Search

The article presents information related to the political and social conditions of various countries. German opponents of rearmament now intend to contest each further step necessary to implement the decision reached on Sunday. Above all they plan to use the interval of time between ratification and the creation of the first German divisions to insist upon negotiations with the Russians. Much depends on the French. One can assume that the new French Premier, Edgar Faure, who took office on a pledge of prompt ratification, will rush the treaties through the Council of the Republic. The phrase "instrument of national policy" first appeared in the headlines in 1949 when it was used by the Educational Policies Commission of the National Education Association to characterize the relation of the schools to the government in a time of cold war.

The article throws light on the current theories about international relations. Nobody is willing publicly to make any of concessions that might help reduce tension and ultimately bring about a settlement. Furthermore, it has been known that Moscow has accepted the proposal of a Big Four meeting, that was assembled in Bermuda. The only feasible solution to the cold war is secret diplomacy, which requires an agreement among the Western powers to drop German rearmament in return for solid concessions by Russia.

Several letters to the editor are presented in response to articles in previous issues including "From Cold War to Cold Peace?" in the February 12, 1949, "Titanium: New Metal for the Industry" in the January 8, 1949 issue, and an article about the Tote Bin system of shipping flour in the January 1, 1949 issue.

After World War II, the United States assumed the burden of leading the defense of the Free World. Today, although many of our allies are exceedingly prosperous and are technically competent to help in the work of defense, we seem to be most reluctant to part with the notion that "it's all up to us." This habit of thought is an expensive one--as a glance at the defense budget will demonstrate. Also, it may stand in the way of progress and advance both for ourselves and for our allies. In this article, the author argues that we should share the burden of defending the Free World with our allies through the formation of international consortia of industrial companies to design and produce certain widely used defense systems. He points out the fact that this policy has brought us many advantages whenever it has been applied in the past, and he describes the additional advantages it can bring us in the future. He also makes specific suggestions for managing the assignment of contracts to such consortia, a problem that has formerly given a lot of difficulty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trade with Russia and her satellite nations is a topic with business, political, and emotional overtones. Because of the importance of the subject, HBR has sponsored this quantitative and qualitative exploration of the pros and cons of such trade, paying particular attention to the experiences of companies engaging in it. The authors are Marshall I. Goldman, Associate Professor of Economics at Wellesley College and Associate of the Harvard Russian Research Center, and Alice Conner, who served as Research Assistant for the International Marketing Institute on this project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several letters to the editor in response to articles in previous issues are presented, including "Advances in Financial Management," by Robert H. Baldwin, "False Fears of Disarmament," both in the January-February 1964 issue and "Where Is the Organization Man?" by Lyman W. Porter in the November-December 1963 issue.

The article details an espionage case from the files of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). An American businessman was contacted by a Russian businessman who wanted to recruit him for espionage. The John Smith story includes the persuasive method used by the Russian to exploit business negotiations and why Smith went to the FBI. Topics include background information on the effort of Soviet-bloc intelligence agencies to get information about American industries, the role of the FBI in espionage cases, and suggestions for counteracting the Soviets' recruitment activity. INSET: TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS ON SOVIET-BLOC NATIONALS.

Industrial fallout shelters are important not only for their value in discouraging any would-be aggressor, but also for survival in case our nation is attacked. According to informed sources, a sound shelter program carried out by industry and local government could save up to 70,000,000 lives in case of a heavy thermonuclear attack (depending, of course, on the areas bombed, weather conditions, etc.). Business leaders will find here the data they need to: (1) understand the nature of the fallout threat; (2) direct construction of a sound, economical shelter; (3) plan for the management problems of running an occupied shelter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During World War II and in the ensuing and apparently endless period of the cold war, it has become fashionable to put trust in a variety of prophylactic measures designed to identify potential criminals before they can commit their intended crimes, and to frustrate them in their supposed intentions. To meet the "legitimate need" of government to protect itself, the governmental agencies have compiled dossiers on the political beliefs. If it is efficient for any one compiler to maintain a permanent dossier on each subject, so that he need not start from scratch each time interest in the subject is renewed.

Somewhat unwittingly, the U.S. may be acquiring another ally that brings with it more promise of opprobrium than of benefit. Tied to Great Britain through NATO, the United States is indirectly linked to British plans to resume arms sales to the Republic of South Africa. If NATO countries become intricately tied to South Africa, the legitimacy of the alliance will be further weakened especially for Denmark and Norway. More important, British sale of arms to South Africa will once again carry the cold war into tropical Africa, because nothing could do more to increase Chinese and Soviet influence among the black nations in that part of the world.

