The decline of the British motor industry is one of the most spectacular developments in Britain's economic history. Conflicting explanations have been offered by scholars from different disciplines to produce a complex debate, which this 1995 study attempts to unravel. Placing the industry firmly in a European context, Roy Church re-examines the critical assessment of the achievements of the industry both before and after the onset of its decline in the 1960s, and goes on to test the various explanations which have been offered to account for this decline. He examines the role of government, of the trade unions, of management and of the multinationals, each of which has been seen as a major player in the demise of the British-owned industry. This concise and lucid review of the debate will be invaluable to students of modern British and European economic history.

The decline of the British motor industry is one of the most spectacular developments in Britain's economic history. Conflicting explanations have been offered by scholars from different disciplines to produce a complex debate, which this 1995 study attempts to unravel. Placing the industry firmly in a European context, Roy Church re-examines the critical assessment of the achievements of the industry both before and after the onset of its decline in the 1960s, and goes on to test the various explanations which have been offered to account for this decline. He examines the role of government, of the trade unions, of management and of the multinationals, each of which has been seen as a major player in the demise of the British-owned industry. This concise and lucid review of the debate will be invaluable to students of modern British and European economic history.

The straight eight engine, also known as the inline eight engine, was the driving force behind some of the most fascinating luxury vehicles of the first half of the twentieth century. From its introduction in the 1920s through its demise in the 1950s, the straight eight graced a number of upmarket vehicles from makers like Pontiac, Packard, and Daimler, and even appeared under the hood of the hyper-exclusive Rolls-Royce Phantom IV, of which only eighteen models were produced. Although it was eventually replaced by the V8 engine, the straight eight engine can be found in some of the most valuable and sought-after vehicles of all time. Keith Ray's The Straight Eight Engine is the first volume to be published about this extraordinary mechanism. Featuring four hundred images, the book is a lush tribute to an automotive component likely to never be equaled for smoothness and refinement.

This is the "green book" that started it all -- the first book in English on JIT, written from the engineer's viewpoint. When Omark Industries bought 500 copies and studied it companywide, Omark became the American pioneer in JIT. Here is Dr. Shingo's classic industrial engineering rationale for the priority of process-based over operational improvements in manufacturing. He explains the basic mechanisms of the Toyota production system, examines production as a functional network of processes and operations, and then discusses the mechanism necessary to make JIT possible in any manufacturing plant. Provides original source material on Just-ln-Time Demonstrates new ways to think about profit, inventory, waste, and productivity Explains the principles of leveling, standard work procedures, multi-machine handling, supplier relations, and much more If you are a serious student of manufacturing, you will benefit greatly from reading this primary resource on the powerful fundamentals of JIT.

In studying the impact of industry on class organization, social scientists have assumed that the effects of technological advance increase with time and that, as technology molds, dehumanizes, and alienates workers, the pressure mounts to change the system through political action. William H. Form tests these assumptions in his study. The author considers whether workers have more to do with one another as societies industrialize, whether they become more involved in organizations, and whether these involvements become distinctively similar, creating an organizational basis for a solidary working-class movement. To examine these questions, he chooses four countries (India, Argentina, Italy, and the U.S.) that vary in the extent of their industrial development. He then compares samples of skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled workers in order to ascertain how specific technologies to which they have been exposed affect their behavior in systems such as the work group, union, party, neighborhood, and nation. Originally published in 1976. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The collapse of the Soviet Union led to a period of steep economic decline, followed by economic reform, soaring inflation, corruption and crime. Despite the fact that unions were part of the State and that membership was obligatory, incorporating 98 percent of the labor force, millions of workers were not paid their wages.

Based upon an abundance of first-hand material, "Labour After Soviet Socialism "examines the complex interplay of history, ideology, leadership, state policy and economics, to explain the difficulty workers have encountered in defending their interests.

David Mandel, labor scholar and activist, teaches political science at the University of Quebec, Montreal. He is co-founder of the School for Worker Democracy, which conducts rank-and-file labor education in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

Autos and Progress studies the automobile as both a tool and a cultural symbol of Brazil's status as a modern "developed" nation. As such it addresses debates on state-making, the role of multi-national corporations in the region, middle-class consumerism, working-class politics, and sports and leisure in the crafting of national identity, among others. Such a study is key for understanding the twentieth century because auto-based transportation became the central facet of Brazilian attempts to gain control over its massive national space. The most obvious expressions of this include the building of Brasilia to be the new, interior national capital, the extensive road building throughout the Amazon in the 1970s, the nation's development of one of the world's leading alternative fuel industries, Brazilian dominance in world Formula One racing, and the fact that the current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is a former auto worker and trade union leader. This focus on Brazilians' fascination with automobiles and their reliance on auto production and consumption as keys to their economic and social transformation, explains how Brazil - which enshrined its belief in science and technology in its national slogan of Order and Progress - has differentiated itself from other Latin American nations. This embrace of automobility allowed the Brazilian elite to use industrialism and the increased mobility of an auto-based society to attempt to remake the nation's poor into a more homogeneous population. Autos and Progress engages key issues in the Brazil around the meaning and role of race in society and also addresses several classic debates in Brazilian studies about the nature of Brazil's great size and diversity and how they shaped state-making. Autos and Progress unifies Brazilian economics, politics, and culture in the twentieth century. It provides a unique historical context for understanding Brazilian modernism in politics and culture. Moreover, by analyzing the origins of auto-oriented industrialism and consumerism, the book is an economic, cultural and social history of Brazilian attempts to remake the nation into a middle-class democracy. This aspect of the study presents a new interpretation for the rise of Brazil's New Unionism, which was born in Brazil's auto, truck, and bus factories. It also provides important context for understanding the place of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers' Party) in national politics and culture, and the rise of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a former auto worker.

