The American Corporation, Organizational Capabilities, and Global Competition in the late 20^th and early 21^st Centuries

Introduction

From the “American Century” to Competitive Decline

Review of American Organizational Capabilities, 1880s-1940s

New Elements in Business Organizational Capabilities

6 discontinuities

Conglomerate movement

Changes in the Political Economy

Abroad: integration; energy shocks

At home: stagflation; relaxation of economic regulations

Note: “… This does not necessarily imply the United States is losing the high technology race;

many of the high technology imports are from U.S. companies (particularly electronics manufacturers)

who assemble the products overseas. ….”

Source for Figure 2 and Table 9: http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/77717.pdf

History and Analysis of the Present and the Future

Film: The Corporation, a film by Mark Arhbar, Jennifer Abbott, and Joel Bakan (2003-2004)

I suggest that you spend a little time reviewing the web site before viewing the film in class:

http://www.thecorporation.com/

This is a documentary and as such focuses on selected facts to instill an emotional response. While there are some interesting sections that appear to “defend” the “corporation,” most of the documentary attacks the way in which corporations have appeared to dominate life around the world. There is a heavy emphasis on American firms.

In one sense, this documentary is a corrective to the mostly positive view of globalization that some commentators, such as Thomas Friedman in The Lexus and the Olive Tree (2000), have posited. Note how the approach differs from that of Thomas K. McCraw in American Business Since 1920: How it Worked (2^nd edition, 2009). I will expect you to address this in your final exam.

As always, you should be weighing the arguments and evidence presented to arrive at your own conclusions about “the corporation” and “globalization” and the history, current status, and future possibilities of both.

We will be seeing selected portions, which the filmmakers reorganized for “business school” curriculums. For the most part, the documentary presents a defensible yet also arguable account of the rise of the corporation since the mid-19^th century and how the corporation has interacted with the evolution of capitalism. Pay close attention to how the “logic” of capitalism focuses much of the material.

Here are the main section titles we will view (as time allows):

The Corporation—Individual or Institution?

Advertising and Marketing

The Corporation as Government

Responsible Products, Product Use, and Production

Who Owns Knowledge and Life?