Top People
The Boss: The Life and Times of the British Business Man. By Roy Lewis and Rosemary Stewart. (Phoenix, 21s.) 'WE know far more about the motives, habits and most intimate arcana of primitive peoples in New Guinea than we do of the denizens of the executive suites in Unilever House.' So say the authors of this book; and it is true. We have nothing in Britain approaching the vast litera- ture about top management which in the US fills any issue of Fortune and countless books as well. The public seem uninterested, even the Top People amongst them—out of 203 obituaries appearing in a recent three-month period in The Times only twelve were of busi- nessmen compared with thirty-four of the armed forces; and businessmen themselves are still absurdly secretive about their activities, and feel most resentful when the veil is momentarily torn aside by (say) the Docker row in BSA or the Bank Rate Tribunal.
Mr. Lewis and Miss Stewart are, therefore, doing us a service when they try to present a picture of the life, background, personality and motives of the top British businessmen. They have produced an excellent piece of social history —shrewd, informative, wonderfully readable, popular without being inaccurate or unscholarly. What is the picture which emerges?
The successful businessman may still have reached the top by one of the traditional routes —via the family business or by starting a small enterprise on his own. But increasingly the route to the top is up the management ladder in the established large corporation. Here a new set of talents are needed : not merely, or even mainly, flair and enterprise, but the qualities of a good mixer, the right golf handicap, a reputation for soundness, an attention to internal company politics and, above all, the virtues of the good committee-man.
The people most likely to have such qualities are the public-school product and the university graduate. Half the directors of large public com- panies and one-third of all top managers now come from public schools. These comparatively high figures of course also reflect a change on the supply side; far more public-school boys seek to enter industry now that the Army, the colonial service and the Church offer either fewer or less attractive prospects. The figures should also de- dine as educational standards in the State se-h At gradually improve. But for the present all '14 Etonian tie is an invaluable asset to the asPiti top executive—and for the aspiring City ball an almost essential one.
What are the rewards of success? Not of which the businessman enjoys little, nor cal power, of which he enjoys even Jess; 'ha power in his own organisation, the thrill of1it business game, the admiration of his peers. It, es in bearing large responsibilities, the many 1134 of high status—and money. It is not possible today, at least in industddsi to start from scratch and make a million 'Ob..° The salaries of top businessmen range front Tell £8,000 to £40,000; after taxation, this is elitliva;no. to a range of £3,000 to £8,000, which in real leoli is certainly lower than the pre-war range alt of course these figures in no way reflect businessman's true standard of living. He is„01 ceptionally well placed to make tax-free ettrii.0 gains; and he enjoys not only a generous exPe account, but also, and increasingly, benefits kind from his firm—cars, holidays, flats, serval' , superannuation schemes and the like. Such ll'ing:11 benefits can and do easily double the vall'ile,0 his net income. He should be able to jog quite comfortably. els, Well remunerated he may be; but he still fere, according to these authors, unloved and unaP.,11,01 ciated. Cruelly taxed, hemmed in by govern'sc,1 restrictions, bullied by the trade unions, 110,50i:- by militant shop stewards, he nevertheless d'op ducts a brilliant export drive, takes stuPell risks and is wholly responsible for raising 110 standard of living. Yet his only reward, 35001 sees it, is criticism in the press, unpopularitY„iits, his workers, misunderstanding from the Soel'oulil But let us not have too much pity; he assuage much of the irritation felt agaills;occ- if only he made less illiterate public pron°on. ments on national issues such as taN8.,ing inflation, savings and the role of adverll"0„, There is still much that we need to " especially about the precise motivation of "coot decisions. But this book at least makes 3 ;rite start. Its capable authors should Please a successor as soon as possible. C. A. R. GROS tt,
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