Trace the evolution of the supercar through the technology that drives it. With an introduction by David Coulthard. This is the definitive story of the science behind the art of supercar design. Written by bestselling author Martin Roach and featuring bespoke technical illustrations from F1 insider Neil Waterman, plus contributions from the biggest names in the supercar world, including: Adrian Newey - legend of Formula 1 design Gordon Murray - creator of the McLaren F1 Achim Anscheidt - chief designer of the Bugatti Chiron Tony Hatter - Porsche design guru Horacio Pagani - founder of Pagani Nigel Mansell - Formula 1 world champion Christian von Koenigsegg - founder of Koenigsegg And many, many more. From the earliest supercharged monsters to the complex machines of today, The Science of Supercars traces the evolution of the supercar through the technology that powers it.

Talent-Management (TM) ist ein wichtiger Bereich der betrieblichen Personalarbeit. Das essential bietet fundierte Informationen: Definition, Ansatze, Ziele, Erfolgsfaktoren, Vor- und Nachteile sowie Kernprozesse. Mit Personalexperten und Young Professionals aus der Automobilbranche wurden Interviews gefuhrt. Abgeleitete Handlungsempfehlungen ermoeglichen die Reflexion bzw. Professionalisierung - nicht nur in der Automobilwirtschaft.

This book offers a unique perspective within the luxury automobile industry in which the author, a Ferrari dealer, recounts a lifetime with the iconic car brand. Chapters detail a wide range of experiences, like a nonstop drive in a 308GTB from Chicago to Boston; rides with important figures like Piero Ferrari and Dario Benuzzi; and a visit to the Ferrari, Maserati and Lamborghini factories at Maranello. This book follows one man's all-encompassing journey with Ferraris. First a fan, then a salesman and a dealer, the author offers numerous insights into the life cycle of a Ferrari, from production to sales.

What can we tell about the future of automobiles and the industries that make them by examining their past? Wormald and Rennick trace the history of powered land transport, the rise and fall of the railways, the spectacular rise of the automobile, and what might come next. Delving into the mighty and complex automotive industry, following the growth of the markets and production, this book illustrates the globalization of vehicle manufacturers and component suppliers, giving form to the development of the industry's business model. A key factor in an auto-industry's successes and failures is the often-difficult relationship it has with government, which varies in nature from country to country. As an illustrative case, Wormald and Rennick present and analyse the entire lifecycle of Australia's automotive history - including its birth, growth, functioning and death - and its shifting relationship with the government that supported it.

Around Detroit, suburbanization was led by Henry Ford, who not only located a massive factory over the city's border in Dearborn, but also was the first industrialist to make the automobile a mass consumer item. So, suburbanization in the 1920s was spurred simultaneously by the migration of the automobile industry and the mobility of automobile users. A welfare capitalist, Ford was a leader on many fronts-he raised wages, increased leisure time, and transformed workers into consumers, and he was the most effective at making suburbs an intrinsic part of American life. The decade was dominated by this new political economy-also known as "Fordism"-linking mass production and consumption. The rise of Dearborn demonstrated that Fordism was connected to mass suburbanization as well. Ultimately, Dearborn proved to be a model that was repeated throughout the nation, as people of all classes relocated to suburbs, shifting away from central cities. Mass suburbanization was a national phenomenon. Yet the example of Detroit is an important baseline since the trend was more discernable there than elsewhere. Suburbanization, however, was never a simple matter of outlying communities growing in parallel with cities. Instead, resources were diverted from central cities as they were transferred to the suburbs. The example of the Detroit metropolis asks whether the mass suburbanization which originated there represented the "American dream," and if so, by whom and at what cost. This book will appeal to those interested in cities and suburbs, American studies, technology and society, political economy, working-class culture, welfare state systems, transportation, race relations, and business management.