Assesses the role of the United Nations in ironing out the international tension. Argument against the international status of the United Nations; Composition and function of the United Nations; International threat of dissolving the United Nations; Role of the United Nations in ironing out the antagonism between the Russian empire and the free world; Political significance of the United Nations.

The article discusses the capture of U-2 Lockheed pilot Francis Gary Powers in Soviet territory in the midst of the cold war. It states that Powers was gunned down by the orders of Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev, who is said to be aware of American reconnaissance missions across the country. It mentions that U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower ordered State Department spokesman, Lincoln White, to tell the truth in a press conference. Eiichiro Sekigawa's description of the U-2 is provided.

With the U.S. President Harry S. Truman's declaration of an American protectorate in Formosa and the use of American troops against Communists on the continent of Asia, the cold war merged into a state of undeclared war. The new phase is somewhat analogous to the 1931-39 periods, when Japan seized Manchuria and North China, while Italy and Germany knocked off some victims in Africa and Europe and Russia grabbed parts Of Poland, Finland, and Rumania in the brief twilight before the Nazi invasion.

In this article the author presents his views related to the possible ways of establishing peace between the Soviet Union and the U.S. According to the author the U.S. has lost its initiative in international politics. He focus on the conditions on which the Soviet Union and the U.S. can transform the present cold or lukewarm war into lasting peace. In the author's opinion the first of these conditions is to want peace. The American policies are not easy to understand. American government was ready to discuss all problems with the Soviet Union and was leaving every door open for an exchange of views.

This article presents the author's views on steps for attaining world peace in the face of the Cold War. He suggests for the four points. Encourage a more searching public discussion of the implications of a third world war, so that all people, realizing its shocking moral as well as physical consequences, will be more resourceful in finding means to establish world order. Recognize that total disarmament by all nations in all arms is the crux. During the interim period of discussion and negotiation armed strength should be maintained, but a constant effort made to create a better atmosphere.

The article presents briefs on various topics covering world affairs. One of the articles focuses on the plight of Korea. Divided by a line originally drawn to facilitate the Japanese surrender, Korea had become a focal point in the cold war. The hope of preventing Korea from being turned into another Spain lies in the unity of all the powers outside the Russian sphere. Another article focuses on the debates in the French Congress on the issue of colonialism. Another article focuses on the march of armed services towards racial democracy.

The exchange by Washington and Moscow, Russia, of harsh, uncompromising notes, the speeches U.S. President Harry S. Truman and U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson announcing a stepped up tempo and new methods in the cold war, including an American "campaign of truth" to sell freedom to the world as an alternative to Soviet slavery, Moscow's sudden raising of the Trieste and Dardanelles issues, all these have provided a jangling fanfare for the celebration of the United Nations' fifth anniversary.

The article presents some socio-political updates. It asserts that temperature of cold war has again risen in Berlin. Once again the four-power negotiations for an Austrian treaty are at a standstill and an appeal to the Russian government by the American, British, and French Ambassadors to end the deadlock appears to have been fruitless. Another cause of heightened tension between the U.S. and the Soviet bloc is the Bulgarian demand for recall of the American Minister in Sofia on the ground that he procured information from the executed traitor and former Deputy Premier of Bulgaria. The article also highlights the political dilemma faced by Great Britain's Prime Minister Winston Churchill as his British Labor Party faces voters in February 1950 elections in Great Britain.

The article focuses on the political conditions of the United States. In the cold war that some have already proclaimed, the case for the West rests on its championship of certain inalienable rights of man. Unless the United States, which in effect speaks for the West, holds oil to those rights, cultivates them, assures their exercise, and protects them against all corners, it will have no case at all in the eyes of the world, and its power to persuade will vanish. Nothing could be more timely, therefore, than the report of the President's Committee on Civil Rights, a document of such uncompromising boldness, that it at once exposes the "moral dry rot," provides the most specific steps to clear it cut, and displays before the world that corrosive self criticism which is democracy's saving grace, its boundless advantage over dictatorship.

The article mentions systems management and how it can be applied to international economic development. The economic rivalry between communist and free-enterprise countries is a concern of American business. The U.S. approach to economic development has more weaknesses than the Soviet strategy of central planning. However, an alliance between business and government--similar to the systems concept used by the U.S. Air Force to produce weapons systems--could give business an advantage. Topics include the characteristics of systems management, the use of feasibility studies, political and economic benefits for underdeveloped nations and the Free World, and hypothetical examples of economic development projects, as well as public/private sector partnering.

