This full-length documentary is the 4th part of the Corporation, a film series about the inner workings of the Steinberg supermarket chain. This installment looks at the management of cultural conflict: how a major Canadian corporation comes to grips with one of the principal challenges it faces--the bilingual, bicultural nature of the Québec society in which it is headquartered. A close and remarkably candid view of how the president, Sam Steinberg, and his top and middle management handle a problem with parallels far beyond the borders of Québec.
World War II turns Canada into an industrial power, and creates a mass trade-union movement. Mackenzie King responds with unemployment insurance and full legal status for unions. In 1944, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation comes to power in Saskatchewan, under Tommy Douglas, the first socialist government in North America. With the formation of the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956, CCF and CLC energies are directed toward the formation of the New Democratic Party in 1961. Part 3 of the series.
This full-length documentary is the 2nd part of the Corporation, a film series about the inner workings of the Steinberg supermarket chain. This installment looks at the corporation's impact on the environment – the way in which its growth can influence not only where and how people live and work, but also the shape of cities and suburbs. As the corporation's president, Sam Steinberg, reminisces about the company's early seat-of-the-pants expansion, while its executives discuss the logic behind new retail locations.
This short documentary is the first part of the Corporation, a film series about the inner workings of the Steinberg supermarket chain. Through the eyes of President Sam Steinberg, the film depicts the company’s growth from a hand-cart and bicycle, then a horse-drawn delivery wagon, to an international, diversified corporation. “A company can't stand still," he says. “It must grow”.
The third part of the Corporation series looks at corporate influence on society and culture. The arrival of a major Canadian supermarket's French subsidiary, Supermarchés Montréal, in a town on the outskirts of Paris has a social and cultural impact: on the shopping and eating habits of the local population; on stall-holders in the traditional local market who see their customers drift away; on employees who must adjust to an unaccustomed work environment. President Sam Steinberg's first visit to the French stores provides a first-hand glimpse of the homogenizing effect of corporate technology on culture. Other films in the series are: 1. Growth, 2. Real Estate, 4. Bilingualism, 5. The Market, 6. Motivation, 7. After Mr. Sam.
In his first small store, Sam Steinberg says, customers were like family – they'd pitch in to help at busy times. No more. This fifth part of the Corporation series, filmed in stores, at consumer meetings, and in corporate plants and offices, looks at how the corporation that grew from that first small store attempts to hold its own in the three-way tug-of-war with suppliers, competitors and consumers. One strategy in the struggle over price and profit is for the corporation to capture the supplier's share of profit by producing its own brands of foodstuffs and merchandise; another is to watch competitors' prices with an eagle eye and quickly match or beat them; a third is to attempt to mollify consumer groups by consultation and explanation of its policies and prices. Other films in the series are: 1. Growth, 2. Real Estate, 3. International Operations, 4. Bilingualism, 6. Motivation, 7. After Mr. Sam.
The sixth part of the Corporation series looks at a key element of business success. For the entrepreneur, as Sam Steinberg reveals, the motive for building a business soon surpasses the practical one of making a living. It becomes a creative activity. But how to similarly motivate the corporation's 20,000 employees, from top executives to cashiers? Where jobs are interesting and challenging there is a sense of meaningful participation and identification. But for most the motive for work is simply to make a living. How can the corporation expect to get more from them than reasonable productivity? Other films in the series are: 1. Growth, 2. Real Estate, 3. International Operations, 4. Bilingualism, 5. The Market, 7. After Mr. Sam.
A look at the problematic relationship of Canadian unions and the New
Democratic Party on the eve of the 1980s, as the Socialist International meets
in Vancouver. This triggers a flashback to the Industrial Revolution in Great
Britain, and the birth of both modern trade unions and democratic socialism.
The influence of British, American and European immigration, of American trade
unions, World War 1 and other events provide a turbulent and fascinating
backdrop to the evolution of the Canadian labour-socialist alliance. Part 1.
This feature documentary is a profile of Canadian press tycoon Roy Thomson, whose single-minded attention to business brought him riches, power, and even a baronetcy in England. A native of Timmins, Ontario, Thomson had a tremendous career as publisher, television magnate, financier, and owner of many newspapers, including leading London dailies. The film is a frank study of an equally frank man.
This full-length documentary is the 7th and final part of Corporation, a film series about the inner workings of the Steinberg supermarket chain. This installment documents a 3-day conference held in the corporation's lodge north of Montreal. There, faced with the stepping down of Sam Steinberg as president, ambitious top-level executives thrash out their differences on matters of corporation policy and objectives. But who will replace Mr. Sam, the man who built the business? Sprinkled with Sam Steinberg's reminiscences and reflections on business, full of insights into the workings of a large corporation and clashes of interest and character, the film presents an unusually close view of a struggle for position and power.
The world plunges into the Great Depression which, like most leaders, Canada's
R.B. Bennett refuses to combat with unbalanced budgets and government
spending. Inspired by reports from Russia, many turn to communism for
solutions. The 1937 General Motors strike in Oshawa gives the Congress of
Industrial Organizations a toehold in Canada, but on the eve of World War II
Canada's tiny unions remain blocked by restrictive labour laws and, like the
equally tiny Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, locked in struggle with
communist rivals. Part 2.