automobiles.
Volker R. Berghahn
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691161099
- eISBN:
- 9781400850297
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691161099.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter deals with the period between the 1923 economic crisis and an even more severe economic breakdown in 1929. This period saw an engagement of the United States in Europe that had not been ...
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This chapter deals with the period between the 1923 economic crisis and an even more severe economic breakdown in 1929. This period saw an engagement of the United States in Europe that had not been possible in the immediate postwar years, generating a few years of relative stability and prosperity in which American manufacturing companies and banks played a major role. It was the phase in which the United States succeeded in deploying its superior industrial and financial power in an attempt to uplift the economies of Europe. During those five years it was not only American ideas and practices of rationalized mass production that came to Europe through massive foreign direct investments; rather Europe, again for the first time, got a taste of mass consumption, even if it was still quite limited in terms of affordable consumer durables.Less
This chapter deals with the period between the 1923 economic crisis and an even more severe economic breakdown in 1929. This period saw an engagement of the United States in Europe that had not been possible in the immediate postwar years, generating a few years of relative stability and prosperity in which American manufacturing companies and banks played a major role. It was the phase in which the United States succeeded in deploying its superior industrial and financial power in an attempt to uplift the economies of Europe. During those five years it was not only American ideas and practices of rationalized mass production that came to Europe through massive foreign direct investments; rather Europe, again for the first time, got a taste of mass consumption, even if it was still quite limited in terms of affordable consumer durables.
R. J. Overy
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198202905
- eISBN:
- 9780191675584
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198202905.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History, Economic History
The rationalisation of industrial production played a significant part in transforming the productive performance of all the major warring states between 1939 and 1945. Wartime economic pressure, ...
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The rationalisation of industrial production played a significant part in transforming the productive performance of all the major warring states between 1939 and 1945. Wartime economic pressure, brought about as a result of the high demand for industrial products and the limited resources available, compelled efforts to use industrial capacity more efficiently. Rationalisation in the context of war production meant the systematic saving of materials and manpower in order to achieve the highest possible quantities of output. This involved the application of modern mass-production techniques and the scientific management of labour and material resources, not with the profit motive in mind, but in order to approach as far as possible the optimum use of national resources for Germany's war effort.Less
The rationalisation of industrial production played a significant part in transforming the productive performance of all the major warring states between 1939 and 1945. Wartime economic pressure, brought about as a result of the high demand for industrial products and the limited resources available, compelled efforts to use industrial capacity more efficiently. Rationalisation in the context of war production meant the systematic saving of materials and manpower in order to achieve the highest possible quantities of output. This involved the application of modern mass-production techniques and the scientific management of labour and material resources, not with the profit motive in mind, but in order to approach as far as possible the optimum use of national resources for Germany's war effort.
Mary O'Sullivan
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199244867
- eISBN:
- 9780191596735
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199244863.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
This chapter has two main sections, which contrast the post‐war development of managerial control in the USA in the mass production industries, and the high‐technology industries––as exemplified by ...
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This chapter has two main sections, which contrast the post‐war development of managerial control in the USA in the mass production industries, and the high‐technology industries––as exemplified by the electronics industry. The first, Sect. 4.2, The post‐war governance of mass‐production enterprises, discusses the trend towards strategic segmentation––the emergence of conglomerations and resulting impact on performance, and the emergence of core corporate enterprises. The second, Sect. 4.3, The electronics complex and the governance of innovation, discusses the roles of the federal government and of venture capital, and the abiding importance of the innovative corporation.Less
This chapter has two main sections, which contrast the post‐war development of managerial control in the USA in the mass production industries, and the high‐technology industries––as exemplified by the electronics industry. The first, Sect. 4.2, The post‐war governance of mass‐production enterprises, discusses the trend towards strategic segmentation––the emergence of conglomerations and resulting impact on performance, and the emergence of core corporate enterprises. The second, Sect. 4.3, The electronics complex and the governance of innovation, discusses the roles of the federal government and of venture capital, and the abiding importance of the innovative corporation.
Vaclav Smil
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195168747
- eISBN:
- 9780199835522
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195168747.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
Pre-WWI technical advances have created economies and societies whose abundance of material possessions, rates of energy consumption, and overall tempo of life were entirely unprecedented. Both the ...