What would arms control mean for the U.S. economy? Aside from its value in preventing nuclear war, how would it affect the federal budget? Businessmen customarily assume that arms control would mean large cuts in military spending, but that is not likely to be the case, argues T. C. Schelling. In fact, defense outlays may even increase. Mr. Schelling is Professor of Economics at Harvard University and a member of the Faculty of the Center for International Affairs. He is the author of "The Strategy of Conflict" (Harvard University Press 1960) and coauthor, with Morton H. Halperin, of the forthcoming Twentieth Century Fund book, "Strategy and Arms Control." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The letters to the editor refer to articles that were published in previous issues of "Harvard Business Review." Readers comment on "Economics for the Nuclear Age," by W. W. Rostow, and "Health Care of the Aged: Who Pays the Bill?," by Gaston V. Rimlinger, which are in the January-February 1960 issue. "Advice for Small Company Presidents" is written by Louis E. Newman and is in the November-December 1959 issue. "How to Assess Investment Proposals" is by Robert H. Baldwin and is in the May-June 1959 issue.

Apparently most business executives and government officials expect some easing of world tensions; and while many are cautious about cutting defense expenditures, virtually no one is in favor of spending more to catch up with the Russians. The Editors of HBR feel that failure to appraise the risks involved could have serious consequences for the nation. Hence they have departed from the usual format for "Thinking Ahead" in order to present, first, a statement of the problem as they see it and, then, to throw light on one of the main points at stake, the report of a study made for the National Planning Association in 1957, updated to the present specifically for this purpose by one of its authors, Manuel L. Helzner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents letters to the editor in response to articles in previous issues, including "Economics for the Nuclear Age," by W. W. Rostow in the January-February 1960 issue, "Can Capitalism Win the Intellectuals?," by Calvin B. Hoover in the September-October 1959 issue, and "American Business and the Piety of Profits," by Lawrence G. Lavengood," in the November-December 1959 issue.

The article discusses a dynamic theory of production and five growth categories in society: the traditional society; transitional society; society in the take-off process; society in the drive to technological maturity; and society at the age of mass consumption. Rapid expansion causes a direct demand for new inputs of capital which consolidates new growth and creates new industries. More economic expansion in the United States is expected when the nuclear arms race is resolved and a decision is made on how to create sustainable development and promote democracy in underdeveloped countries.

The recent increase in "personal diplomacy" has brought forth a good deal of speculation on the imminence of a thaw in the cold war, and the possible consequences for the national economy. Much depends on how businessmen think and plan ahead. Here several thousand business executives--a cross section of HBR readers--speak out on this clouded, crucial topic, both in terms of 1960 and of 1965. Their views and plans are reported by Theodore Levitt, Lecturer on Business Administration, Harvard Business School. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the potential gains and disadvantages for United States business enterprises conducting trade with Communist countries. According to the author, the United States Department of Commerce determines what foreign business enterprises U.S. companies can trade with. The author addresses various barriers that American businesses can face in a communist business environment, as well as several obstacles in the country's foreign trade policies that involve communist nations. Countries described include the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania.

This article considers the impact of democracy on the economy in the United States. The article also discusses the phases of the threat by the Soviet Union, which concerns the United States economy. The purposes of the defense expenditures, shifts in consumer and industrial expenditures, and the failure of democracy in the United States are also discussed. The article suggests that the failure in democracy exists in education, juvenile delinquency, desegregation, agricultural readjustment, and labor monopolies.

The article mentions the arms race with the Soviet Union and suggests improvements to the decision-making process for weapons development in the United States. Civilian control of a weapons planning system that will focus on long-term research and development programs is needed to give the U.S. technological superiority. A weapons procurement process, which stimulates competition in the free enterprise system with profit incentives and greater authority for defense contractors, is also needed for military readiness. Contractors' profits--reduced by the Armed Services Procurement Regulations--should be based on the return on total assets employed. Topics include the inefficiency in the U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles program.

The article reports that aeronautics and related technology industries are the main investment force in the United States. Government defense spending and private corporate investment--which increased due to a long lead time in the aeronautics investment process--are supporting a demand for capital. The American economic cycle or "defense cycle" is longer than the previous business cycle, which was based on an investment process cycle of the consumer-goods or automotive industries. Topics include two labor relations practices originating from the growth of the aeronautics industry, demand for skilled servicing technicians, effect of highway programs on economic trends, impact of defense spending on investment inflation, and factors contributing to the Soviets' lead in aeronautics.