The historical-structural method employed here rejects analyses that are excessively voluntaristic or deterministic. The authors show that while the state was able to mitigate certain adverse consequences of TNC strategies, new forms of dependency continued to limit Mexico's options. Originally published in 1985. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

In studying the impact of industry on class organization, social scientists have assumed that the effects of technological advance increase with time and that, as technology molds, dehumanizes, and alienates workers, the pressure mounts to change the system through political action. William H. Form tests these assumptions in his study. The author considers whether workers have more to do with one another as societies industrialize, whether they become more involved in organizations, and whether these involvements become distinctively similar, creating an organizational basis for a solidary working-class movement. To examine these questions, he chooses four countries (India, Argentina, Italy, and the U.S.) that vary in the extent of their industrial development. He then compares samples of skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled workers in order to ascertain how specific technologies to which they have been exposed affect their behavior in systems such as the work group, union, party, neighborhood, and nation. Originally published in 1976. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The U.S. auto industry has struck a brick wall. Can it get back on the road to recovery? At the Crossroads: Middle America and the Battle to Save the Car Industry argues that the Obama administration missed an historic opportunity in 2009 to launch a Manhattan Project-style effort to save not only Detroit, but the entire manufacturing base in Middle America. Abe Aamidor and Ted Evanoff explain how Washingtons intervention fell short and how it is holding back American economic recovery. The authors take a thoughtful look at the root causes behind the auto industrys crash, including disastrous labor contracts such as the 1950s 3Treaty of Detroit, which set the stage for crushing legacy costs; Wall Streets predatory financial practices ushered in under the Reagan administration; and a largely unregulated free trade regime that undermined the competitiveness of American manufacturing. At the Crossroads tells the story of Detroits collapse and a failed national industrial policy from the point of view of those most affected by it ? the factory workers, small business owners, and mayors of small manufacturing towns like Kokomo, Marion, and Bedford in Indiana, the number two auto manufacturing state after Michigan and the number one manufacturing state overall based on a percentage of population. Washington could debate the pros and cons of a national industrial policy and an auto industry bailout ad nauseum, but it was the people in small towns in Middle America who would live or die by the policy decisions of their distant national leaders.

Industries have had to quickly and continuously adjust their strategies in recent years to remain relevant and desirable. The automotive industry in particular has grown exponentially since its inception. In order for this industry to evolve with the changing times and appropriately utilize emerging technologies, further study on the new models and practices within the manufacturing process is required. Examining a New Automobile Global Manufacturing System considers emerging automobile manufacturing practices for the strengthening of automobile corporate management in advanced companies and discusses key changes within corporate management strategies and management technology for the automotive industry. Covering a range of critical topics such as production systems, teaching strategies, and design models, this reference work is ideal for manufacturers, managers, researchers, scholars, practitioners, academicians, instructors, and students.

In 1996, Darius Mehri traveled to Japan to work as a computer simulation engineer within the Toyota production system. Once there, he found a corporate experience far different from what he had expected. Notes from Toyota-land, based on a diary that Mehri kept during his three years at an upper-level Toyota group company, provides a unique insider's perspective on daily work life in Japan and charts his transformation from a wide-eyed engineer eager to be part of the "Japanese Miracle" to a social critic, troubled by Japanese corporate practices.Mehri documents the sophisticated "culture of rules" and organizational structure that combine to create a profound control over workers. The work group is cynically used to encourage employees to work harder and harder, he found, and his other discoveries confirmed his doubts about the working conditions under the Japanese Miracle. For example, he learned that male employees treated their female counterparts as short-term employees, cheap labor, and potential wives. Mehri also describes a surprisingly unhealthy work environment, a high rate of injuries due to inadequate training, fast line speeds, crowded factories, racism, and lack of team support. And in conversations with his colleagues, he uncovered a culture of intimidation, subservience, and vexed relationships with many aspects of their work and surroundings. As both an engaging memoir of cross-cultural misunderstanding and a primer on Japanese business and industrial practices, Notes from Toyota-land will be a revelation to everyone who believes that Japanese business practices are an ideal against which to measure success.

Winner of the 2005 Business History Review Newcomen Award for best book in business history, The Struggle for Control of the Modern Corporation provides a fascinating historical overview of decision-making and political struggle within one of America's largest and most important corporations. Drawing on primary historical material, Robert Freeland examines the changes in General Motors' organization between the years 1924 and 1970. He takes issue with the well-known argument of business historian Alfred Chandler and economist Oliver Wiliamson, who contend that GM's multidivisional corporate structure emerged and survived because it was more efficient than alternative forms of organization. This book illustrates that for most of its history, GM intentionally violated the fundamental axioms of efficient organization put forth by these analysts. It did so in order to create cooperation and managerial consent to corporate policies. Freeland uses the GM case to re-examine existing theories of corporate governance, arguing that the decentralized organizational structure advocated by efficiency theorists may actually undermine cooperation, and thus foster organizational decline.

Drawing on primary historical material, The Struggle for Control of the Modern Corporation, provides a historical overview of decision making and political struggle within one of America's largest and most important corporations. Freeland examines the changes in the General Motors organization between the years 1924 and 1970. He takes issue with the well-known argument of business historian Alfred Chandler and economist Oliver Williamson, who contend that GM's multidivisional structure emerged and survived because it was more efficient than alternative forms of organization.