Unions and Management in Engineering: A Case Study, 1964-79
Author(s)
Brown, Kenneth D.
Abstract
High levels of strike activity and poor industrial relations have frequently been cited as factors in Britain’s perceived industrial decline after 1964, while the validity of the contemporary analysis of the problem provided by the Donovan Report has been extensively debated. This article provides a case study of these issues in the context of a single firm, the toy manufacturer, Meccano Ltd of Liverpool. It suggests that the company’s inability to raise productivity was due in part to trade union attitudes, but supports Donovan’s conclusion that management was most to blame, as it lost touch with the shop floor, failed to understand the productivity issue, and resisted attempts to generate appropriate management information.
