Book Description

Business History has developed as an academic subject since the 1970s. However, the insights of scholarly business historians have not been widely accessible to students because of the lack of a suitable textbook on which to base a one- or two- semester course. The present work is designed tofill this gap. Jeremy, drawing on recent research and debate, plainly outlines the history of major aspects of business behaviour in twentieth century Britain. Moreover, he presumes little prior knowledge of history, business, or economics on the student's part. The text is organized in three sections: the business environment; business organisation; and entrepreneurship and management. The first section outlines the changes that have most powerfully affected business, including global political and economic developments, and technological changes. Thesecond section deals with business structures and strategies, merger waves, multinationals and small firms. Special attention is given to the role of the City of London and the financial sector, and also to the revolution in retailing. The third part of the text examines the social origins,education, and training of business leaders and evaluates the performance of British management with respect to research and development, labour relations, and marketing. The last two chapters are about the shaping of company culture and business ethics. Common to all the chapters are: the chapter's objectives an outline of chapter contents a concluding list of points the student should have learned discussion questions a guide to further reading A variety of key ideas or viewpoints is presented in boxes. Numerous tables summarise numerical data. Charts and maps have been included where appropriate.