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Pre-WWI technical advances have created economies and societies whose abundance of material possessions, rates of energy consumption, and overall tempo of life were entirely unprecedented. Both the fundamental infrastructures of modern life and countless everyday actions rest on enduring artifacts and ubiquitous innovations of the Age of Synergy. Mechanization of virtually all productive tasks led to mass production and both were made possible by steadily rising combustion of fossil fuels and generation of electricity. They brought new economic arrangements (including powerful multinational companies) as well as new forms of leisure.Less
Pre-WWI technical advances have created economies and societies whose abundance of material possessions, rates of energy consumption, and overall tempo of life were entirely unprecedented. Both the fundamental infrastructures of modern life and countless everyday actions rest on enduring artifacts and ubiquitous innovations of the Age of Synergy. Mechanization of virtually all productive tasks led to mass production and both were made possible by steadily rising combustion of fossil fuels and generation of electricity. They brought new economic arrangements (including powerful multinational companies) as well as new forms of leisure.
Alice H. Amsden
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195139693
- eISBN:
- 9780199832897
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195139690.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History, International
The fierce competition triggered after 1815 by Britain's technological revolution in textiles created havoc, and ultimately four defensive strategies among textile‐producing countries: at the high ...
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The fierce competition triggered after 1815 by Britain's technological revolution in textiles created havoc, and ultimately four defensive strategies among textile‐producing countries: at the high end of the capabilities scale, France exploited its traditional artisanship in hand spinning and hand weaving, and the USA adopted a mass production system similar to that of England, but produced coarse rather than line fabrics; at the low end of the capabilities scale, Mexico followed the USA into mass production. China, India and the Ottoman Empire tried to imitate France while simultaneously struggling to produce industrial yarn and cloth for mass consumption. Despite superficial similarities, the history of the rest's pre‐war textile industries could not have been more different from those of France, the USA, or Japan: the latter innovated their way out of trouble whereas the former did not. Whatever the strategy—mass production or artisan—and whatever the degree of economic openness—protectionist (as in Mexico and Brazil) or free trade (as in China, India and the Ottoman Empire)—the textile industries of the rest failed to become dynamic world players until after the Second World War. This chapter begins to explore the reasons behind the failure of the rest, and, to convey the extent of their skill deficit, the capabilities of France, the USA, and Japan are examined to the extent necessary to establish a benchmark.Less
The fierce competition triggered after 1815 by Britain's technological revolution in textiles created havoc, and ultimately four defensive strategies among textile‐producing countries: at the high end of the capabilities scale, France exploited its traditional artisanship in hand spinning and hand weaving, and the USA adopted a mass production system similar to that of England, but produced coarse rather than line fabrics; at the low end of the capabilities scale, Mexico followed the USA into mass production. China, India and the Ottoman Empire tried to imitate France while simultaneously struggling to produce industrial yarn and cloth for mass consumption. Despite superficial similarities, the history of the rest's pre‐war textile industries could not have been more different from those of France, the USA, or Japan: the latter innovated their way out of trouble whereas the former did not. Whatever the strategy—mass production or artisan—and whatever the degree of economic openness—protectionist (as in Mexico and Brazil) or free trade (as in China, India and the Ottoman Empire)—the textile industries of the rest failed to become dynamic world players until after the Second World War. This chapter begins to explore the reasons behind the failure of the rest, and, to convey the extent of their skill deficit, the capabilities of France, the USA, and Japan are examined to the extent necessary to establish a benchmark.
KEITH KEITH
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199244898
- eISBN:
- 9780191697401
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199244898.003.0006
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Organization Studies, HRM / IR
This chapter returns to the business world to look at Henry Ford, whose leadership inaugurated a qualitative leap from craft to mass production and gave rise to the term ‘Fordism’. It discusses how ...
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This chapter returns to the business world to look at Henry Ford, whose leadership inaugurated a qualitative leap from craft to mass production and gave rise to the term ‘Fordism’. It discusses how Ford enabled vast numbers of Americans to own cars because his prices were so low, but he persisted in assuming that price was critical long after many of his former customers had drifted away to the cars of General Motors and Chrysler, where the competitive edge was in novelty and product enhancements not simply price. It notes that Ford was a pacifist who spent a vast personal fortune leasing a ‘peace ship’ to sail to Europe and stop the First World War—but he simultaneously made an even bigger fortune with his production of munitions, boats, tanks, planes, and jeeps in both wars.Less
This chapter returns to the business world to look at Henry Ford, whose leadership inaugurated a qualitative leap from craft to mass production and gave rise to the term ‘Fordism’. It discusses how Ford enabled vast numbers of Americans to own cars because his prices were so low, but he persisted in assuming that price was critical long after many of his former customers had drifted away to the cars of General Motors and Chrysler, where the competitive edge was in novelty and product enhancements not simply price. It notes that Ford was a pacifist who spent a vast personal fortune leasing a ‘peace ship’ to sail to Europe and stop the First World War—but he simultaneously made an even bigger fortune with his production of munitions, boats, tanks, planes, and jeeps in both wars.
