1st Edition
The British Business Elite Its Attitudes to Class, Status and Power
First published in 1981, The British Business Elite is a study of the attitudes to class, status and power of top businessmen in Great Britain, based upon first-hand interviews with chairmen, chief executives and other directors of Britain’s largest industrial, banking and insurance companies: men of genuine wealth and power. Dr Fidler produces important empirical data in a field of study which has been plagued with problems of access; a field in which much of the theory has been based on assumptions.
The book includes a careful examination of the background and career of those interviewed; a discussion of the way in which businessmen see the objectives of their companies, particularly relevant to the long-standing debate over the ownership and control of corporations; their views of class and status and of the power of businessmen in Britain. Finally, Dr Fidler considers the implications of the research for future theory and investigation.
Preface 1. Strategists, ideologists and influentials: the business elite in sociological theory 2. The meaning systems of top businessmen 3. Design of the research 4. Reserved seats: family background, education, career and present lifestyle of top businessmen 5. The company comes first: the responsibilities and objectives of directors 6. The view from Mount Olympus: conflict, consensus and participation in the firm 7. Not a society person, not at all snooty: businessmen’s views of class and status in Britain 8. An uninvented lobby: the business picture of power in Britain 9. Conclusion Appendices
Biography
John Fidler was educated at Cambridge University and took an MSc degree at Imperial College, London, where he commenced his research on the attitudes of top businessmen. He was awarded a PhD by the University of Aston in Birmingham in 1979.
