The old consensus-building management system helped employers keep unions on side when costs needed to be held down.

ECONOMIST: Germany: Europe's engine | The

Porsche's Stability Management system will grab a caliper or two to keep the car from gliding off into the weeds tail-end first (remember, that water-cooled 911 motor sits behind the cockpit).

FORBES: Test Drives

Here is a paradox for the management theorists: any boss who cannot outmanoeuvre a system designed to keep him under control is probably not worth having.

ECONOMIST: Management pay

Under a system borrowed from Germany, Japanese firms must appoint at least three internal auditors to keep an eye on financial management and guard shareholders' interests.

ECONOMIST: Japanese corporate governance: No country for old men | The