The Corporate Infighter's Handbook [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION The modem corporation is in many ways very much like the army. There is the same emphasis on conformity, the same obsession with status, the same resentment of 'outsiders' who do not share its aims and priorities. Many corporations have their own brass bands, their own flags, their own songs, slogans, badges and ties. Some even have the corporate equivalent of uniforms: blazers, overalls and the like. Multi-nationals could, I suppose, be compared to a NATO force but they expect - and usually get - a greater degree of personal commitment than an international military organization could ever hope to inspire. A peace-time army provides fewer opportunities than one engaged in war, so many of the people who at one time would have embarked on a military career nowadays join a corporation instead. It gives them the same sense of belonging, the same reassuring feeling that they are part of a powerful set-up which is bound to last a good deal longer than most of the individuals who insist on doing their own thing. The stated objective of the corporation is to make a profit. Left-wing activists may regard profit as a dirty word; in the business world, it is a sacred one. Everyone, from the chairman downwards, is expected to acknowledge that it is the reason why corporations exist and why people work for them. The enemy is anyone who stands in the way - rival corporations, trade union leaders, legislators, tax officials - and victory or defeat is measured by the rows of figures in the balance sheet. From time to time a surprise attack is launched against a hated opponent. It may take the form of a 'price war', designed to grab business away from him, or it may be an outright attempt to take over the entire corporation. The battles