From Steam to Diesel: Managerial Customs and Organizational Capabilities in the Twentieth-Century American Locomotive Industry (Princeton Studies in Business and Technology) [Kindle Edition]

Albert Churella (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This is an overview of the leading locomotive producers in the United States during the 20th century. It shows how they responded to a radical technological change - the replacement of steam locomotives with diesel. The locomotive industry provides a case study for business practices and shifts in innovation patterns. The book illustrates how producers responded to technological change, particularly between the 1920s and 1960s, and the companies discussed include, the American Locomotive Company, Baldwin Locomotive Works, Lima Locomotive Works, Fairbanks-Morse, General Motors and General Electric. The book aims to demonstrate how managers addressed radical shifts in technology and production methods, looking at managerial culture and corporate organizational routines. It details shifts from small-scale custom manufacturing in the steam locomotive industry, to the mass-production methods in the diesel locomotive industry.

About the Author

Albert Churella is a Senior Lecturer in History at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 3116 KB
• Print Length: 244 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (September 30, 1998)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001TH8XLG
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #393,803 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #68 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Transportation > Railroads

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and well written., September 7, 2000

By 

Christopher Holland (Queanbeyan, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From Steam to Diesel (Hardcover)

I work in an organisation that has been trying to manage major technical and structural changes for years, and failing dismally (after ten years of fairly strenuous effort it is pretty much in the same position now as then). After reading this book I had a much better understanding of the reasons why that can happen. The guy who wrote this book knows how to research his field and explain it to a layman without boring him to death. This is an excellent case study for anybody with an interest in managing complex organisations and technology.