Imperialism and the Industrial Revolution

1 Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution began in the 18th and 19th centuries and is responsible for the moving of nations away from farming to industry and manufacturing. The Industrial Revolution introduced trains, more advanced shipping, steel production, communications systems, cars, planes, and military equipment, and construction. The skyscraper came into existence, people moved to urban areas away from the countryside. Wars broke out as nations fought over natural resources like oil fields, minerals, and sea lanes to support the new industries.

The nations of the world were able to engage in Industrialization because of another rise—the rise of finance. Banks began to exert more and more influence over the activities of nations. They financed big productions and helped businessmen develop companies that would go on to dominate industries. Banks started working with governments too and together they started redrawing international territories, with wars financed by banks that led to the transfer of power from one state to another all over the world (Industrial Revolution, 2018).

The U.S. began expanding its territory in the Spanish-American War, which was a direct outcome of the Industrial Revolution. The U.S. had increased the size of its navy thanks to steel production and it wanted to get involved in Asia because of the resources available overseas, so it started a fight with Spain which then controlled these territories and soon the U.S. had taken over the Philippines.

In conclusion the Industrial Revolution allowed for mass production of goods like steel, for greater transportation, for technological breakthroughs in communication, and for the stages of globalization to be set. It also led to wars among nations as each fought for access to important minerals and resources.

2 Imperialism

Imperialism extended from the Age of Industrialization. As nations became stronger and wealthier and were manufacturing more goods and growing in size, they sought to expand their influence and control by taking over sea lanes, continents, and access to critical resources needed for production. States began to resemble empires in that the handful of leaders at the top made all the decisions even contrary to the will of the people. For instance, they started wars even though they ran on platforms of staying out of wars—just like Woodrow Wilson did in the First World War.

Many nations exhibited signs of imperialism in the 20th century. England, Germany, Russia, the U.S., Japan, and China—all of them engaged in efforts to expand their influence and grow their power. In every case, imperialism led to more conflicts and to more wars (Llewellyn et al., 2014). That is because the aim of imperialism is for a powerful state to seize control of weaker states outside its own borders and territories and govern them as colonies.

The era of imperialism that existed in the 20th century following the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Iraq War, and more all had to do with imperialism. That is why there are still so many conflicts today because so many countries still want to govern others.

In conclusion, Imperialism followed the Industrial Revolution as many states grew strong and wealthy. They wanted to control other nations and become even more powerful, so they engaged in conflicts to spread their influence. Today, Imperialism is still be practiced though many voters want the wars to stop because they are a drain on resources. The Imperialist leaders do not listen, however.

3 Management Theories

There are many different management theories that can be utilized to help strengthen an organization’s productivity, efficiency and quality. Usually, managers will combine theories because there is no one approach that fits all environments. However, having a variety of theories in place can help cover many bases.

One of the most common management theories is contingency theory. This theory holds that managers will make decisions on issues in the workplace based on the environment’s unique characteristics and issues (Hawthorne, 2018). Managers will use this theory if they are sensitive to the fact their every workplace is unique and requires its own special consideration.
Another common management theory is systems theory, which states that a workplace is a system made up of parts and each worker is impacted by and in turn impacts the parts that add up to the whole. A manager using this theory will concentrate on the individual parts of the system to ensure that everything is working together in the best possible way.

Chaos theory is another management theory. This one states that every workplace is constantly changing and managers must embrace this constant evolution in order to manage change effectively. The main goal of a manager using this theory is to keep energy at maximum levels so that employees are always engaged in meeting the challenges and demands of the constant changes they face (Hawthorne, 2018).

In conclusion, there are many management theories that exist today. Some of the most common are contingency theory, systems theory, and chaos theory. A manager is not limited to just one theory but can actually use a variety of theories in order to manage most effectively.

References

Industrial Revolution. (2018). History. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution

Llewellyn, J. et al. (2014). Imperialism as a cause of Worl War One. Retrieved from http://alphahistory.com/worldwar1/imperialism/

Hawthorne, L. (2018). Management theories. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/management-theories-concepts-workplace-17693.html