ABSTRACT
In the iast chapter I introduced three leading domestic appliance companies: Rose, Exemplar and Homecraft. Superficially these companies had much in common. All three were subsidiaries of large British manufacturing conglomerates; they competed directly in several sectors; and all concentrated on horne markets that were under increasing threat from foreign competition. On these grounds alone, one might expect them to adopt very similar strategies in the face of the common challenge of the 1979-81 recession. However, the previous chapter also revealed the widely different internal characters of these three companies. Rose remained in the grip of a generation of managers still loyal to the 'Rose way' of 'seat-of-the-pants' decisionmaking and mass production of cheap, standard products. At Exemplar, the domineering Jo Stone was dedicated to the rebuilding of British manufacturing through paternalistic care for workers and clever marketing. Homecraft's managers too wer.e committed to marketing, but, ever-mindful of the need for 'balance', had none of Stone's fanatacisms. Thus beneath the surface similarities each of these companies had very different instincts for strategic action. Moreover, as the last chapter concluded, none of these companies - except perhaps Rose - appeared to be under sufficient market pressures to force them to ignore their instincts.
