Key Business Concepts [antikvár]

Preface The turbulent economic history of the 1970s and 1980s has generated a strong growth of interest in the factors that influence a company's f business development. The ability of old models and creeds to explain events was found to be much less than had previously been beHeved, and many approaches originating in the heyday of planning technoc- / racy simply had to be scrapped. Concentration on resource management gave way to concern for the customer and for customers' need structures as the starting point of all business activity, and it was discovered that subtle components difficult to quantify had a strong bearing on the development of companies and their business. In such situations where new knowledge is needed to replace old I knowledge that is no longer vahd, one always sees the rise of many j new ideas, models and concepts which are often only vaguely defined. 'i The past decade offers a textbook example of the search for new models and the bandying about of new and ill-defined terms. Parodists call this 'corporate bullshit', but that epithet should properly be apphed i' to the way the terms are used rather than to the concepts as such. '¦ They can also be viewed as an expression of outsiders' ignorance as r' to the exact meanings of the terms. If somebody talks about 'vertical lA integration' or the need to 'build entry barriers', it sounds to the uninitiated as if he is throwing up a smokescreen to avoid discussion of concrete issues. This book was originally initiated by the Scandinavian Airhnes System in 1987. SAS felt a need for a concise guide to concepts and models for their business training of executives. What was originally planned as a glossary turned into a book that has been continuously re-written and expanded. Apparently there is a worldwide need for this type of publication. The book has now been translated into no less than fourteen languages including quite exotic ones like Russian and Japanese. Let me hope that it will contribute to efficiency improvements in industry and the