Search -
Perestroika for America: Restructuring Business-Government Relations for World Competitiveness
Perestroika for America Restructuring BusinessGovernment Relations for World Competitiveness Author:George C. Lodge, Harvard Business School Press Fifteen years ago, the American semiconductor industry dominated the world. Today it is fighting for its life. Not only do U.S. companies face daunting technological competition from Japanese and European firms, they do it without the cooperation and government support enjoyed by their competitors. In desperation, U.S. semiconductor firms have a... more »bandoned their traditional approach of doing business as independent entities and formed Sematech-a consortium working in cooperation with the Department of Defense-to pool resources in order to generate the knowledge required for innovation. In the face of intensified world competition, a new era of business-government cooperation is at hand. Perestroika for America outlines the history of business-government relations in the United States, and explains why the laissez-faire doctrine has always greatly appealed to Americans. But today the old paradigm is broken, argues Lodge, and must give way to a new reality, one which recognizes that government must encourage the collaboration among companies that is now essential for competitive survival. To ensure future prosperity, American industry must forge a new relationship with government based on common goals. Lodge shows that the shift from one ideological paradigm-individualism-to another-communitarianism-is already taking place, not by choice but because of the realities of global competition. As in the Soviet Union, perestroika is gradually coming to America because there is no alternative. Without restructuring, the United States will continue its slide into economic and political decline. It is imperative that American business and government understand the new forces at work in order to manage them successfully. Only then will we be able to transform our technological ability into competitive advantage. Perestroika for America offers a provocative view of America's prospects as we enter the 1990s. It is must reading for people who believe that new policies based on the lessons of the past two decades will be needed if the United States is to compete successfully in the world economy.« less