Corporate Management in a Knowledge-Based Economy [electronic resource] /
Zanda, G.editor.
Corporate Management in a Knowledge-Based Economy traces the evolution of corporate governance over time, with a particular focus on the changing nature of power. The control of scarce resources used in production materials, labour and capital has evolved considerably over the past centuries, with government, landowners, non-owner managers, and institutional investors acting as controlling powers at different points in time. In order to appropriately protect the various, and changing, stakeholders, the system of corporate governance has also developed over the years a process that continues to the present. In today's knowledge-based economy, with the rising importance of intangible assets, a new corporate management paradigm is needed. This book incorporates theoretical work as well as practical applications to analyse these developments and explore emerging trends of the 21st century. It examines how the pursuit of profit maximization has resulted in governance failures and it focuses on the prospective role of business ethics (once again in the spotlight following the credit crisis) in helping reform flawed governance structures. It argues that, in the long term, a system based on ethics can maximize social responsibility, customer satisfaction, human capital development and economic targets.
Description based upon print version of record.
Cover; Contents; Tables and Figures; Notes on Contributors; 1 Company Management: Its Historical Evolution; 1.1 Foreword; 1.2 Aims and outline of the present work; 2 The Period in which Power Is Associated with Land Ownership; 2.1 The organization of production and consumption before feudalism: from the Greek city-state to the late Roman period; 2.2 The socio-economic system of European peoples in the first phase of feudalism (8th century to the 10th/11th century)
2.3 The socio-economic system of European peoples in the second phase of feudalism (11th century to the second half of the 15th century)2.4 Mercantile capitalism: the European socio-economic system from the second half of the 15th century to the second half of the 18th century; 3 The First Industrial Revolution (c1760-c1870); 3.1 The application of the scientific method to economic, social and political problems; 3.2 The long, complex and systematic process called 'the Industrial Revolution'; 3.3 The main catalysts of the process
4 The Second Industrial Revolution (late 1800s and early 1900s)4.1 Introduction; 4.2 The use of electricity and increase in productivity; 4.3 Technological progress, economic discontinuity, oligopoly and high profitability; 4.4 The institutionalization of research and development within companies; 4.5 The growing use of capital. The beginning of mass production and mass consumption and the appearance of large corporations; 4.6 The development of studies and practices in the field of management
5 The 'Managerial Revolution': The Origin and Growth of Managerial Capitalism (from the 1930s to the End of the 1970s)5.1 The first two decades of the 20th century and the Great War; 5.2 From the Great War to the Great Economic Crisis; 5.3 The 'managerial revolution'; 5.4 The power of non-owner managers in the large corporations; 5.5 The growing interest of scholars and managers in the decision-making process and human resources management; 5.6 Managerial motivation and the goals of the corporation: theoretical outlines; 5.7 The relationship between profitability and increase in company size
5.8 The relationship between objectives of social responsibility and rate of profitability and company size development5.9 The 'utility function' of professional managers of dominant large corporations from the 1930s to the appearance of 'financial shareholding managerial capitalism'; 6 The Appearance and Establishment of 'Financial Shareholding Managerial Capitalism'; 6.1 Preliminary remarks; 6.2 Internal and external crises of economic systems and the fall in profits
6.3 The reaffirmation of the principle of the maximization of profit and of the value of the company. The return to 'investor capitalism'
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Corporate Management in a Knowledge-Based Economy traces the evolution of corporate governance over time, with a particular focus on the changing nature of power. The control of scarce resources used in production materials, labour and capital has evolved considerably over the past centuries, with government, landowners, non-owner managers, and institutional investors acting as controlling powers at different points in time. In order to appropriately protect the various, and changing, stakeholders, the system of corporate governance has also developed over the years a process that continues to the present. In today's knowledge-based economy, with the rising importance of intangible assets, a new corporate management paradigm is needed. This book incorporates theoretical work as well as practical applications to analyse these developments and explore emerging trends of the 21st century. It examines how the pursuit of profit maximization has resulted in governance failures and it focuses on the prospective role of business ethics (once again in the spotlight following the credit crisis) in helping reform flawed governance structures. It argues that, in the long term, a system based on ethics can maximize social responsibility, customer satisfaction, human capital development and economic targets.
Business enterprises—Finance.
Leadership.
Corporations—Finance.
International business enterprises.
Management.
Personnel management.
Business Finance.
Business Strategy/Leadership.
Corporate Finance.
International Business.
Management.
Human Resource Management.