The international or multi-national corporation has become an important phenomenon in today''s business world and Massey-Ferguson is an ideal example of such an organization. Through its predecessor companies it can train its history to 1847, and so it has encountered virtually all the difficulties and developments of the last hundred years in business organization and management science. The development has not been straightforward for it has been much more than the growth of a single company in an expanding market. Management reorganization and the introduction of new management planning and control teachniques contributed a good deal to the company''s expansion, and because mergers played a vital role, the history of other companies is also involved.
Dr. Neufeld''s study concentrates on the years after the Second World War, a period in which the company''s international operations became increasingly complex. He records the events that helped to shape the company''s character and structure, and at the same time investigates the company''s successes and failures in adjusting to a changing national and international business environment. His study reveals why Massey-Ferguson developed into a global corporation, an organization that considers the whole of the international environment when making decisions relating to the allocation of its marketing, purchasing, manufacturing and engineering activities.
