The true, inside story of what caused the dramatic decline of the British motorcycle industry at a time when it had to face up to increasing competition from foreign manufacturers.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
History repeating I reread this book in the days after the GM bankruptcy. Mr Hopwood served on the boards of both Norton Motors and BSA Motorcycles. The reasons for the decline will sound familiar to anyone who has been watching the American auto industry. A lack of reinvestment in the product and management by cost resulted in motorcycles that fell far short of what the Japanese companies were producing. Technicial and engineering considerations were neglected and the customer was taken for granted. By the time management... more info
An allgory for today's business This story is written from an insider's perspective and doesn't draw any conclusions of its own about how the story applies to other things. But, it is very easy to look around in our current world and see some of the same things Hopwood describes, except in other industries. We have been through the same things with the whole dot-com bubble and now real estate. When people lose track of what they are really providing and get too caught up in the numbers, bad things happen. The book is an entertaining... more info
Outstanding book about a failed industry They produced some of the finest machinery of the 20th century but lost it all because of poor management. The author discusses his experience but really can't find the reasons for the downfall of a great industry. A great read for students of industrial management
A Guy with Story Who Tells it Well I was looking for books to recommend to young people who are thinking about studying engineering when I came across this book. It is an excellent story of one engineer's career for people who want to know what engineers do, although today a similar engineer would design with CAD. I liked the contrast between the author and his nemesis, the charismatic, egotistical inventor Mr. Edward Turner. Most professional engineers will encounter non-engineering inventors who design from the seat of their pants. Such... more info
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