The roots of globalisation of industry date back to the industrial revolution which first took place in Great Britain in the eighteenth century.
By the mid-nineteenth century Great Britain was predominant in world manufacturing and trade, but by the early twentieth century, British supremacy was challenged by Germany, USA, and France, and later Japan.
In the 1940s the United States economy was held up as the prime example of effective capitalism production. These ideas of production were emulated by companies in the industrialised world as “best practices” in running modern industry.
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The implications of these factors in political, military and social terms were considerable and the two world wars have been interpreted as being part of a process of economic rivalry (competition). In addition, capitalism has been challenged by alternative systems in the erstwhile Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and China.
The cold war which lasted from the late 1940s to 1989 was in many respects a process of rivalry between opposing systems of the ownership of production.
In the 1960s and 1970s, US predominance was increasingly challenged by Germany and also by Japan. Ironically both these countries had been heavily influenced by American practice but they adapted them to their own national conditions.
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The tremendous growth of the Japanese economy over the last twenty years has led to its close examination by the rest of the world. Now, even in the West, different systems of capitalism have developed with varying degrees of state intervention.
For example, the US system has much less regulation than Sweden. It has, therefore, become imperative to understand these developments in a world with increased and intensified competition.
According to Porter, “All advanced industrial economies are coming to an awareness of the importance of developing human resources in order to maintain competitive advantage”. Considerable and increasing investment is being made in training and development.
The ‘scientific’ techniques of selection have been developed to choose people and to construct effective teams.
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Motivational theories have been developed with the hope that they will result in greater efficiency and productivity. Organisations are being restructured to help them cope with an ever-changing world.