"The constant conflict between policy and ideology is something that only the 'pros' talk about, and outsiders, especially business leaders, do not comprehend," J. Anthony Panuch told the Editors, in describing the background of his article. The current furore over our foreign economic aid program provides an appropriate setting for a serious attempt to bring the issue out into the open for businessmen to deal with. Thus A Businessman's Philosophy for Foreign Affairs emerges as a guide for busy executives who, under our "Businessmen's Administration," are forced to consider the direction of the nation's international policies in these turbulent years. At the same time, it offers a look behind the scenes at the dissension over a new approach to foreign aid, which already has made the headlines this spring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the Soviet Union's efforts to use their massive economic power to politically control developing countries in their region. One of the most prevalent tactics of the Soviet Union is the recruitment of local leadership for propaganda and organizational duties. For American business to successfully combat the dangers posed by Russia's economic aggression, business leaders must first recognize the strengths of the Soviet Union and the federal government must sponsor a management assistance program.

The article refers to materialism and economic conditions in the United States and a trend toward "skyhooks" or a search for spiritual values in industrial societies. Americans are looking for some type of faith that can be applied to management philosophy and promote personal growth through work, as well as give employees a sense of happiness and trust in the economic system. Factors contributing to the trend include economic abundance, disillusionment with science and insecurity after the atom bomb, and the loss of individuality in big business. Topics include five reasons why executives should exemplify work-related and cultural values, the common good, superior-subordinate relationships, and self-interest in the economic man theory.

The article refers to military readiness and industrial mobilization in the United States, as well as the cold war and the potential for nuclear warfare. A five step plan is proposed to ensure the continuation of American manufacturing and combat operations in the event of an attack on metropolitan areas. Concerns relate to intercontinental ballistic missiles, a first strike on the U.S., and penetration of the air defense system by the Soviet Union. Topics are the effect of thermal radiation and fall-out from atomic blasts, dispersal of essential industries to maintain industrial capacity, ten areas that might be targeted due to their manufacturing and production value, the Production Allocation Program, chance-of-loss indexes for production scheduling, and a tax incentive.

The article reports on consumer spending and economic expansion in Great Britain and the Continental countries of Western Europe. Increased buying power among the working classes due to full employment and higher wages, the creation of a European upper working-class, and a trend toward two-earner households are factors leading to a one-class market for consumer goods. Statistics for retail sales of household appliances in Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, and West Germany, as well as automobile sales, indicate a rise in personal consumption. Topics include installment credit, distribution methods such as chain stores and mail-order, opportunities for American trade and investment in the postwar market, theory of open and closed economies, and Europe's ability to resist communism.

This article presents an overview of the economic conditions and industrialization in the Soviet Union. The article discusses factors that are influencing economic growth, various prospects present for economic expansion, an overview of foreign economic relations and trade, and implications for economic development. The article discusses the economic transition period that has been present in the Soviet Union after the death of Joseph Stalin, who was the General Secretary of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union.

As a result of recent and prospective developments, one is justified in expecting that the connection between different kinds of business activity is loosening up and that the old-fashioned business cycle is slowly being replaced by a number of more of less independent cycles, each with its own timing. These independent cycles will at times reinforce each other, but in the main they will offset one another. Hence, the breakup of the old-fashioned business cycle will make for economic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on East-West trade and the Free World's interest in Japan as part of a military defense strategy. There is concern about the deficit in Japan's sterling account and balance of payments in 1953. Opposition to Japanese trade with countries in the Communist Bloc is due to the West's trade sanctions and the possibility that economic or political cooperation with communist China could result in a security threat to the United States. Topics include the Japanese export program and American economic aid to Japan.

There has been a growing amount of talk and argument about East-West trade. It has been a subject of dissension in Congress, in the policy-making councils of the political parties, and in Anglo-American relations. As yet, no one has taken the lead in working out a sound "middle way." Is a satisfactory quid pro quo possible? Can we find a policy that will give the West the benefits of East-West trade without increasing the relative military strength of the Communist bloc? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During 1953 it has become evident that the foreign economic policies of both the United States and the USSR are on the verge of great and far-reaching changes. Events are forcing the statesmen's hands. And the crucial question for us is whether we can seize the initiative and shape coming events to our advantage, or whether the Soviets will take the lead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article argues that the United States should maintain a strong military policy and provide adequate funding for its armed forces. The fourth postwar phase of American military policy has tactical, strategic, and economic problems. In the era of atomic weapons, Russia's military advantage on land, and unrest due to changes in Russian policy, the U.S. is at risk and vulnerable to attack. Military readiness should be based on seven principles that include good morale and offensive capability. Five requirements for U.S. military policy include overseas bases with allies and informed public opinion. Topics are the NATO coalition in Europe, Communism in the Pacific Ocean area, and the strength of U.S. air and naval forces.

