1.
Intr
oduc ti on
Rover as a ca r produ cer initiated in 1904 and has mana g e d to b e a s y mbo l to British societ y throu g hout the d e velopment of industrializ ation in the 20 th centur y . Manufactu rin g has been an important factor in the Unite d Kin g dom, and the car indus tr y has cr eated a sense of pride to those in volved rig h t throu g h all stages of building the p r o duct. Unfortunatel y , the industr y suc c e e ded in cr e a ting ex cellent brands based on previous reco g n itions, but not solid, independent or ganiz a ti ons consistentl y able to deliver top class vehicles. B e fo re the inte rwar y e a r s, the motor v e hicle w a s a lux u r y g o o d, boug ht b y the wealth y and produc ed b y r e lativel y small i ndep e ndent c r aftsmen: small- scale p r oduction f o r limite d ma r k e t
s.
F o r m a n y peopl e the m o tor vehicle industr y s y mbolises the cha n g i ng fo rtunes of the UK econom y as a whol e. From a position of d o minance immediatel y a f ter the Se cond W o rld W a r, the industr y is seen as havin g p r o g r e ssivel y lost out to c o mpetitors from abroad and, in particular
, to producers from German y and J a pan
1
. B r itish ma nuf a c t ur er s have had no option but to be in tervene either on partnerships or take- overs b y for e ig n c o mpe titor s tha t ha ve b e e n a b l e to sta b iliz e a n d f o r m super i or s ma nage me nt te c hnique s wi t h fresh and accu rat e st rat e g i es. This paper aims to desc ribe how
Rover Group pe r i odic a l l y lost its c o mpe titive n e ss, under what obje