In service of the theology of capitalism.
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Management consulting , in its various guises, was the bastard child of Frederick Taylor’s ‘scientific management’ and engineering-besotted railway planning in the age of US continental colonisation. The top-tier strategists in central offices descend from the former; the software developers in regional outposts from the latter. Strategic corporate work in the early years included consulting on executive compensation, product marketing surveys, organisational restructuring, and budgetary and operational controls. On the engineering and technical side, large-scale complex systems like energy providers, railways and maritime transportation lent themselves to pseudo-scientific consulting bromides that provided – for a handsome fee – copyrighted guides to efficiency, strategic growth and operational effectiveness. The aim was to maximise profit, enrich management and shareholders, and circumscribe worker militancy. Outside the US, as the Cold War raged, management consultants were willing foot soldiers in the global battle for capitalism. A 1960 report by the New York Times exalted the US firms that were ‘aggressively’ packaging and marketing management advice on ‘whatever their specialities – dams, textiles, or general management help’. As the Times put it, ‘besides being asked to aid United States companies seeking to stake out new markets abroad’ consultants were also ‘in heavy demand among the foreign concerns eager to resist the invaders’.
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