Company for Mechanical Engineering

Modern Company Management in Mechanical Engineering
an e-Book by Klaus Schwab

In 1971, Klaus Schwab and Hein Kroos published Modern Company Management in Mechanical Engineering. The book, which built on work undertaken by German engineering association Verein Deutscher Maschinenbau-Anstalten, was the first to formally outline the concept of the “stakeholder principle”, which set the stage for the European model of capitalism. The book was published in the same year as the first gathering of top European and American leaders in Davos, Switzerland, and the stakeholder principle became the foundation stone of the World Economic Forum, the independent institution for public-private cooperation.

The book outlines a practical “modern management system”, providing leaders with a set of principles and tools that are as applicable today as they were in 1971. The system takes managers through the formulation of the company mission statement, environmental analysis, company analysis, the definition of objectives and strategies, and the preparation of actions.

The tenets of good management have not changed in the 45 years since the book was published. In that time, the need has grown for an in-depth understanding of the stakeholder principle and managers’ responsibilities to the wider ecosystem of their companies.