Conclusions

Business policy is concerned with the long-term performance of the business firm. It is also concerned with the way in which the firm adapts to its environment, the strategies adopted and the success which results from the pursuit of these strategies. The decade under review in this research exhibited environmental influences which were beyond the experience of the manager whose constant purpose is to identify and adapt to such influences. In pre-war Britain protectionism was strongly in evidence. In the post-war period there was a massive demand created by the need to provide plant and equipment to satisfy a nation seeking better living standards. This resulted in a sellers’ market in which, in many circumstances, the customer accepted what the manufacturer chose to supply. This period effectively came to an end in the late 1950s. The 1960s provided a period of adjustment, away from the previous austerity and into a period of apparently never-ending economic growth and low unemployment. The balance of payments was a continual problem and British industry was not geared to the fastest-growing economic markets of the EEC, North America and Japan. Towards the end of the 1960s the pound was devalued. Also a significant merger boom was responsible for restructuring large sections of British industry and thereby creating businesses which could potentially operate on a world scale.