Recent years have seen intense debates among management and academics on the rise of `lean production' and `Japanization'. This book examines in detail the actual practice of transfer and adaptation of productive models into the auto industry. 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.

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.

First published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This annotated bibliography contains over 4,000 entries providing detailed information on books, journal articles, and theses in Business History worldwide. The coverage includes works published in the United States, England, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden and Italy; all are annotated in English. Entries cover a wide range of industries, from agricultural engineering to toys, weapons engineering, and wholesale distribution. Specific companies mentioned are indicated at the bottom of each annotation. Using the Standard Industrial Classification System, the book details:
*Exploitative Industries
*Traditional and Heavy Industries
*Light Industry
*Trade and Distribution
*Financial Services
*Other Services (including Health and Transportation)
*Corporate Structures
*Management and Entrepreneurship
The works listed in the "International Bibliography of Business History" will be found in almost any college library and will be used by every student, teacher, and librarian working in the field of Business.

The crucial role of employers and managers in the development of industrial relations has been the focus of much recent research. However, there remains little consensus on key issues such as the determinants of managerial strategies, or employers' contributions to differing national patterns of industrial relations. "The Power to Manage" argues that many of these difficulties stem from the limitations of the theoretical frameworks within which the research has been carried out. Both functionalist and evolutionary perspectives subordinate managerial choices to the pressures of the market or the broader patterns of business development. In consequence, these approaches cannot explain the persistent diversity of employers' labour policies or the prevalence of contradictory and incoherent strategies. Taking the characteristic features of British industrial relations as a point of departure, the contributors to this volume present detailed empirical studies of employer labour policies in a variety of countries. These establish a comparative-historical framework within which the characteristics of British developments can be evaluated and explained. This book should be of interest to ad

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.