Corporate Perspectives on the Panoptic Sort

This chapter is focused on understanding the similarities and differences within the corporate sectors actively engaged in the development and use of the panoptic sort in support of their business ventures. The chapter focuses on three central actors of the time: the American Express Corporation, a dominant data services provider; TRW, a major defense contractor; and Equifax, an emerging giant in the provision of information about credit worthiness and other assessments of financial worth. Additional attention is focused on the special role played by a market auxiliary, the Direct Marketing Association, which played a central role in defending the industry against privacy laws and regulations emerging on the horizon. An additional effort to understand the corporate perspective on surveillance and the pursuit of power and influence made use of a survey of Fortune 500 companies at the time. Despite the quite low participation rate of the members of this special class, characteristics of their marketing techniques, their concerns about government regulation, and their assignment of responsibility for the development of a regulatory response were subject to analysis. It was not surprising to see how concerned they actually were about a consumer backlash against their collection and use of transaction-generated information.

Summarizing Analysis of Operation of American Defense Contractor Raytheon Technologies

The article analyzes the current situation in the American defense contractor Raytheon Technologies and assesses prospects of business development in view of present short- and long-term trends. As events in Karabachos, Syria, Libya and some other countries showed, today we can see the growing importance of war tools in pursuing foreign policy and it makes research and analysis of military-industrial complex companies more topical. Academic literature pays serious attention mainly to companies of the American military-industrial complex, which can be explained by their impact and leading positions on market. At the same time it should be pointed out that these materials demonstrate summarizing nature and do not deal with concrete and specific matters of such companies. The choice of the company Raytheon Technologies was stipulated by the fact that, due to merger with United Technologies, today it is one of the biggest American companies of the defense-industrial complex. Our analysis can support the idea of the high potential of consolidation of the defense-industrial complex sector in Western countries, which can lead to closure of unprofitable (low profitable) capacities and mass reduction of jobs, as well as degrading of technological and other related competences.

How to Bail Out a Defense Contractor: Cases on Securing a Supply Chain in extremis

How can governments effectively bail out faltering defense contractors? While the idea may seem politically distasteful, any defense ministry with domestic suppliers may view the problem as supplier management in extremis. Reviewing nine prominent bailouts of defense contractors from the past 50 years, the author draws two conclusions. Providing long-term demand is very likely necessary and sufficient to maintain industry structures. Providing short-term infusions of cash may be necessary to maintain programs, but it is not always sufficient. If legislators and defense officials wish to consider either approach for short-term or long-term objectives, they should also consider the historical lessons of the financial and information asymmetries between government and industry, and the general uncertainty over how technologies will evolve.

How to Bail Out a Defense Contractor: Cases on Securing a Supply Chain in extremis

How can governments effectively bail out faltering defense contractors? While the idea may seem politically distasteful, any defense ministry with domestic suppliers may view the problem as supplier management in extremis. Reviewing nine prominent bailouts of defense contractors from the past 50 years, the author draws two conclusions. Providing long-term demand is very likely necessary and sufficient to maintain industry structures. Providing short-term infusions of cash may be necessary to maintain programs, but it is not always sufficient. If legislators and defense officials wish to consider either approach for short-term or long-term objectives, they should also consider the historical lessons of the financial and information asymmetries between government and industry, and the general uncertainty over how technologies will evolve.

March: Patience Spent, the Storms Begin

Spring began with protests against defense contractor General Electric’s campus recruiting, and after an RU rally students turned violent, breaking windows in the building housing recruiters. Crowds massed in Green Street and police cleared them, but at night crowds again broke windows on the quad. The next day trustees canceled a William Kunstler speech; angry students stormed Green Street, breaking windows in several stores. Governor Ogilvie called out 750 National Guardsmen, every one needed to control crowds on a third night of rioting. Only a minority of students turned violent, but frustration was high.

US Defense Contractor Raytheon and Its Features

The article considers the key features of US defense contractor Raytheon and business trends and prospects of business development in modern conditions, which are characterized by crisis trends in US military budget. The attention is also paid to the fact that the company has managed to show growth of financials in spite of the fact of declining orders from US federal government.