Institutional and Market Influences in the Development of Cass

In order to understand the current profile and culture of Cass it is necessary to delve into the wider historical context. The history of management in the United Kingdom, and of management education, has been well documented by others (Brech 2002). Although there is a case for saying that some business schools such as Wharton in the United States and ESCP in France were founded in the nineteenth century, business schools are really a phenomenon of the twentieth century. As so often happens, the real impetus for their formation in the United Kingdom came about as a result of the strong convictions of a few individuals and their supporting networks. These individuals had direct experience of American companies (e.g. Col. Lydall Urwick of Urwick-Orr and Partners), American business schools (e.g. John Bolton, Chairman of various companies and a graduate of Harvard Business School), and some were in strong positions to influence government policy (e.g. Sir Keith Joseph, the then managing director of Bovis and a Conservative MP). Others such as James Platt (who had retired as managing director of Shell in 1957) also became more aware of the value of the theoretical basis of management when he attended the Administrative Staff College at Henley (founded in 1946 by a group of businessmen headed by Geoffrey Heyworth, the then Chairman of Unilever).