A Long Time in Making: The History of Smiths

— —

James Nye (Visiting Fellow, Visiting Fellow, Institute of Contemporary British History, King's College London)

A Long Time in Making

The History of Smiths

James Nye (Visiting Fellow, Visiting Fellow, Institute of Contemporary British History, King's College London)

$242

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Oxford University Press
14 October 2014

Hi-tech manufacturing industries

Smiths Group (formerly Smiths Industries), part of the UK FTSE 100 index, is a global engineering company with a market capitalisation over £5bn. Evolving from beginnings in the Victorian jewellery trade, to significant market presences in the twentieth century motor accessory, clock and watch industries, it has reinvented itself again as a diversified international company, operating in the medical, communications, security and engineered components sectors. Its narrative history, illuminating the reasons for its survival and adaptability, offers useful data and information to aid wider research into questions such as the legitimacy of conglomerates as a business model, the creation and maintenance of corporate culture, issues of succession, the effects of mergers and the questionable value placed upon targeted synergies-even the role of serendipity.

The story begins with several generations of the Smith family amassing a fortune in retail, and then, following a 1914 stock-market flotation, describes the transition from family run business to the development of a professionally-run managerial enterprise. Since the 1970s it has had to face the decline of major markets and competitive pressures, leading to the adoption of new business lines, globalisation, and the internationalisation of its workforce. It now has 23,000 employees across more than 50 countries-along the way shocking the markets by abandoning core businesses and undergoing a controversial merger.

Unfettered access to company records, and interviews with former staff members, provide insights into the strategy and management of the firm, illuminating the rich culture of Smiths, characterised by the frequent fostering of technical brilliance and a cast of larger than life characters.

By: James Nye (Visiting Fellow Visiting Fellow Institute of Contemporary British History King's College London)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 254mm, Width: 187mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 956g
ISBN: 9780198717256
ISBN 10: 0198717253
Pages: 438
Publication Date: 14 October 2014
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Further / Higher Education , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

James Nye's first career was in finance and commerce, followed by a PhD in financial history at King's College London, where he holds a visiting fellowship in the Institute of Contemporary British History. He is also an award-winning historian of technology, with a focus on the history of distributed accurate time. James sits on the council of the AHS, and the editorial advisory panel of Antiquarian Horology. He is a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, and was the founder and principal sponsor of The Clockworks, a unique London museum, workshop, and library dedicated to the history of electrical timekeeping (www.theclockworks.org).

Reviews for A Long Time in Making: The History of Smiths

Dr James Nye has written a quite remarkable history of Smiths Industries (now Smiths Group), the last British manufacture, that eventually diversified into everything from autopilots to airport body scanners. * The Watch Nerd * Conglomerates are deeply unfashionable and if one were assembling a manufacturing business from scratch, it would not resemble Smiths Group. Yet a fascinating new history of the GBP4.6 billion FTSE 100 engineer, which has divisions spanning healthcare, energy, airport detection, telecoms and components, makes a reasonably good case for the business staying as it is. James Nye argues that the conglomerate nature of the company has come to its aid over the years. * Ian King, The Times * For historians of British business and economic history the author offers a masterly account of the transformation of a family firm into a professionally-run managerial multinational enterprise.It is a tour de force * Alun Davies, Antiquarian Horology *