Simon Head
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195179835
- eISBN:
- 9780199850211
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179835.003.0003
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Behavioural Economics
This chapter examines the role of the Japanese automobile industry on the relationship between technology and work in factories and offices in the U.S. It explains that many concepts used to define ...
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This chapter examines the role of the Japanese automobile industry on the relationship between technology and work in factories and offices in the U.S. It explains that many concepts used to define the role of employees in the new economy like multiskilling, flexible specialization, worker empowerment and worker autonomy had their origins in the methods of Japanese automobile companies. These companies did not abandon the mass production model, but instead strengthened and renewed it.Less
This chapter examines the role of the Japanese automobile industry on the relationship between technology and work in factories and offices in the U.S. It explains that many concepts used to define the role of employees in the new economy like multiskilling, flexible specialization, worker empowerment and worker autonomy had their origins in the methods of Japanese automobile companies. These companies did not abandon the mass production model, but instead strengthened and renewed it.
Geoffrey Tweedale
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198288664
- eISBN:
- 9780191684623
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198288664.003.0080
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History
Although the 1920s and the 1930s are often presented as black decades for the cutlery and tool trades of the Sheffield steel industries, increased international competition, trade depressions, ...
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Although the 1920s and the 1930s are often presented as black decades for the cutlery and tool trades of the Sheffield steel industries, increased international competition, trade depressions, changing consumer preferences and demand, the erosion of craft skills, and other such negative trends for the industry were compensated with various developments that brought about new opportunities. Aside from how the inter-war period marked a significant period in the history of the cutlery industry, it was in this period in which the modern knife — which was machine-produced, stainless, and heavily advertised and distributed on a massive scale — was introduced. This chapter attempts to look into how Sheffield was able to respond to such trends, particularly to how they were able to incorporate individualism in spite of the mass production of tools and cutlery.Less
Although the 1920s and the 1930s are often presented as black decades for the cutlery and tool trades of the Sheffield steel industries, increased international competition, trade depressions, changing consumer preferences and demand, the erosion of craft skills, and other such negative trends for the industry were compensated with various developments that brought about new opportunities. Aside from how the inter-war period marked a significant period in the history of the cutlery industry, it was in this period in which the modern knife — which was machine-produced, stainless, and heavily advertised and distributed on a massive scale — was introduced. This chapter attempts to look into how Sheffield was able to respond to such trends, particularly to how they were able to incorporate individualism in spite of the mass production of tools and cutlery.
Mary O'Sullivan
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199244867
- eISBN:
- 9780191596735
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199244863.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
Beginning in the 1970s, the previously dominant US corporate enterprises faced an intensification of competition in both the mass‐production and high‐technology industries. The nature and gravity of ...
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Beginning in the 1970s, the previously dominant US corporate enterprises faced an intensification of competition in both the mass‐production and high‐technology industries. The nature and gravity of the competitive threat varied, partly because of differences in resource allocation governance, yet in both types of industry, fundamental challenges to the technological and economic supremacy of the USA were posed by enterprises in different social environments that developed and utilized broader and deeper skill bases to generate higher‐quality, lower‐cost products. In the case of the Japanese especially, the challenges came from enterprises that integrated into processes of organizational learning not only managerial employees (as the Americans had done), but also shop‐floor employees and employees of subsidiary enterprises that functioned as suppliers and distributors. These competitive challenges demanded a response from US corporate enterprises, but as they struggled with what was going on in the productive sphere, the ground had also shifted in the financial sphere: in particular, with the rise of institutional investors, and the increasing pressures that they placed on corporate enterprises to deliver higher returns on their corporate stocks, the commitment of financial resources to corporate strategies came under considerable pressure. The two main sections of this chapter address these issues: Sect. 5.2 discusses the productive challenges and the rise of the new competition, and Sect. 5.3 discusses the growing pressures for financial liquidity, which manifested themselves in a particularly aggressive form in the 1980s with the rise of a market for corporate control, and when that market collapsed in the late 1980s, in leading institutional investors seeking other levers for influencing corporate resource allocation in a movement that has been characterized as the rise of institutional investor activism.Less
Beginning in the 1970s, the previously dominant US corporate enterprises faced an intensification of competition in both the mass‐production and high‐technology industries. The nature and gravity of the competitive threat varied, partly because of differences in resource allocation governance, yet in both types of industry, fundamental challenges to the technological and economic supremacy of the USA were posed by enterprises in different social environments that developed and utilized broader and deeper skill bases to generate higher‐quality, lower‐cost products. In the case of the Japanese especially, the challenges came from enterprises that integrated into processes of organizational learning not only managerial employees (as the Americans had done), but also shop‐floor employees and employees of subsidiary enterprises that functioned as suppliers and distributors. These competitive challenges demanded a response from US corporate enterprises, but as they struggled with what was going on in the productive sphere, the ground had also shifted in the financial sphere: in particular, with the rise of institutional investors, and the increasing pressures that they placed on corporate enterprises to deliver higher returns on their corporate stocks, the commitment of financial resources to corporate strategies came under considerable pressure. The two main sections of this chapter address these issues: Sect. 5.2 discusses the productive challenges and the rise of the new competition, and Sect. 5.3 discusses the growing pressures for financial liquidity, which manifested themselves in a particularly aggressive form in the 1980s with the rise of a market for corporate control, and when that market collapsed in the late 1980s, in leading institutional investors seeking other levers for influencing corporate resource allocation in a movement that has been characterized as the rise of institutional investor activism.
