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Political Science Labor & Industrial Relations

Micropolitics and Canadian Business

Paper, Steel, and the Airlines

by (author) Peter Clancy

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Sep 2004
Category
Labor & Industrial Relations, Canadian, Business Ethics, Manufacturing Industries
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781551115702
    Publish Date
    Sep 2004
    List Price
    $50.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442602755
    Publish Date
    Sep 2004
    List Price
    $32.95

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Description

Micropolitics and Canadian Business explores the internal structure of industry politics in contemporary Canada. This "micropolitics" approach offers a revealing set of conceptual tools and models that illuminate the politics of everyday business at the industry, firm, and policy issue levels. It builds wider contexts in which the concrete particulars of business-government relations can be explored and understood in a systematic fashion.

The approach developed is a comparative one. The book examines three industries—paper, steel, and airlines—carefully chosen to represent a revealing cross-section of a vast economic field covering the primary (resource), secondary (manufacturing), and tertiary (service) sectors of the economy. In addition, one industry (pulp and paper) is primarily export-oriented, another (steel) focuses mainly on domestic sales, and the third (air transport) is strongly grounded in both.

The book applies to each a common set of questions and applies a similar set of methods. Separate chapters on each industry begin with a brief review of current industry concerns, followed by a historical and structural survey of that industry. Each chapter continues with studies of two leading firms, highlighting their internal politics and their strategic orientations. Since firms are the building blocks of industry, they tell us much about the larger structures of political power. Finally, each chapter examines two significant public policy controversies whose scope extends beyond core business boundaries.

Micropolitics and Canadian Business specifically analyzes three industries; however, the approach used may be applied to a much wider universe of companies and sectors. Throughout, this book furthers our understanding of the complex contexts of business politics. As such, it will be of interest to both students and practitioners of business and government relations.

About the author

Peter Clancy is a Professor of Political Science and an associate with Interdisciplinary Studies in Aquatic Resources (ISAR) at St. Francis Xavier University. He has written extensively in the areas of business-government relations, the politics of resource management, and Northern Canada studies. His books include Against the Grain: Foresters and Politics in Nova Scotia (UBC Press, 2000) and The Savage Years: The Perils of Reinventing Government in Nova Scotia (Formac Publishing, 2000).

Peter Clancy's profile page