Towards European management - Keith Thurley

Working from Swedish and British managerial situations, this work looks at the concept of "European management", in contrast with American and Japanese competing managerial philosophies. It asks how a more effective response to world competition can be achieved, especially with 1992 looming.;The book dicusses four questions. Firstly, is it possible to distinguish a specific European approach to management in contrast with American and Japanese competing Managerial philosophies? Secondly, what type of strategies of change are required within the European context in order to achieve a more effective organizational response to world competition.;Thirdly, what can be learnt from applied social scientific research on the nature of organizational failures in the European context and their implications for managerial roles. Fourthly, given the advent of the 1992 Single European market and different historical and cultural traditions among European nations, on what basis can the management of European organizations be reformed.;Questions are arising from the specific political, economic and cultural challenges facing European firms, communities and individuals in the transitional years of the 1990s, as a new European state is being evolved. The starting point for this book is the possible role for management within this new political context. It also places the study of management in its political and cultural context. The emphasis is on formulating from the political and cultural pluralism of Western Europe a management "style" which - in terms of training, organizational imaging and operational and strategic technique - will help management in Europe compete. The message of the book is that Europeans, without imitating Japanese or US models, can offer a new and richer approach to management, where economic and business goals can be pursued within individual commitments to political and cultural life.