Steven Tolliday - Böcker

Recent years have seen intense debates among management and academics on the rise of `lean production' and `Japanization'. Some authors have stressed the `universal' impact of new forms of work organization and `best practice' while others have questioned the limits of convergence, stressed the weight of national contexts or `societal effects', or highlighted the evolutionary effects of unpredictability in the external environment. The international automobile industry has been a focus for much of this debate and this book, written by a team of leading international researchers in the field, uses this industry to examine in detail the actual practice of the transfer and adaptation of productive models and the trajectories of innovation, compromise, and failure that can result. Case studies cover in detail the Japanese transplant experience in North America, and the global experience of hybrid production systems in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The book contributes to theoretical discussions about the transfer, adaptation, or convergence of productive models. In particular, the authors argue that direct transplantation or imitation of these models is rarely feasible or even desirable. Systems cannot be transferred without being significantly reshaped. Instead, the book focuses on the process of `hybridization', the complex interaction of productive models with national and societal effects. Hybridization, it is argued, is inevitable. But this should be seen not simply as a process of compromise and retreat but also as an important dynamic of innovation and learning. This book is from the French-based international research network GERPISA (Groupe d'étude de récherche permanent sur l'industrie et les salaries de l'automobile). See related titles below.

The contributors point the way to a new interpretation of the employer's role in industrial relations, by evaluating and explaining the distinctiveness of British developments in comparison to a variety of other countries.

The field of business history has changed and grown dramatically over the last few years. There is less interest in the traditional `company-centred' approach and more concern about the wider business context. With the growth of multi-national corporations in the 1980s, international and inter-firm comparisons have gained in importance. In addition, there has been a move towards improving links with mainstream economic, financial and social history through techniques and outlook. The International Bibliography of Business History brings all of the strands together and provides the user with a comprehensive guide to the literature in the field.The Bibliography is a unique volume which covers the depth and breadth of research in business history. This exhaustive volume has been compiled by a team of subject specialists from around the world under the editorship of three prestigious business historians.

First published in 1985, this multi-author volume discusses the contentious issue of the relationship between shop floor bargaining and the state. Previous studies of this area tended to focus on macro-economic concerns and labour legislation, avoiding a more empirical approach that would draw out specific examples of the relationship. The seven essays in this text attempt to redress the balance through rigorous analysis of historically particular circumstances and events. In doing so, they show that the state is not always the defender of managerial centralisation and give examples of government intervention to the benefit of shop floor autonomy. This highly informative volume draws attention to the contradictory and ambiguous nature of industrial relations, and will be of value to anyone with an interest in politics and economics.

During the 1920s, the "black decade" of British steel, nearly everyone agreed that the industry's revival depended on replacing obsolete equipment and instituting modern technologies that would increase production and decrease costs. Despite consensus, these goals were not reached and, even after wartime and postwar reconstruction needs were met, the industry continued its steady decline. Steven Tolliday advances three hypotheses for this stagnation.First, the problems of British steel, Tolliday suggests, were embedded in the structures of individual firms and of the industry as a whole—both unchanged since the prosperous years of the nineteenth century—and after World War I fractured by conflicting interests (share holders, managers, family members, bankers, creditors). Second, the two external institutions that might have enforced reorganization and modernization—the banking system and the government—were overcautious, had complex and contradictory goals, and lacked the management skills to exploit their potential financial leverage. Third, the many attempts at reform by banks and government collapsed because these establishments, like the industry itself, were constrained by traditions and antiquated structural rigidities.This excellent example of a new direction in business history—analysis of a given industry by conveying the interaction of technology, markets, companies, financial institutions, and government—brings many important theoretical questions into focus and also contributes substantially to the scrutiny of specific problems, such as why the British economy appears to be in irrevocable decline.

A survey of the development of the automobile industry from its origins to the present in a perspective informed by current upheavals in markets, technology and work organization. The volume examines the international diffusion of the Fordist model, Fordism being the manufacture of standardized products using special-purpose machinery and unskilled labour. The book goes on to consider how far the recent changes in the industry mark a break with Fordism and draws on the implications for industrial relations and trade union strategy

The contributors point the way to a new interpretation of the employer's role in industrial relations, by evaluating and explaining the distinctiveness of British developments in comparison to a variety of other countries.

This important collection throws light on the historical development and evolution of the economy, society and institutions in post-war Japan.It covers trends in economic development and looks at areas such as the debate on the role and significance of industrial policy; the evolution of financial and banking systems; the changing patterns of labour relations; land reform and agricultural change; and the broader economic and social structures of modern Japan.This two-volume set brings together the significant articles around these themes, including less well-known work first published in Japan. It will be an essential reference work for scholars and students of history, economics, political science and Asian studies.

This important collection presents in two volumes the most significant papers on the history of mass production and highlights crucial debates in the attempt to understand the phenomenon and its social and economic effects. The selection focuses on six important themes. Volume I opens with an exploration of the antecedents to mass production and an investigation of the mechanical, economic and social roots of the transformation in production methods at the beginning of the 20th century. The following section examines the emergence of ‘Fordism’ and the fundamental elements of the new system. The final section describes the extent to which mass production has spread through the wider economy and the ways in which it has changed in the process.In Volume II, the first section covers the impact of mass production on work and the workers. The second section looks at how Japan has exploited the principles of mass production and may indeed have evolved a new form of productive organisation. The concluding section raises the question of whether in the late 20th century the dominance of mass production is in decline.