19
interrelation of decisions which "beset the large firm and
lead to rigid cumbersome bureaucratic rule - these problems
O PWiA
can indeed to extent be solved by a suitable
application of the computer. This makes it possible to
deal with problems of great complexity and many details
\ :‘(*WI
and ii; can therefore establish the coordination of a great
* ■■ tpOft*. & h
number of decisions. In principle it esa&les yob to worft
effectively a controller of great complexity.
All the developments just mentioned have become prominent only
in the course of the last 25 years. Rather more recently atten
tion has been drawn to a development which is not new but has
been accelerating recently and is being recognized more and
more as one of the most pregnant changes in our time: It is
the growing power and influence of the international (or
"multi-national") concerns. Their origin is manifold: On
the one hand exploitation of the resources of undevelopped
countries, on the other hand technical know-how combined
with protectionism.in the countries of outlet. The present \
role of these concerns is based on the liberajtion of trade
and payments in the industrial countries. Although their
share in the manufacturing + mining industries of industrial
countries is usually less than twenty percent, this share
is bound to grow quickly because the multi-national concerns
grow faster than the rest of industry in many countries. The
power of these concerns threatens to transcend that of national
governments, at any rate those of the smaller industrial
countries, not to speak of less developped countries where
their influence is not new. The process of concentration
which is dealt with in this book, has therefore reached