Frederick Winslow Taylor 1856-1915

Influences - Family History Father Pennsylvania Quaker family Lawyer Owned farms and properties Very Wealthy His father inherited large wealth and also became wealthy from their ownership of farms and other properties in Pennyslvania

Influences - Family History Mother - Emily Winslow (Delano) New England Puritan Family Related to Franklin Delano Roosevelt Anti-slavery ‘agitator’ Campaigner for women’s rights Child rearing philosophy based on ‘work, drill and discipline’. Believe in ‘definite instructions’ for Fred Mother, Emily Winslow, from an old New England Puritan family, the Delano family (same family as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt). Her father was a New Bedford Whaler. Emily was a prominent anti-slavery agitator and a campaigner for women’s rights. Emily method of child rearing was based on “work, drill and discipline” and she believed in “definite instructions” for young Fred.

Influences Affluent family Attended Phillips Exeter Academy Destined for Harvard Born into an affluent Philadelphia family on March 20, 1856. had a cook, a maid and a coachman. Went to the Phillips Exeter Academy. Was destined for Harvard and took the entrance exams for Harvard with honors before headaches and poor eyesight reputedly intervened.

Influences - Early Work Started as an Apprentice 1878 - Midvale Steel as a Clerk Moved down the company ladder - laborer Role changed almost monthly Keeper of tools, assistant foreman, foreman, master mechanic, director of research, chief engineer of the plan 1880-1883 Engineering at Stephens Institute Disagreement in text: started work as an apprentice at the Enterprise Hydraulic Works of Philadelphia, or, started work as an apprentice at the William Sellers Company in Philadelphia. 1878 left to work at the Midvale Steel Company, near Philadelphia as a clerk. Moved down the company ladder to become a laborer. His role changed almost monthly. He was a keeper of tool cribs, assistant foreman, foreman, master mechanic, director of research and finally chief engineer of the entire plant. Spent three years (1880 – 1883) studying engineering at evening classes at the Stephens Institute.

Influences - Other Than Mother Adam Smith - Process-driven model of management Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations in eighteenth century

Tendencies Incredibly driven problem solver Inventor Sportsman Taylor-White process for treating tool steel Spawned over forty patents Sportsman Passion for Order and Efficiency Persistent Personal Tendencies A incredibly driven problem solver An inventor – co-developed the Taylor-White process for treating tool steel. This revolutionized metal cutting and enabled the development of mass production techniques. Spawed over forty patents, including 1909 – “Apparatus for Moving Growing Trees and the Like” 1880’s – “Power Hammer” for Midvale Steel Company 1900 – Apparatus for grinding balls 1907 – Combined hothouse grapery and greenhouse A sportsman: Member of the boat crew, a skater and the captain of the baseball team at Exeter 1881 – Won the doubles at the U.S. tennis championships with brother in law, Clarence M. Clark Designed his own tennis racket Patented a lawn tennis net 1889 Referred to golf as scientific inquiry. Took up golf at the age of forty. Invented a Y-shaped putter (1905) Experimented with the grass that made up putting greens (at his house in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania) and subsurface watering. Used highly customized clubs and built an all-purpose harness, which enabled him to drive perfectly every time. Carried a handicap of eight when he won the club championships at the Philadelphia Country Club in 1902, 1903 and 1905. Passion for order and efficiency Reveled in the neatness of Dewey’s classification and subject index for libraries (Disciple, Henry Gantt said of Taylor “Endowed naturally with untiring energy and a wonderfully analytical mind, he concentrated all the power of that combination on the problem of determining the facts he needed … He was interested in what had been done mainly for the indication it gave of what could be done.” Disciple of Taylor’s, Harrington Emerson, termed consulting ‘efficiency engineering’ Persistent 1906 presented his paper “On the Art of Cutting Metals” to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Result of twenty-six years of experimentation with over 800,000 pounds of steel and iron with experimental tools. Records of 30,000-50,000 experiments cost then the enormous sum of $150,000-$200,000. General Tendencies and Issues Retained strong European connections through his life. Did not drink, no alcohol in his home, did not take stimulants and did not use tobacco. One habit was swearing (picked up in his apprenticeship. Swore at different times, not on the golf course, but claimed he did while lecturing at Harvard. Sang as a tenor in the choral society and was frequently in amateur theatricals. Often arrogant, somewhat caustic, and inflexible about how his system should be implemented.

