Friday 23 April 2010

David Turner (York) 'Managing the royal road: the development of managerial structure on the London and South Western Railway 1836-1881'

David Turner gave a highly stimulating account of the LSWR's managerial structure, and its development, in a paper to the History Lab Postgraduate Seminar on 22 April.

The paper analysed some of the key driving factors of organisational change in the management of LSWR, and considered how these impacted on the company's performance. An important characteristic of management was the amount of independence enjoyed by each of the departments of the company. This independence came about largely through the demands of administration, and the absence of centralised control throughout this period.

A stimulating discussion followed the paper in which questions were asked about the efficiency of the company, and the issue of social mobility within its staff.

More about David's work can be found on his blog which can be found at: turniprailway.blogspot.com

The next paper is on 6 May, when Simon Lambe, (St Mary's, London) will present a paper on the Tudor monarchy and the Somerset gentry.

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