Empathy and Business Management

The period between 1760 and 1850 ushered in massive changes in the socio-economic structure of England. The British historian Eric Hobsbawm (1996) had described the changes as: “for the first time in human history, the shackles were taken off the productive power of human societies, which henceforth became capable of the constant, rapid and up to the present limitless multiplication of men, goods and services” (p. 28). In fact, Hobsbawm (1996) went further and described the happenings of the times as “probably the most important event in world history, at any rate since the invention of agriculture and cities” (p. 29). Similarly, Wyatt (2009) had compared the events and changes of the times to that of the Neolithic revolution when humans had undergone a transition from being hunter gatherers to adopting agriculture as the means of sustenance. The comparison is not without reason; the changes brought forth during these times fundamentally altered the nature of human society that was prevalent for thousands of preceding years. In the beginning of this period, England was a largely agrarian and self-sufficient economy; however, the English society changed rapidly during these times to become a largely industrialized economy wherein even staple food and raw materials were being imported while exports included factory manufactured goods and textiles. The period saw a massive increase in the population supplemented by an improved standard of living (Clark, 2010). This period of socio-economic change has been termed by historians as the industrial revolution. Hobsbawm (1996) concurred: “To call this process the Industrial Revolution is both logical and in line with a well-established tradition” (p. 28).