This analysis of key defining aspects of management style, practice and values in the USA, draws on interviews and observations from a range of organizations across America.

Peter Lawrence begins by considering some broad contextual characteristics of economy and society in the United States, and their general relationship to American business. He then considers a number of specific themes which he argues are central to understanding management in the United States. These include values of differentiated individualism, free speech and self interest, and proactivity. Lawrence explores ways in which such values are reflected in US managers' motivations and practices, notably in their strong strategic and systems orientations. He also examines US-style industrial relations and personnel management. The book concludes with a discussion of the factors which may account for the relative economic decline of the US in recent decades in the increasingly competitive world of `globalizing' business.