Abstract
A question all businesses ask themselves is : how will I create value in the future? The answer to this question will provide the business with a roadmap to profitability and success. For if a company can create value, it will be in position to exploit this and the wealth that will be generated will make the company a viable entity for the future. Without value creation, and without the potential for value creation, the company could provide nothing for its customers, could expect nothing in return from them, and would eventually cease to exist.
In the past, with the rise of the age of industrialisation came one possible answer to the question. This was the wholesale adoption of mass production, work specialization and the automation of processes, in large scale factories, so as to produce as much as possible while reducing the cost of production. Machinisation of manufacturing, removal of the individual worker as much as possible from the finished product, were the key [Landes, 1998] . This approached proved to be successful, new industries replaced old ones, and new production techniques flourished in this era that gave birth to the large corporation . Taylorism, and its applications in real life companies was seen by management as the key to future success, and they felt vindicated as productivity increased and their companies grew ever larger, and more successful [Roberts, 1997].
This goes a long way in explaining why the traditional return on equity, return on assets and return on investment calculations are based on such aspects of the firm as its buildings, machinery, equipment etc . It was the physical assets manifested in heavy equipment and machinery that was seen as the value creator and thus the path to success.