Description
Book SynopsisOne of the world’s largest sellers of footwear, the Bata Company of Zlín, Moravia has a remarkable history that touches on crucial aspects of what made the world modern. In the twilight of the Habsburg Empire, the company Americanized its production model while also trying to Americanize its workforce. It promised a technocratic form of governance in the chaos of postwar Czechoslovakia, and during the Roaring Twenties, it became synonymous with rationalization across Europe and thus a flashpoint for a continent-wide debate. While other companies contracted in response to the Great Depression, Bata did the opposite, becoming the first shoe company to unlock the potential of globalization.
As Bata expanded worldwide, it became an example of corporate national indifference, where company personnel were trained to be able to slip into and out of national identifications with ease. Such indifference, however, was seriously challenged by the geopolitical crisis of the 1930s,
Table of Contents
Introduction 1. “A New Fixed Existence”: The Modernization of Zlín 2. “Time is Money”: The Americanization of the Dřevnice Valley, 1914–1923 3. “An End to Politics”: The Political Takeover of the Dřevnice Valley, 1923–1926 4. “Speak Briefly”: Rationalization and Everyday Life, 1926–1932 5. “Half the World is Barefoot”: The Globalization of the Bata System, 1931–1937 6. “The Path of Perfection”: Engineering the Batovci for an Uncertain World, 1933–1938 7. “Everyone Gives Their Soul to Their Country,” 1937–March, 1939 8. “Not a Nazi, but More or Less a Fool,” 1939–1941 Conclusion
