It has been pointed out repeatedly in this work that the eighties ushered in the age of rationalization. Worldwide, managers realized that conglomeration was not the road to excellence. The promised synergy simply had not materialized. As Martin S. Davis, CEO and chairman of Gulf + Western, put it, "Two plus two doesn't equal five." 1 Thus firms across the globe began the long and tedious process of becoming leaner and more efficient-streamlining, merging, reorganizing, scaling down the size of their assets and the number of activities they are involved in, and in general going back to what they know best. 2 A study by The Wall Street Journal and the consulting firm of Booze-Allen & Hamilton Inc. concluded that through restructuring and refocusing on global markets, European business has found a way to meet the challenge from Japan and America. 3
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