From the earliest days of the Industrial Revolution to the 21sts century motor and aerospace industries, this book is the story of how Britains oldest major engineering company has remained at the heart of world manufacturing. The GKN Story is a chronological exposé of the organization, from the origin of the group in 1759 in the Welsh Valleys to its global presence in 2009. The key milestones in the groups history will be described against the backdrop (and sometimes foreground) of contemporaneous political and economic events, from the Industrial Revolution and the Great War through the Great Depression and World War II to Britains post-war decline, the rise of Europe and America, globalization and the shift in world economic power to BRIC and beyond. Key business themes will be drawn out from the experiences of the organization and these will pepper the text throughout as the story unfurls. Today GKN is concerned with the long term sustainability of its business and, as such, balances a number of objectives, each of which will be exposed within the text. Currently, the organizations mission is to deliver outstanding products and services to customers and superior returns to shareholders, and to drive benefit from the overall economic, social and environmental performance of GKN.
Book Details:
- Author: Andrew Lorenz
- ISBN: 9780470685518
- Year Published: 2009
- Pages: 392
- BISAC: BUS019000, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS/Decision-Making & Problem Solving
About the Book and Topic:
From the earliest days of the Industrial Revolution to the 21sts century motor and aerospace industries, this book is the story of how Britains oldest major engineering company has remained at the heart of world manufacturing. The GKN Story is a chronological exposé of the organization, from the origin of the group in 1759 in the Welsh Valleys to its global presence in 2009. The key milestones in the groups history will be described against the backdrop (and sometimes foreground) of contemporaneous political and economic events, from the Industrial Revolution and the Great War through the Great Depression and World War II to Britains post-war decline, the rise of Europe and America, globalization and the shift in world economic power to BRIC and beyond. Key business themes will be drawn out from the experiences of the organization and these will pepper the text throughout as the story unfurls. Today GKN is concerned with the long term sustainability of its business and, as such, balances a number of objectives, each of which will be exposed within the text. Currently, the organizations mission is to deliver outstanding products and services to customers and superior returns to shareholders, and to drive benefit from the overall economic, social and environmental performance of GKN.
The company that became GKN was forged in the first fires of the Industrial Revolution, and through the two and a half centuries of its remarkable life, GKN has proved a master of Industrial Evolution. Today, with its range of Automotive, Aerospace, Powder Metallurgy and Off-Highway businesses, it is a world leader in the field of the engineering industry. From small beginnings it now has a truly global operation with offices from the US West Coast to the eastern shores of Japan, from northern China throughout Europe to South Africa, Argentina and Australia.
PLATFORM FOR THE BOOK: GKN will purchase a minimum of 10,000 copies of the book to gift to employees, retired employees and third party clients and customers. CONTEMPORARY THINKING: Key business themes will be drawn out of the story to offer the business reader first hand examples of how an organization can cope and prosper in times of both adversity and growth. CASE BASED: The story of how Britains oldest major engineering company has remained at the heart of world manufacturing through innovative technological advances, quality, leadership and excellent management through periods of economic downturn, upturn, war, peace and globalization. The lessons to be learned from the organization are multitudinous. INTERNATIONAL APPEAL: Although British by birth, GKN is now a global operation with premises in 30 different countries, with some 42,000 employees. The story of the organization will appeal to a global audience.
About the Author
Andrew Lorenz is a well respected business writer. He is chairman of the Financial Communications group of FD, the business communications consultancy. Previously he was Business Editor of The Sunday Times for 11 years. He was Business Journalist of the Year in 2000. He is the author of four books, including co-author of End of the Road BMW and Rover, which was named this year by the Independent as one of the Top Ten Business books.