The article examines the United States' restrictive trade policy with Communist-dominated countries. The purpose of the American embargo policy is to stop all trade between East and West, but Western European countries are reluctant to join. The Western bloc are concerned with: traditional trading patterns that make countries dependent on trade with the East; trade with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe that could alleviate the dollar gap and allow raw materials to be imported from non-dollar areas; and East-West trade that can prevent "price softness" and heavy inventories as well as strengthen commodity prices. Topics include the 1949 Export Control Act, trade with China, and contraband activity.

The article reports on productivity in relation to national security and America's dependence on imports to prevent shortages of essential metals--such as the basic mobilization metals of steel, copper, and aluminum--in the United States. The shortage of scrap steel in the civilian economy is attributed to metal conservation measures by the U.S. government, which is trying to deal with the "have-not" problem in materials availability. The nickel supply needs to be secured for U.S. atomic and jet programs, while the steel industry needs a steady ore supply in order to expand. Topics include the U.S. industrial policy during and the economic impact of World War II and the Korean War, "guns and butter" in a remobilized mixed economy, carbon versus alloy steel, and the military-atomic "nickel budget."

The article discusses the current status and outlook for U.S. economic capacity, in light of possible rearmament in Europe and Communist aggression from Russia or Korea. The U.S. government's projected defense spending to build up military strength can be justified if it is in the interest of national security and does not excessively disrupt the domestic economy. Topics include economic aid to American allies in NATO countries, success of the Marshall Plan, inflationary pressures in the U.S. and Europe, the gross national product (GNP), and private capital formation.

The article discusses the transition of the U.S. economy to peacetime, which is referred to as a "crisis process" because of the potential for war and the focus on developing atomic energy. Industrial capacity and military preparedness in a civilian economy require a deflation of military requirements--a balancing of guns and butter--so that the economy can expand at home and abroad. The current industrial mobilization to meet an expanding economy needs strategic materials--some of which are scarce and must be imported. Topics include the Controlled Materials Plan for military procurement, the distinction between industrial production in the cold war and the clearly defined foreign wars of World War I and II, and the import-export balance.

The article is a shortened, paraphrased speech by Josef Winschuh--with an introduction by Fritz Redlich--which focuses on business leadership in West Germany. Aristocracy has traditionally been the source of business executives, but political trends have changed post-war society and there is new opportunity for the management-elite in the professions and government. The future of German industry depends on its organizing around the idea of private enterprise, rather than free enterprise, increasing consumer and producer demands and mass consumption to improve the economy, and educating future business leaders. Topics include the social status of businesspeople, labor relations, and executive ability.

The article discusses the impact of military expenditures and sustained military readiness on the United States economy, in light of a North Korean attack on South Korea on June 25, 1950 and the potential for Russian aggression in Europe. America needs industrial mobilization, sustained productive capacity, and a supply of superior weapons to protect itself and contribute to European rearmament. At the same time, the U.S. needs to protect its civilian economy from inflationary pressures. Topics include data from the military budget, estimate of the potential labor force and the rate of productivity that affect output, the tax burden of mobilization, price and wage controls, and rationing.

As noted at the beginning of Part I of my discussion, in the September 1950 Number of the REVIEW, the question of the economic life of countries in Russia's orbit is of tremendous significance to all those interested in the future of the world economy, as well as to those interested more particularly in foreign trade or business operations abroad. Accordingly, I have attempted to present today's picture of the economic life of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. Those three countries may be considered typical of the Eastern Bloc as a whole, and I know them particularly well as the result of firsthand observation abroad and personal interviews with their people and government officials in 1950 and previous years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports the outlook for business, in light of a partial mobilization policy for industries in the United States. The military and economic challenges from Russia, Communist China, and North Korea could put a severe strain on America's manpower and materials resources. Participation of non-communist countries in the United Nations gives them solidarity that could impact Russia's international objectives. However, business must be prepared to make short- and long-term decisions during shortages and government controls--such as price, wage, and rationing. Topics include four alternative action plans for the U.S., taxes to support military and civilian needs, government and industry relations in a controlled economy, and World War II economic conditions.