No accounting for creatures of habit
Successful industrialists claim not to act in accordance with economic theory - why is the theory still taught?
In defence of endogenous growth theory
Much jargon is designed to conceal vacuity of thought. But technical terms have their place.
The Hugh Ford Management Lecture: Is Management a Profession?
Since the time of Aristotle, and perhaps before, business has been widely regarded as an activity of inferior moral status. The criti...
Economic Education: February 1998
John describes five groups of reasons why economic education is an indispensable part of any general education.
Outside football league table tells us all we need to know
League tables are in vogue, and despite the difficulties they seem worthwhile. If only it were easy to produce a “value added” table.
When consensus does not really mean agreement
Just as universities need to tell people to stop quibbling and work towards a common objective, companies need to realise that clustering around a corporate conventional wisdom that has not been subject to analysis and debate is also not a recipe for success.
A lost manuscript and the fantasy world of Amer and Eur
Being the fantastical story of the islands of Amer and Eur…
Value judgments
Why does water - essential to life - sell for less than diamonds? Any explanation which doesn’t look both at supply and demand will not get you far.
South Bank University – 1997 Annual Lecture
Ten years ago, ICI’s annual report described the company’s objectives:
“ICI aims to be the world’s leading chemical company, serving c...
Test of possession
“Ownership” is not a simple concept. I own my umbrella, and companies are owned by their shareholders. The word means different things in different situations.