Global Business History Essay Questions Midterms

Practical 1

1. Why do firms change? Base your answer on the emergence of both the factory system and big business.
2. Evaluate Mokyr’s theory of the emergence of the factory system. Can the evolution transport and information and communication costs explain the emergence of big business, too?
3. How does the form that business organizations take influence economic growth and welfare? To answer this question consider the consequences of the emergence of both the factory and 'big business'.
4. How does transport technology affect the shape that business organizations take? To answer this question consider the role that transport technology played during both the first and the second industrial revolutions.
5. How does information and communication technology affect the shape that business organizations take? To answer this question consider the role that information and communication technology played during both the first and the second industrial revolutions.
6.  "The emergence of the factory system and that of big business demonstrate that information and communication technology, rather than the technology of production, drives changes in business organizations". Do you agree?

Practical 2

1. What caused the emergence of conglomerates? Discuss both the general case and the specific case of the beauty industry.
2. What has been the impact of the third industrial revolution on the beauty industry?
3.  Consider the following statement: “During the postwar period, the hegemony of the United States can be observed in the international success of its firms operating in the beauty sector, as well as in the spread of the multidivisional structure in Japan.” Do you agree?
4.  What has been the effect of the removal of barriers to trade during the postwar years on patterns of internationalization of companies in the beauty and steel sector?
5. What explains the decline of conglomerates during the last quarter of the 20^th century? Base your answer also on the case of the beauty industry.