Howard Cox
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198292210
- eISBN:
- 9780191684890
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198292210.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History, International Business
During the 1880s, the tobacco manufacturing industries of Britain and America were revolutionized by the introduction of mechanized cigarette production. The ...
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During the 1880s, the tobacco manufacturing industries of Britain and America were revolutionized by the introduction of mechanized cigarette production. The development of this novel, image-laden product constituted a triumph for the methods of mass production and mass distribution in this most traditional of consumer goods industries. This book charts the way in which these innovations in manufacturing and marketing methods led to the formation in 1902 of the British American Tobacco Co. as an Anglo-American multinational joint venture designed to promote cigarettes in international markets. Based on archive materials from a wide variety of sources, including the company's own internal records, this book provides the first authoritative account of BAT's evolution and growth up until the Second World War. In particular, it shows the way in which the company developed a vast array of international operating subsidiaries, explores how it managed these enterprises in different political and cultural contexts — notably in China and India — and analyses the way in which the company, as a mature multinational enterprise, coped with the severe international economic dislocations of the 1930s. In the era of globalization, this account of the operational and organizational arrangements of a prefigurative ‘global’ company will shed light on current debates on alliances, joint ventures, and international business.Less
During the 1880s, the tobacco manufacturing industries of Britain and America were revolutionized by the introduction of mechanized cigarette production. The development of this novel, image-laden product constituted a triumph for the methods of mass production and mass distribution in this most traditional of consumer goods industries. This book charts the way in which these innovations in manufacturing and marketing methods led to the formation in 1902 of the British American Tobacco Co. as an Anglo-American multinational joint venture designed to promote cigarettes in international markets. Based on archive materials from a wide variety of sources, including the company's own internal records, this book provides the first authoritative account of BAT's evolution and growth up until the Second World War. In particular, it shows the way in which the company developed a vast array of international operating subsidiaries, explores how it managed these enterprises in different political and cultural contexts — notably in China and India — and analyses the way in which the company, as a mature multinational enterprise, coped with the severe international economic dislocations of the 1930s. In the era of globalization, this account of the operational and organizational arrangements of a prefigurative ‘global’ company will shed light on current debates on alliances, joint ventures, and international business.
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804784085
- eISBN:
- 9780804784658
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804784085.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
This introductory chapter discusses the radical political activity and print culture that arose in Britain in the late nineteenth century. It defines the term slow print as print that actively ...
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This introductory chapter discusses the radical political activity and print culture that arose in Britain in the late nineteenth century. It defines the term slow print as print that actively opposed literary and journalistic mass production; it was often explicitly political in objective, as socialist, anarchist, and other radical groups came to believe that large-scale mass-oriented print was no way to bring about revolutionary social changes. By focusing on the literary culture of the radical press, the book suggests that literature was a crucial means by which the turn-of-the-century radical counterpublic defined itself against capitalist mass print culture. An overview of the subsequent chapter is also presented.Less
This introductory chapter discusses the radical political activity and print culture that arose in Britain in the late nineteenth century. It defines the term slow print as print that actively opposed literary and journalistic mass production; it was often explicitly political in objective, as socialist, anarchist, and other radical groups came to believe that large-scale mass-oriented print was no way to bring about revolutionary social changes. By focusing on the literary culture of the radical press, the book suggests that literature was a crucial means by which the turn-of-the-century radical counterpublic defined itself against capitalist mass print culture. An overview of the subsequent chapter is also presented.
Bruce Katz and Anne Power
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781447327523
- eISBN:
- 9781447327547
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447327523.003.0003
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Urban Geography
This chapter explains how Europe’s post-war boom fuelled an unsustainable growth, over-scaling of industry and counter-movements of citizens that eventually contributed to industrial collapse in ...
