![]() ![]() The rapid growth of trusts and the subsequent development of monopolies during the Gilded Age led to a growing call for the regulation of big business by the federal government. Vertical integration reduced a trust’s expenses by eliminating the need for middle men to make a profit at each stage of production. Trusts did, however, make it much more difficult for small businesses to gain a foothold in the free enterprise system. Economies of scale allowed some trusts to produce goods faster and cheaper. Generally, monopolies were frowned upon because of the fear that control of the market allowed them to increase prices and produce inferior products. Horizontal integration involved gaining control of all of the companies that produced a similar product so that regardless of where a customer bought that product in the marketplace it was controlled by the same trust. In the case of Carnegie Steel, that would mean gaining control of companies that mined iron ore, coal, and limestone, those that produced coke from coal, and those that transported those products to steel mills, to name a few. Vertical integration involved gaining control of all of the materials necessary for the production of a product. "Big business" has been accused of a wide variety of misdeeds that range from the exploitation of the working class to the corruption of politicians and the fomenting of war.New business structures such as vertical and horizontal integration gave trusts a competitive advantage. Various attempts have been made to investigate the effects of "bigness" upon labor, consumers, and investors, as well as upon prices and competition. The social consequences of the concentration of economic power in the hands of those persons controlling "big business" has been a constant concern both of economists and of politicians since the end of the 19th century. Nuclear power was added to fossil fuel as the main sources of energy. Chodery), while also the companies in the computer-section above can be considered electronics. Erik Jonsson, Eugene McDermott, and Patrick E. Electronics businesses include JVC, Sony ( Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita), and Texas Instruments ( Cecil H. Miniaturization and integrated circuits, together with an expansion of radio and television technologies, provided fertile ground for business development. Businesses built around computer technology include: IBM, Microsoft, Apple Inc., Samsung, and Intel. The new technology of computers spread worldwide in the post war years. The relatively stable period of rebuilding after World War II led to new technologies (some of which were spin-offs from the war years) and new businesses. ![]() The automotive industry began modestly in the late-19th century, but grew rapidly following the development of large-scale gasoline production in the early 20th century. The Oxford English Dictionary identifies the first use of the term, in 1905, to be in "The City: The Hope of Democracy", Frederic C. The latter half of the 19th century saw more technological advances and corporate growth in additional sectors, such as petroleum, machinery, chemicals, and electrical equipment. Among the largest companies in the United Kingdom as of 2012 are HSBC, Barclays, WPP plc, and BP. The largest German corporations as of 2012 included Daimler AG, Deutsche Telekom, Siemens, and Deutsche Bank. United States corporations that fall into the category of "big business" as of 2015 include ExxonMobil, Walmart, Google, Microsoft, Apple, General Electric, General Motors, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase. The concept first rose in a symbolic sense after 1880 in connection with the combination movement that began in American business at that time. In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly known as enterprise, or activities involving enterprise customers. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things".
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