The Facts

5 August 1986

new internationalist
issue 162 - August 1986

Commercial and political pressures are driving forward a new age
of technological change. On this page we account for some of
the actors, the priorities, the effects and the victims.

The top 30 companies in order of revenue from data-processing activities.

Rank	Company	Country	Total revenue ($ mill.)	Employers	R&D ($ mill.) Advert	Net income ($ mill.)
1.	International business machines	US	50,056.0	405,535 Advert	4,723.0	6,55.0
2.	Digital equipment corporation	US	7,029.4	91,000	770.0	400.6
3.	Sperry Corporation	US	5,526.8	67,000	504.9	37.4
4.	Burroughs Corporation	US	5,037.7	60,500	285.2	248.2
5.	Fujitsu Limited	Japan	6,563.0	74,187	524.5	235.2
6.	NCR Corporation	US	4,317.2	62,000	299.1	315.2
7.	NEC Corporation	Japan	9,899.4	90,102	1,258.8	249.9
8.	Control Data Corporation	US	3,679.7	44,300	438.3	-567.5
9.	Hewlett-Packard Company	US	6,505.0	84,000	685.0	489.0
10.	Siemens AG	W. Germany	18,574.9	348,000	1,632.5	519.7
11.	Hitachi Limited	Japan	20,919.4	164,951	1,223.9	768.6
12.	Ing C Olivetti & Co SPA	Italy	3,070.2	48,944	142.0	250.0
13.	Wang Laboratories Corporation	US	2,428.3	31,000	187.0	-63.3
14.	Xerox Corporation	US	8,732.1	102,396	603.1	475.0
15.	Honeywell Incorporated	US	6,624.6	94,022	451.4	281.6
16.	Groupe Bull	France	1,794.5	26,403	182.3	12.3
17.	Apple Computer Corporation	US	1,753.8	4,182	72.5	72.0
18.	AT&T Company	US	34,910.0	337,963	2,209.7	1,557.0
19.	TRW Incorporated	US	5,917.2	82,446	254.9	-7.1
20.	Matsushita Electric Industry Co Ltd	Japan	21,221.4	133,963	1,011.0	1,035.1
21.	Toshiba Corporation	Japan	14,337.9	114,000	862.7	326.5
22.	NV Philips Gloellampenfabrieken	Netherlands	18,085.6	345,600	1,208.1	276.8
23.	Nixdorf Computer AG	W. Germany	1,339.9	23,290	130.9	NA
24.	STC	UK	2,560.6	51,600	196.8	-69.0
25.	Northern Telecom Limited	Canada	4,246.9	46,549	427.9	275.0
26.	LM Ericsson	Sweden	3,779.3	78,000	325.4	38.7
27.	Tandy Corporation	US	3,126.3	35,000	NA	203.9
28.	Data General Corporation	US	1,199.7	16,535	128.4	24.3
29.	General Electric Company	US	28,285.0	304,000	NA	2,336.0
30.	McDonnell Douglas Corporation	US	11,477.7	97,067	NA	345.7

Source: Datamation, June 1986

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Scource: Sleepers Wakel, Barry Jones Wheatsheaf, 1982

Working women are concentrated into just those jobs which are most easily automated using micro-electronics. The data below shows the segregation of occupations in the US. The situation is similar on other countries. In Australia, for example, it has been calculated that, on the basis of 1977 data, 50 per cent of the female workforce are employed in the 'at risk' female occupations, compared with a figure of only 25 per cent for the males.

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Source: Kaplinsky, ILO, 1986. See action

Scientific and technical research do not simply follow where inspiration leads. Each country's investments reflect the priorities of the political paymasters - as indicated on the diagram below for the major Western nations.

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Source: OECD Observer, Jan 1986

An increasing percentage of the workforce in most Western countries are now handlers of information and providers of services rather than manufacturers of physical goods.

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