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This chapter explains how Europe’s post-war boom fuelled an unsustainable growth, over-scaling of industry and counter-movements of citizens that eventually contributed to industrial collapse in Europe’s densely populated producer cities. As cities became mass-production centres, bigness came to dominate the European way of life. Large-scale government action led to mass housing, motorways, mass goods and services. Full employment led to high immigration, while protest movements grew under the umbrella of state provision. Environmental limits became clear with the oil crisis and decline set in. Chapter Three explains Phase One of the framework for Europe’s industrial cities – explosive growth and collapse.Less
This chapter explains how Europe’s post-war boom fuelled an unsustainable growth, over-scaling of industry and counter-movements of citizens that eventually contributed to industrial collapse in Europe’s densely populated producer cities. As cities became mass-production centres, bigness came to dominate the European way of life. Large-scale government action led to mass housing, motorways, mass goods and services. Full employment led to high immigration, while protest movements grew under the umbrella of state provision. Environmental limits became clear with the oil crisis and decline set in. Chapter Three explains Phase One of the framework for Europe’s industrial cities – explosive growth and collapse.
William B. Bonvillian and Peter L. Singer
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262037037
- eISBN:
- 9780262343398
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262037037.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This chapter provides an overview of the critical developments in U.S. production history. It begins with the lessons from James Watt's famous “walk on the Green” of Glasgow. The chapter then turns ...
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This chapter provides an overview of the critical developments in U.S. production history. It begins with the lessons from James Watt's famous “walk on the Green” of Glasgow. The chapter then turns to the nineteenth-century interchangeable machine-made parts paradigm in the United States, nurtured through early War Department technology policy. This technology advance escalates through the nineteenth century into the snowstorm of true mass production, leveraging the scale advantage of the world's first continent-sized market. The story then turns to the defense innovation system. The defense innovation system subsequently birthed the foundational technologies behind the information technology innovation wave that evolved through the second half of the twentieth century. Importantly, this defense innovation role, which had its roots in production, by the mid-twentieth century had shifted almost exclusively to technologies, not the production systems behind them. This innovation/production disconnect had dramatic subsequent effects on U.S. manufacturing.Less
This chapter provides an overview of the critical developments in U.S. production history. It begins with the lessons from James Watt's famous “walk on the Green” of Glasgow. The chapter then turns to the nineteenth-century interchangeable machine-made parts paradigm in the United States, nurtured through early War Department technology policy. This technology advance escalates through the nineteenth century into the snowstorm of true mass production, leveraging the scale advantage of the world's first continent-sized market. The story then turns to the defense innovation system. The defense innovation system subsequently birthed the foundational technologies behind the information technology innovation wave that evolved through the second half of the twentieth century. Importantly, this defense innovation role, which had its roots in production, by the mid-twentieth century had shifted almost exclusively to technologies, not the production systems behind them. This innovation/production disconnect had dramatic subsequent effects on U.S. manufacturing.
Stephen Meyer
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040054
- eISBN:
- 9780252098253
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040054.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
This chapter looks at how the mass-production work regime and the aggressive supervision of work all devalued and undermined an auto worker's sense of dignity and manhood. The brutal technical system ...
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This chapter looks at how the mass-production work regime and the aggressive supervision of work all devalued and undermined an auto worker's sense of dignity and manhood. The brutal technical system established a highly controlled work environment of monotony and degradation. For skilled workers and those who aspired to such positions, the desired autonomy and control so essential for manly independence no longer existed. For others, the vicious speed-up, the endless fatigue, the absence of concern for health and safety, the abusive foremen and supervisors, and an uncivilized work environment all revealed lack of concern for human and manly dignity. Auto workers responded, individually and collectively, positively and negatively, to reframe and to reclaim a sense of their manhood through their sometimes retrograde shop floor behaviors, their efforts to fight back through union representation, and their general devaluation of women at work and in their local communities.Less
This chapter looks at how the mass-production work regime and the aggressive supervision of work all devalued and undermined an auto worker's sense of dignity and manhood. The brutal technical system established a highly controlled work environment of monotony and degradation. For skilled workers and those who aspired to such positions, the desired autonomy and control so essential for manly independence no longer existed. For others, the vicious speed-up, the endless fatigue, the absence of concern for health and safety, the abusive foremen and supervisors, and an uncivilized work environment all revealed lack of concern for human and manly dignity. Auto workers responded, individually and collectively, positively and negatively, to reframe and to reclaim a sense of their manhood through their sometimes retrograde shop floor behaviors, their efforts to fight back through union representation, and their general devaluation of women at work and in their local communities.