Accomplishments & Theories 1889 - Bethlehem Steel Company Tried wide ranging changes Fired in 1901 Experience laid the basis for theories of Scientific Management

Scientific Management Workers engaged in “soldiering” Superiors had no idea how long a job should take No one thought to examine the nature of people’s work He found that workers engaged in “soldiering” – deliberately slowing down because of no incentives to go faster. They tried to “keep their employers ignorant of how fast work can be done.” “They firmly believe that it is for their interest to give as little work in return for the money that they get as is practical” Taylor later wrote in The Principles of Scientific Management. Superiors had no idea how long a job should take. No one had thought to examine the nature of people’s work.

Scientific Management Armed with stopwatch, examined exactly what happened and how long it took Minute examination allows an observer to establish a best means of carrying out the job Armed with a stopwatch, he examined in intimate detail exactly what happened and how long it took. Surmised that minute examination of a task would enable the observer to establish a best means of carrying out the job. A single preferred, efficient means of completing the task could then be established and insisted on in the future.

Scientific Management Workers would know what was expected Managers would know how much should be produced Reliable piecework rates, bonuses, penalties

Scientific Management Quality of the work had to be stressed before striving for an increased Quantity of work Paid for performance, not attendance Advocated daily feedback “Seventy five percent science and twenty five percent common sense”

Scientific Management Exercise Build 20 Pieces as specified: Two Red 4x2 Two Black 4x2, crosswise One White 2x2, on middle

Scientific Management - Results Watertown Arsenal (Labor Cost Reductions) Packsaddle from $1.17 to $.54 6” Gun from $10,229 to $6,950 Typically, “Schmidt” increased production 400% while receiving 60% more pay Often boosted production At the time, time-consciousness was something of a novelty. Time zones were only standardized in 1883. The need to produce more and in a more efficient way was taken as a first principle. The need to produce more was the managerial quest of the twentieth century. Taylor provided the means.

Scientific Management - Results 1910 - Harrington Emerson claimed the railroads could save $1 Million per day Immediate result was a dramatic cut in the cost of manufactured goods Potentially allowed for an increase in wages Also resulted in crude reductions in employee numbers

Frederick Taylor - Contributions Invented Management as a Science Established the job of management as measurement Created middle management Intended SM to cover the whole organization First management consultant (“Consultant to Management”) Established the job of management as measurement. The manager in Taylor’s world was a mere supervisor, a recorder and reporter, gathering information with which to make a decision. What was measured got done. Period. Created middle management – dedicated to supervision, measurement and observation. Another layer in the hierarchy. Introduction to the Principles of Scientific Management published in 1911 – was intended to cover the entire organization.

Frederick Taylor - Recap Earned approximately $50,000 per year from 1900 to 1911 from consulting Had three maids, estate superintendent, cook, coachman and yard laborers Taught in France and Germany 1910 - refused his share of his father’s $900,000 estate 1915 - Taylor’s estate worth $700,000 Died after a lecture tour in Cleveland

Frederick Taylor - Supporters First International Management Theory Japanese Lenin Henri Le Chatelier Frank & Lilian Gilbreth Peter Drucker Henry Gantt Henry Ford Hugo Munsterbuerg Champy/Hammer 1997 Fotune article noted “Taylor’s presence is omni-present”. Peter Drucker cited Taylor’s thinking as “the most lasting contribution America has made to Western thought since the Federalist Papers.” “The assembly line was a simply a logical extension of scientific management.” Scientific management became the first international management theory. His work was devoured in Japan, Lenin was a fan. Henri Le Chatelier was a advocate in France. Two French editions of The Principles of Scientific Management had been produced, four thousand sold and three thousand freely distributed. Spawned the ideas in Reengineering – where organizations needed to identify their key processes and make them as lean and efficient as possible. Peripheral processes needed to be discarded. Reengineering the Corporate by James Champy and Michael Hammer. Criticized as a focus on corporate mechanics, not on vision or strategy”. Owed more to visions of the corporation as a machine than as a human, or humane system. Clearest echo of scientific management in reengineering was its concentration on process. Followers: oHenry Gantt oHenry Ford (1863-1947) oInspired Hugo Munsterbuerg to create the discipline of industrial psychology who established a laboratory at Harvard for the study of psychology of work. oJapanese style management took from Taylor an emphasis on mutual interests, cooperation and harmony.

