Technology and Transformation in the American Electric Utility Industry

Richard F. Hirsh

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English

Cambridge University Press
20 November 2003

Electrical power industries; History of engineering & technology

After improving steadily for decades, the technology that brought unequalled productivity growth to the American electric utility industry appeared to stall in the late 1960s, making it impossible to mitigate the difficult economic and regulatory assaults of the 1970s.

Unfortunately, most managers did not recognize the severity of the technological problems they faced and chose to focus instead on issues that appeared more manageable.

Partly as a result of this lack of attention to technological issues, the industry found itself challenged by the prospects of deregulation and restructuring in the 1980s.

This book focuses on the role of technological stagnation in the decline of the industry and argues that a long and successful history of managing a conventional technology set the stage for the industry's deterioration.

By: Richard F. Hirsh
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 151mm, Spine: 19mm
Weight: 446g
ISBN: 9780521524711
ISBN 10: 0521524717
Pages: 292
Publication Date: 20 November 2003
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Preface; Acknowledgment of financial support; Introduction; Part I. Progress and Culture: 1. Managerial and technological foundations; 2. Establishment of a management culture; 3. Manufacturers and technological progress before World War II; 4. Postwar strategies of utilities and manufacturers; 5. Utilities' role in technological progress; 6. The mid-1960s: at the pinnacle of success; Part II. Stasis: 7. Technical limits to progress in the 1960s and 1970s; 8. Design deficiencies and faulty technology; 9. Maelstroms and management malaise; 10. Criticisms of utility research and development; 11. The mid-1970s: near the bottom; Part III. Accommodating Stasis: 12. Understanding values: the basis for a new consensus; 13. The search for new technology; Part IV. Conclusion: 14. History and the management of technology; Appendices; Bibliographic note; Notes; Index.

Reviews for Technology and Transformation in the American Electric Utility Industry

Hirsh's well-documented argument about 'technological stasis' commands the attention of all concerned with what has gone wrong with America's power industry. Beyond this, his blend of managerial, technological, economic, and cultural analysis takes us to a new plateau of understanding. Thomas K. McCraw, Harvard Business School This book, with its cross-disciplinary theme of 'technological stasis,' offers an innovative and compelling explanation of the extraordinary problems that have befallen America's electric utilities. Regulators, utility managers, activist citizens, and historians will find an important analysis, as well as a good story. Richard H.K. Vietor, Harvard Business School ...provides excellent documentation on problems associated with managing technology in a vital industry. S. Shapiro, University of New Haven, in Choice