The Engine That Could

by Cruikshank, Jeffrey L.; Sicilia, David B.; Cummins Engine Company

• ISBN13: 9780875846132
• ISBN10: 0875846130
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-12-01
• Publisher: Harvard Business School Pr

Summary

The rise of Cummins Engine Company from a tiny Indiana machine shop to one of the world's leading producers of diesel engines is a story rich with lessons for today's managers. By responding to challenges familiar to all American manufacturers with a tough competitive stance and a uniquely people-centered philosophy, Cummins has carved out a distinctive position in the international industrial landscape. From its early days with charismatic founder Clessie Cummins to its continued proud independence in an age of hostile takeovers, Cummins has done business with confidence and creativity. This vivid book depicts the tough choices--often with enormous consequences--that must be made by successful managers.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
1 The Engine That Could	1	(14)
2 A Tenuous Venture, 1919-1929	15	(52)
3 Gaining a Foothold, 1930-1939	67	(48)
4 Investors and Inventors, 1940-1946	115	(26)
5 Becoming a Big Business, 1947-1958	141	(52)
6 The Go-Go Decade, 1959-1969	193	(52)
7 The World Changes, 1969-1975	245	(44)
8 Playing by the New Rules, 1973-1978	289	(42)
9 Betting the Company, 1979-1985	331	(48)
10 Cummins versus Japan, 1984-1987	379	(34)
11 Circling the Wagons	413	(30)
12 Pressures and Profits, 1988-1994	443	(48)
13 Cummins and the American Century	491	(28)
Acknowledgments	519	(4)
The Irwin-Sweeney-Miller Family	523	(2)
Note on Sources	525	(2)
Interviews	527	(4)
Notes	531	(30)
Index	561	(28)
About the Authors	589