Biography

Rathenau was born in Berlin of prominent Jewish parents and died by an assassin's bullet, the first Jew to be killed by the Nazis. At the time of his death he was the German Foreign Minister, and had been instrumental in beginning reparations payments under the Treaty of Versailles obligations. Keynes had attended the Versailles Conference, and had objected to the punitive nature of the reparations.

Rathenau obtained a PhD from Berlin University, before being conscripted into the army in 1890.  He later distinguished himself as a technical innovator, businessman, banker, diplomat, politician, philosopher, intellectual and writer.  

His most important management idea was his form of "Rationalisation Management", where the policy was of continual improvement of methods for the benefit of all the stakeholders. Quality and elimination of waste were key elements.  

Rathenau recognised before the Americans that organisations were social units and managers were upstaging shareholders. He proposed that the new social society should be within the workplace.

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