Jones (1997)

Management > Comparative Management > Lectures > Independent Research > Jones > Culture > Improvements? > Post 1945

Post 1945

After WWII, British firms continued to be uncompetitive, but this was now due to the M-form as well as the continuing personal capitalism approach to business.

For example, the Ferranti family built the first commercial computer in 1951, but they refused to invest in production and marketing, which resulted in the decline of the business.

At the same time, the huge American defence market gave US companies an enormous competitive advantage and the growth of the early American computer industry was fuelled by the mobility of engineers between firms, universities and defence establishments.

Such mobility of ideas and information did not exist in the UK.

UK firms were far too concerned about paying shareholders than investing in long-term growth.

The M-form caused problems in Britain, as the diversification which was successful for the US, served to sever the connection between management and workers to the point that no-one knew what anyone else was doing. Financial criteria became the most important factor (which works with the concept of pleasing shareholders and focusing on short-term, financial gain only)

The author guesses that the focus on financial issues is probably in part due to the post-war period, where firms had no choice but to focus on rebuilding the economy.

Why it still wasn't working out