Frederick Taylor - Criticisms Relied on money to motivate Efficiency before ethics Views in accord with socialism Increased wages until competitions catches up Built on a lack of trust, a lack of respect for the worth, wit and intelligence of individuals Often criticized as relying solely on money to motivate people. Comes from the “economic man” theory articulated by Adam Smith. This is a myth because he made the case that “more money can be used to provide an incentive, such as the hope of rapid promotion or advancement, shorter hours of work, better surroundings and working conditions”. Doubting voices included John Dos Passos. In his USA, Dos Passos lamented the relentless pursuit of “more steel rails more bicycles more spools of thread more amorplate for battleships more bedpans more barbed wire more needles more lighteningrods more ballbearings more dollarbills.” Downsides to Scientific Management include: oPut efficiency before ethics. Many of the great companies had a strong ethical element to them. Scientific management put efficiency first. oHis views were basically in accord with those of socialism. “The principal object of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee.” oThe theory of increased productivity leading to lower costs, higher sales and higher profits and wages works until the competition did the same. oBelieved that improving efficiency of production would enhance society. oIt simply subsumed moral considerations under the rationalist drive toward efficiency. Scientific management was built on a lack of trust, a lack of respect for the worth, wit, and intelligence of individuals.

Frederick Taylor - Criticisms Eliminated qualified, professional work Focus on making the task more stupid Believed people did not need to be told what was happening elsewhere in the organization Employees had to ‘turn off their minds’ Denied people their individuality oCharles Babbage wrote in On the Economy of Machinery and Manufacturers in 1832 – as machines became more powerful and required less skill to operate them workers with less skills were required. If the machines needed automatons, why employ creative craftsman. oItalian Marxist Antonio Gramsci observed in Americanismo e Fordismo that “Taylor expresses the real purpose of American society – replacing in the worker the old psycho-physical nexus of qualified professional work, which demanded active participation, intelligence, fantasy, and initiative with automatic and mechanical attitudes. As a consequence, a part of the old working class will be eliminated from the world of work, and perhaps from the world.” oLess thought applied to the task was believed to result in higher productivity. Taylor thought that the more stupid you could make the task, the more efficient it would be. oHe believed that people did not need to be told what was happening elsewhere in the organization. According to Taylor, there was no need to spread confusion through communication. Employees had to turn their minds off and perform their tasks. oTaylor’s theories denied people their individuality.

Frederick Taylor - Criticisms 1909 - U.S. Steel, 3500 workers revolt 1911 - Taylor questioned at a special committee of the U.S. House of Representatives Nightmare visions explored in literature oIn 1909, over 3,500 unorganized mass production workers revolved against inhumane working conditions produced by an efficiency drive at U.S. Steel. oIn 1911 and 1912 Taylor was questioned at length of a special committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. As a result, the use of stopwatches by civil servants was banned. This ban was lifted in 1949. oThe nightmarish vision of regularity was explored in literature by Aldous Huxley in Brave New World and by George Orwell in 1984.

Where Do We Go From Here? Peter Drucker Lucier and Torsilieri Knowledge workers are “abysmally unproductive” Challenge of the next century is to increase the productivity of knowledge workers Lucier and Torsilieri Routine work (80%) needs to be standardized. Complex decisions should be outsourced Charles Lucier and Janet Torsilieri (consultants) have noted that “overhead in major corporations is not decreasing”. The rise of the knowledge worker has contributed, as Drucker has lamented “knowledge workers are abysmally unproductive”. Lucier and Torsilieri suggest that was must move from dividing physical labor to an emphasis on the division of mental labor. Routine work (80% of what we do) needs to be standardized, giving people more responsibility, cutting out middlemen. Second, they suggest that companies outsource the most complex (and often the most critical) decisions to the real experts.” “Outsourcing the most complex decisions significantly increases both the quality of decisions and the level of service”. Such arguments suggest that the legacy of scientific management may have run its course. The challenge of the next century, according to Peter Drucker, is the increase the productivity of knowledge workers.