The aim of this essay is to comment on how, over the last six years Penguin Books Limited has grown and managed external and internal changes.
Sixty one years ago, Allen Lane, the managing director of the Bodley Head, a British publishing company, revolutionised reading with the introduction of the first ten Penguin paperbacks. Today, over 600 million paperbacks are sold yearly. At a time when there was still little of entertainment, paperback books brought reading to the masses. Nowadays, paperback books bring reading to the world.
During the last six years (1990-1996) Penguin Books Limited was faced with many 'environmentalist pressures,' with a continuous change inside the company, and competitors trying to imitate its successful innovations on both sides of the Atlantic.
The major achievement in 1990 was the introduction of a new computer system into several parts of the Company. The Credit Control department was the first area and Stock Management, Invoicing Systems, Warehousing, Distribution and Sales Services followed. Now the whole of the Company's systems are incorporated and networked.
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