The Übermensch meets the “One Best Way”: Barbara S. Burks, the Gilbreth family, and the eugenics movement

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the eugenic beliefs of behavioral geneticist Barbara S. Burks and scientific‐management pioneers B. Frank and Lillian M. Moeller Gilbreth.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on personal communications with the Gilbreths' daughter, Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, and archival records, this paper clarifies the relationship between Barbara S. Burks and the Gilbreth family.

Findings

This research establishes that the unnamed psychologist described in an unflattering manner in the best‐selling book on the Gilbreth family, Cheaper by the Dozen, was not Barbara S. Burks.

Originality/value

Based on information that only Ernestine Gilbreth Carey could have provided, this paper sets the record straight regarding the Gilbreths' involvement with eugenicist Barbara S. Burks.

Citation

Bedeian, A.G. and Taylor, S.G. (2009), "The Übermensch meets the “One Best Way”: Barbara S. Burks, the Gilbreth family, and the eugenics movement", Journal of Management History, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 216-221. https://doi.org/10.1108/17511340910943831