Routledge Revivals
9 total works
The Real World of the Small Business Owner
by Richard Scase and Robert Goffee
Small businessmen and entrepreneurs came firmly back in fashion when this book was first published in 1980. As the Western economies moved into recession, many governments, particularly Mrs Thatcher's administration, looked to the entrepreneurial spirit of the small businessman to rejuvenate and revitalise Western society.
Stripping away the political rhetoric, this book provides a serious social portrait of the small businessman in the economy at the time in which this book was written. Based upon extensive original research, the detailed analyses focus on the key issues in the small businessmen's life. At a time when there was much argument about the motivation and will to work of Western society, this study of the traditional custodians of capitalism is particularly relevant. Above all it shows how the historical values of the small businessman have survived in the changed circumstances of the advanced economies.
This book, first published in 1982, is a study of the processes that shape the reproduction of the entrepreneurial middle class. It identifies the major dynamics surrounding stages of business growth. More particularly, it focuses upon obstacles and cleavages inherent within the process of small-scale capital accumulation. This book is ideal for students of business and economics.
This book, first published in 1989, addresses an issue that stood at the centre of sociological concern – the changing character of industrial societies.
The authors examine the nature of the industrialization process, in terms of its impact upon and development within both state socialist and capitalist societies. Is ‘industrialism’ a constant phenomenon within both kinds of society, or are distinctive differences apparent? In the 1960s, it did seem that economic growth and technological change were producing similarities in social structure between the different socio-political systems; it now appears however that the crisis that have developed during the 1980s how illustrated their contrasts. Through the analysis of this trend in the West, in Eastern Europe and in China the authors clarify central issues for the student of sociology:
- The changing character of national states, organized labour, stratification systems and class relationships
- Processes of social integration, cohesion and control
- The extent to which dominant groups are able to sustain social and economic privileges in different socio-economic systems
- The changing pattern of work and employment relationships
- The nature of class, gender and ethnicity as sources of socio-economic division
Social Democracy in Capitalist Society (Routledge Revivals)
by Richard Scase
First published in 1977. This book considers the nature of industrial society, contemporary capitalism and the impact of political ideas on social structure. These ideas are discussed by reference to the impact of social democracy on the structure of capitalist society in a comparative analysis of Britain and Sweden - including an interview survey of industrial workers socio-political attitudes. The study is concluded by a general discussion of the role of social democracy in capitalist society. It is argued that the development of social democracy generates 'strains' which, in the long term, question the legitimacy of capitalism among industrial manual workers.
Why do women start their own businesses? Is it solely because they are searching for financial success, or for other reasons? On the basis of detailed interviews with a number of women who have started their own businesses, this book, first published in 1985, reveals the significance of factors that are directly related to women’s experiences at home, at work, and in the wider society.
The author’s analysis shows how business start-up enables many women, but not all, to achieve forms of economic and social independence that they would not otherwise enjoy. Further, they illustrate ways in which business proprietorship has a wide variety of effects upon individuals, and upon their personal relationships and life styles. They refute the notion of a single entrepreneurial experience and argue that the causes and consequences of business start-up are highly conditioned by the extent to which women are committed to traditionally prescribed roles and to profitability.
The findings of this book will have important implications for the formulation of small business policies. It will also be of particular value to those interested in women’s studies and small business management.
Entrepreneurship in Europe (Routledge Revivals)
by Robert Goffee and Richard Scase
The changing character of the economies in Eastern and Western Europe are leading more people to start their own businesses. This volume, first published in 1987, highlights the trends developing over the closing decades of the twentieth century. Although business start-up requires financial and marketing skills, it also demands important physchological and sociological inputs. On the basis of detailed accounts of the relevant social processes, this volume describes the varied experiences of entrepreneurship as they are emerging among various groups in both Eastern and Western Europe including the unemployed, women, ethnic minorities and others. This book will be of interest to students of business studies and sociology.
Any study of contemporary industrial societies must take into account the role of power, ideology and class, and the degree to which these determine the development of social structures. This book, first published in 1977 and based on a selection of eleven papers given at a conference of the British Sociological Association, focuses upon aspects of continuity and change in modern society, comparing and contrasting dimensions of class, cleavage and control in capitalist and socialist societies.
This book is key reading for students of both sociology and business studies.
‘The manager’ is a crucial figure in debates about the future of the British economy in general and the working practices of private and public organizations in particular. He or she is to be encouraged, cajoled, exhorted or at worst obliged to pursue organizational goals of greater economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
Richard Scase and Robert Goffee examine the lives of managers in this study, first published in 1989. The information in the book comes from in-depth interviews with men and women in both private and public sector organizations. The authors also explore managers’ feelings towards their work and home lives, and where their strongest alliances lie. The book reveals that, under increasing pressures at work and changing expectations at home, managers are fundamentally reluctant to fulfil the committed entrepreneurial roles that many optimistically have been allocating to them.
This book is ideal for students of business and management.
Corporate Realities, first published in 1995, provides a concise but comprehensive review of the management issues relating to different types of organisation. Avoiding academic jargon, it describes the characteristics of administrative, manufacturing, service and professional organisations. It explores the features of both small and large businesses.
The authors demonstrate how the transition from small to large scale can be achieved, as well as reviewing recent attempts to recreate entrepreneurial forms of organisation in the context of larger, more complex ones. Most importantly, it identifies future trends and the skills that will be needed to manage corporations at the turn of the century.
This book will be of interest to students of business studies.