Module description
This module introduces students to the business history of modern Germany. Previous knowledge of Germany's 19th and 20th-century political history is desirable but not essential. Business is situated at the intersection of economics and politics because the reaction of entrepreneurs to social change tends to affect the national economy. As one of the three most cited economies in business history literature, Germany is an ideal setting to explore industrialization, economic policy, the roles of management and labour in industry, and how these have changed over time.
Students engage with the German economic history through debates around the Varieties of Capitalism paradigm. The module introduces them to European and specifically Germany's business culture as an increasingly popular counterpoint to American approaches. We will explore several topics, among them entrepreneurship, innovation, competitive advantage, corporate governance, business ethics, European economic integration, and investment models with the help of historical business case studies. The module innovatively explores at the level of the company the recent academic argument that the EU represents the future, a model for defusing national conflict and deepening globalization.
The case study approach offers a distinctive learning opportunity that fully involves students in research culture, as students research and write their own company case studies for assessment following the Harvard Business School case study model. Analytical and teamwork skills as well as knowledge about the business sector acquired in this assessment enhance student employability, as they gain experience in examining cultural and structural, external and internal challenges that companies face in an increasingly globalising world. The module is suitable for students on the BA degree programmes in European Studies and European Politics, BA students in German and Management and other Literatures, Languages and Culture Department degree programmes, as well as BSc students from the School of Management and Business.
The material for the module includes case studies published by the Harvard Business School. These will need to be purchased by the students themselves. Information about this will be sent out during the first week of the semester.
Assessment details
1000 word literature review essay (30%), 3000 word case study (70%)
Educational aims & objectives
- Consolidate and extend knowledge of modern German history by introducing students to German business history, the country's business culture, policies, and practices.
- Students apply diagnostic skills to analyse German business cultures and evaluate culturally specific business concepts within a changing European context from a range of sources.
- Provide students with German case studies.
- Deepen knowledge of economic processes that is transferable to other national and regional contexts beyond Germany and Europe.
- Encourage and support intercultural competences.
- Develop students' written and oral communication, critical and comparative thinking abilities, and achieving personal and group outcomes in teamwork exercises and assessments.
Learning outcomes
Students gain a systematic understanding of German business history and its interrelation with the domestic and international politics of the country.
The module instils confidence and flexibility in identifying and defining complex problems in the realm of German business culture in relation to the development of global and regional markets as well as multinational enterprises over the course of the twentieth century.
Writing company case studies (assessment), students show the capacity to synthesize ideas and analyse novel data using a range of established subject-specific techniques (interviews, online research, archival research). Students are aware of personal responsibility and professional codes of conduct during the case study research, and incorporate them into practice in their assessed work. These are transferrable workplace skills.
Teaching pattern
Two hours per week
Suggested reading list
- Chandler, A. D. Scale and Scope: The Dynamics of Industrial Capitalism. Boston: Harvard University Press, 1990.
- Giersch, H. et al. The Fading Miracle: Four decades of market economy in Germany. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
- Gispen, K. New Profession, Old Order: Engineers and German Society, 1815-1914 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
- Hall, P. A. and David Soskice D., eds. Varieties of Capitalism. The Institutional Foundation of Comparative Advantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
- Herrigel, Gary. Industrial Constructions: The Sources of German Industrial Power. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
- Sleifer, Jaap. Planning Ahead and Falling Behind: The East German Economy in Comparison with West Germany, 1936-2002, Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte Beiheft 8. Berlin: Akademie, 2006.
- Veblen, T. Imperial Germany and the Industrial Revolution. Kitchener, Ontario: Batoche Books, 2003 [originally published in 1915].
- Wiesen, S. J. Creating the Nazi Marketplace: Commerce and Consumption in the Third Reich. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.