The Rise of Executive Power
Analysis21 Jan 2013

The Rise of Executive Power

In the battle over rewards at work, workers grew accustomed to winning a healthy share of the spoils during the 1960s and 1970s - and to being accorded high status. Since the 1980s, however, the power of executives has grown and is now reflected in their own much higher financial rewards and enhanced esteem. What explains this shift in power - and will it last?

Michael Blastland asks why workers have appeared to be so weak as bosses have redressed the balance of power at work so strikingly in their own favour. Laws curbing trade union power, for example, so often cited as the explanation can, though, only be part of the reason. Investors - both owners and shareholders - have also lost out financially in relative terms as executives have grown wealthier and stronger.

So what explains the power of the executive class? Are there other trends at work which help explain the relative position of executives and workers? And if both workers and investors want to increase their share of the rewards how might they go about it?

Michael Blastland asks how likely investors and workers are to succeed in any fight to restore their influence when they face such a formidable and entrenched group of executives. He speaks to representatives of all three groups and also considers what business history and the experience of other economies teach us about the likely outcome of the struggle.

Producer Simon Coates.

Avsnitt(389)

We know how to stop knife crime, so why don’t we do it?

We know how to stop knife crime, so why don’t we do it?

In the last five years in the UK, more than 100 children have died from knife wounds. But violence isn't inevitable and evidence shows that we need more mentoring, therapy, family support and police i...

29 Maj 202327min

Lessons from the vaccine task force

Lessons from the vaccine task force

In May 2020 a group of experts came together, at speed, to form the UK’s Vaccine Task Force. Born in the teeth of a crisis, its efforts were responsible for allowing Britain to be among the first cou...

3 Apr 202329min

Can the Met police change?

Can the Met police change?

How difficult is it for a police force to change? A review of the Metropolitan police by Baroness Louise Casey says racism, misogyny, and homophobia are at the heart of the force. The Met's commission...

27 Mars 202329min

Is Britain exceptional?

Is Britain exceptional?

Is Britain Exceptional? Historian, author and Sunday Telegraph columnist Zoe Strimpel believes so, and sifts through the layers of Britain’s culture, politics and religious history to find the roots f...

20 Mars 202328min

King Charles' Challenge

King Charles' Challenge

The Queen’s funeral appeared a resounding reassertion of our enduring commitment to monarchy, but was it a tribute to her rather than the institution? As the coronation approaches, polls suggest suppo...

13 Mars 202328min

Does it matter who our MPs are?

Does it matter who our MPs are?

Classic theories of representative democracy argue that it’s the representation of ideas not our personal characteristics - such as age, gender, race or class - that should matter. But current debates...

6 Mars 202328min

The death of globalisation?

The death of globalisation?

Professor Ian Goldin explores globalisation, and asks how far the world is fragmenting politically and economically, and what the consequences of that could be. Since around 1990, with the end of the ...

27 Feb 202327min

From Brother to Other

From Brother to Other

It’s a year since Russia launched its war in Ukraine; a year that has brought failure, humiliation, defeat and heavy losses on the battlefield, and international isolation. The conflict has impacted t...

20 Feb 202329min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

svenska-fall
aftonbladet-krim
p3-krim
rss-krimstad
flashback-forever
politiken
blenda-2
rss-sanning-konsekvens
aftonbladet-daily
spar
rss-vad-fan-hande
motiv
rss-krimreportrarna
dagens-eko
svd-ledarredaktionen
rss-frandfors-horna
olyckan-inifran
spotlight
rss-flodet
grans