ABSTRACT
Industrial reorganization became a major issue in Britain during the 1920s with the spread of large firms, inter-firm co-operation and new approaches to management organization. This in turn reflected shifts in technologies, market conditions and the legal framework for business. Down to 1931 the subject was encapsulated in the rationalization debate, which acknowledged that important changes had taken place but carried the rider that they had not gone far enough in Britain particularly in the older staple industries, coal, steel, cotton and (to a lesser extent) shipbuilding. In other words economies of scale were being neglected and management was not organizing production and sale on the most efficient lines.
