Bananas and Business: The United Fruit Company in Colombia, 1899-2000
Author: Marcelo Bucheli
"A clearly written analysis that takes into account the international context in which the company operated, its characteristics as a business enterprise, and its relationship with banana workers, local entrepreuneurs, and regional governments in two key banana zones."
—The Journal of American History
"A significant contribution to a growing body of scholarship."
—Journal of Latin American Studies
"Bucheli's narrative is theoretically informed...This book deserves consideration by groups of specialists who do not necessarily overlap: business historians, Latin America specialists, and international business scholars.
—Economic History Society
"Of interest not only to students of Latin American history, but also to those concerned with how large US companies function when they invest heavily in developing countries."
—Choice
"Bananas and Business covers such new ground, both in its postwar history of Columbia and in its analysis of UFC's managerial dicision making, that Bucheli does not need the straw man he laboriously dismantles."
— Ian Wliiam Read, Stanford University
"This is an excellent addition to our knowledge about the UFCO....based on an exhaustive analysis of the primary sources...and a thorough understanding of the logic of the multinational enterprise. Bucheli has shown that there is indeed room for a further study of UFCO and this may will inspire others to revisit this controversial company."
—International Affairs
"A major contribution to both Latin American and international business history. Marcelo Bucheli challengesstereotyped views of the role of multinationals in developing countries by examining the evolving dynamic relationship between the US firm, local entrepreneurs, politicians and workers. Bucheli demonstrates the complex and nuanced role of multinationals in the creation of the global economy."
—Geoffrey Jones, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
"Through a case study of two Colombian banana zones, based on unique access to United Fruit's internal archives, the author challenges the simplistic portrayal of UFCO as politically all-powerful and harshly exploitive by addressing the problems with declining profitability and risk the company faced over the long-term and the complex interactions through which local banana planters, plantation workers, and local and national governments influenced company decisions. This book makes a major contribution to the political economy of multinational corporations in Latin America and the new business history, and it highlights the agency of local entrepreneurs."
—Catherine LeGrand, Associate Professor of History, McGill University
"Bucheli has crafted an excellent study."
—American Historical Review
For well over a century, the United Fruit Company (UFCO) has been the most vilified multinational corporation operating in Latin America. Criticism of the UFCO has been widespread, ranging from politicians to consumer activists, and from labor leaders to historians, all portraying it as an overwhelmingly powerful corporation that shaped and often exploited its host countries. In this first history of the UFCO in Colombia, Marcelo Bucheli argues that the UFCO's image as an all-powerful force in determining national politics needs to be reconsidered. Using a previously unexplored source—the internal archives of Colombia's UFCO operation—Bucheli reveals that before 1930, the UFCO worked alongside a business-friendly government that granted it generous concessions and repressed labor unionism. After 1930, however, the country experienced dramatic transformations including growing nationalism, a stronger labor movement, and increasing demands by local elites for higher stakes in the banana export business.
In response to these circumstances, the company abandoned production, selling its plantations (and labor conflicts) to local growers, while transforming itself into a marketing company. The shift was endorsed by the company's shareholders and financial analysts, who preferred lower profits with lower risks, and came at a time in which the demand for bananas was decreasing in America. Importantly, Bucheli shows that the effect of foreign direct investment was not unidirectional. Instead, the agency of local actors affected corporate strategy, just as the UFCO also transformed local politics and society.
Table of Contents:
| 1 | Introduction | 1 |
| 2 | From hotel luxury suites to working-class lunchboxes | 24 |
| 3 | The United Fruit Company in Latin America : business strategies in a changing environment | 44 |
| 4 | The United Fruit Company and local politics in Colombia | 86 |
| 5 | The labor conflicts of the United Fruit Company in Magdalena in the 1920s | 118 |
| 6 | Nobody's triumph : labor unionism in Magdalena after World War II | 137 |
| 7 | The United Fruit Company's relationship with local planters in Colombia | 149 |
| 8 | Conclusion | 180 |
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Effective Health Care Supervisor
Author: Charles McConnell
The hands—on guide for front line health care supervisors, this long—time bestseller includes two new chapters on reengineering and downsizing and extensive revisions and updates throughout. This new edition covers all areas of supervision including time management, performance appraisal, motivation, and communication.
Mary L. Fisher
The fourth edition of this book places supervision in the context of today's changing healthcare environment. It is expanded beyond the previous edition in this respect, although the author admits that the basics of supervision are unchanged. The book stresses the need for supervisors to adapt to changes that will include expanding scopes of responsibility, a broader variety of duties, and redesigned work environments. New content includes the evolving roles of healthcare supervisors, reengineering, and staff reductions. The book's attempt to meet modern challenges for supervisors is well timed. The intended audience is first and second line supervisors. It is suggested as a textbook for supervisory development classes. The book is written in simple terms and is best positioned for those new to supervision. The author is a human resource officer in a New York hospital system, so is credible in his work experiences. He has numerous previous publications and his formal education is in engineering and business. There are few illustrations offered in this book. References, for the most part, are not offered in context, but there is a sparse annotated bibliography in the back of the book. Many of these books are dated "classics." Each chapter presents clear objectives and adds two exercises for practicing skills. The exercises can be helpful in a classroom setting. This text is comprehensive in the number of topics related to healthcare supervision that are covered. However, some topics are addressed superficially, such as budgeting for personnel costs. The contextual emphasis is timely and a sufficient reason to justify this new addition. Overall, this text needs to be evaluatedin relation to competing offerings. I would prefer more in-depth coverage of these important topics.
Doody Review Services
Reviewer: Mary L. Fisher, PhD, RN, CNAA (Indiana University School of Nursing)
Description: The fourth edition of this book places supervision in the context of today's changing healthcare environment. It is expanded beyond the previous edition in this respect, although the author admits that the basics of supervision are unchanged.
Purpose: The book stresses the need for supervisors to adapt to changes that will include expanding scopes of responsibility, a broader variety of duties, and redesigned work environments. New content includes the evolving roles of healthcare supervisors, reengineering, and staff reductions. The book's attempt to meet modern challenges for supervisors is well timed.
Audience: The intended audience is first and second line supervisors. It is suggested as a textbook for supervisory development classes. The book is written in simple terms and is best positioned for those new to supervision. The author is a human resource officer in a New York hospital system, so is credible in his work experiences. He has numerous previous publications and his formal education is in engineering and business.
Features: There are few illustrations offered in this book. References, for the most part, are not offered in context, but there is a sparse annotated bibliography in the back of the book. Many of these books are dated "classics." Each chapter presents clear objectives and adds two exercises for practicing skills. The exercises can be helpful in a classroom setting.
Assessment: This text is comprehensive in the number of topics related to healthcare supervision that are covered. However, some topics are addressed superficially, such as budgeting for personnel costs. The contextual emphasis is timely and a sufficient reason to justify this new addition. Overall, this text needs to be evaluated in relation to competing offerings. I would prefer more in-depth coverage of these important topics.
Rating
2 Stars from Doody
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