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Article
Publication date: 12 September 2016

Jane Whitney Gibson, Jack Deem, Jacqueline E. Einstein and John H. Humphreys

The purpose of this study is to examine the life and work of Frank Gilbreth using a critical biographical approach to draw connections between his life experiences and the major…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine the life and work of Frank Gilbreth using a critical biographical approach to draw connections between his life experiences and the major contributions he made to management history.

Design/methodology/approach

The research design is critical biography. First, a biography is provided that reveals critical incidents from his childhood, his early career before marriage, his life after his marriage and his key personality traits. Gilbreth’s major contributions to management thought are then considered in context of his biography.

Findings

Although Frank Gilbreth is recalled for his contributions to management history through his work in advancing efficiency through motion studies, he should likewise be credited for his foresight of management theories related to the human element in organizations. The major influences on Gilbreth’s career include Lillian Gilbreth and Frederick Taylor.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of critical biography is that researchers cannot address causality but, rather, are focused on drawing connections between life experiences and significant accomplishments.

Originality/value

Critical biography can illuminate theory and practice by providing greater clarity by examining concepts in depth and in context. The authors situate Frank Gilbreth’s work in the context of his lived experiences.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 22 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 April 2010

Aditya Simha and David J. Lemak

Frederick Taylor, the “Father of Scientific Management” is recognized as a pioneer in the field of management. However, many unfair criticisms have been leveled at him starting…

9393

Abstract

Purpose

Frederick Taylor, the “Father of Scientific Management” is recognized as a pioneer in the field of management. However, many unfair criticisms have been leveled at him starting with the infamous Congressional hearings of 1911. Many scholars of management history believe that such criticisms have resulted in negative portrayals of Frederick Taylor in both practitioner and academic circles, and even in some basic management textbooks. This is unfortunate because many of those criticisms result from either a failure to read and understand Taylor's original works or from misinterpretations of them. The purpose of this paper is to contend that students of management will develop a more accurate impression of Frederick Taylor if they read his words and not interpretations of them.

Design/methodology/approach

First, an introduction of Frederick Taylor and scientific management is presented. Then, a categorization of common criticisms of Taylor is offered. The results of a study conducted to measure undergraduate business students' impressions of Taylor from their exposure to him in an introductory management course are then presented. The students then give their impressions of statements taken from Taylor's original work and are tested on the differences between them.

Findings

The results of the analyses suggest that students have a negative impression of Taylor from their textbooks, but their reaction to statements taken from the original works of Taylor are rated quite favorably.

Practical implications

Future research could be conducted to determine whether the works of other seminal management theorists should be presented in their complete contexts and direct sources to provide students with a more accurate and complete portrayal of their ideas.

Originality/value

This paper is unique in that it empirically tests whether negative attitudes towards Frederick Taylor and scientific management persist after students are exposed to original source works.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 September 2010

Hindy Lauer Schachter

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how Frederick Taylor's achievement as the originator of a science of work provided a theoretical foundation for first generation academic…

11200

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how Frederick Taylor's achievement as the originator of a science of work provided a theoretical foundation for first generation academic management programs in the Progressive era. The paper aims to show the implications of this match for Taylor's continuing high position in the history of management thought.

Design/methodology/approach

A methodology is used involving analysis of published and unpublished historical sources including Taylor's own work, writings from his contemporaries, and writings from key figures in first generation university public‐ and business‐management programs.

Findings

The paper gives evidence of the impact of Taylor's work on management education in the Progressive era and the implications of this impact for Taylor's reputation and the management programs themselves.

Originality/value

The analysis uses a wide variety of published and unpublished sources. It compares educational developments in the public and business management fields which are generally analyzed in separate literatures.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 January 2024

Christina Anderl and Guglielmo Maria Caporale

The article aims to establish whether the degree of aversion to inflation and the responsiveness to deviations from potential output have changed over time.

Abstract

Purpose

The article aims to establish whether the degree of aversion to inflation and the responsiveness to deviations from potential output have changed over time.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper assesses time variation in monetary policy rules by applying a time-varying parameter generalised methods of moments (TVP-GMM) framework.

Findings

Using monthly data until December 2022 for five inflation targeting countries (the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden) and five countries with alternative monetary regimes (the US, Japan, Denmark, the Euro Area, Switzerland), we find that monetary policy has become more averse to inflation and more responsive to the output gap in both sets of countries over time. In particular, there has been a clear shift in inflation targeting countries towards a more hawkish stance on inflation since the adoption of this regime and a greater response to both inflation and the output gap in most countries after the global financial crisis, which indicates a stronger reliance on monetary rules to stabilise the economy in recent years. It also appears that inflation targeting countries pay greater attention to the exchange rate pass-through channel when setting interest rates. Finally, monetary surprises do not seem to be an important determinant of the evolution over time of the Taylor rule parameters, which suggests a high degree of monetary policy transparency in the countries under examination.

Originality/value

It provides new evidence on changes over time in monetary policy rules.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 51 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 24 March 2006

Pierre L. Siklos and Mark E. Wohar

Relying on Clive Granger's many and varied contributions to econometric analysis, this paper considers some of the key econometric considerations involved in estimating Taylor

Abstract

Relying on Clive Granger's many and varied contributions to econometric analysis, this paper considers some of the key econometric considerations involved in estimating Taylor-type rules for US data. We focus on the roles of unit roots, cointegration, structural breaks, and non-linearities to make the case that most existing estimates are based on an unbalanced regression. A variety of estimates reveal that neglected cointegration results in the omission of a necessary error correction term and that Federal Reserve (Fed) reactions during the Greenspan era appear to have been asymmetric. We argue that error correction and non-linearities may be one way to estimate Taylor rules over long samples when the underlying policy regime may have changed significantly.

Details

Econometric Analysis of Financial and Economic Time Series
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-388-4

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2002

Pierre Cossette

Although the ideas of F.W. Taylor have profoundly marked the twentieth century, they do not seem to have been understood in the same way by the people who have studied them. Aims…

5478

Abstract

Although the ideas of F.W. Taylor have profoundly marked the twentieth century, they do not seem to have been understood in the same way by the people who have studied them. Aims to enrich our understanding of the ideas of this remarkable author. Proposes a graphic representation of Taylor’s thinking in the form of a cognitive map. Then analyses the structure and content of the map using the Decision Explorer software package. Most of the concepts and links shown in the map were drawn from “Shop management”, and the remainder were taken from The Principles of Scientific Management. The results highlight the relative importance of the concepts used by Taylor, the dimensions on which he more or less consciously structured his thinking, together with the characteristics of the concepts he considered basically as “explanations” or “consequences”, and the more or less systemic or circular logic that guided him in the organization of his thinking. Discusses the limitations of the results and some future avenues for research.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 40 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Case study
Publication date: 18 August 2015

Jolene H. Bodily and Kristin J. Behfar

Hasn’t everyone at some point felt as if the universe was conspiring against his or her success? This case narrative tracks the story of Emmett Taylor, an operations manager for a

Abstract

Hasn’t everyone at some point felt as if the universe was conspiring against his or her success? This case narrative tracks the story of Emmett Taylor, an operations manager for a bottling company, as a snow and ice storm bears down on his southeastern U.S. plant. Taylor is already plagued by stress caused by all facets of his life-family, work, and personal health-and this storm is no exception. The story offers an opportunity to discuss time, energy, and priority management; individual behavior from a type-A personality; work-life balance; organizational behavior; and leadership. This case is a suitable substitution for the classic best-selling Darden case “John Wolford” (UVA-OB-0167).

Details

Darden Business Publishing Cases, vol. no.
Type: Case Study
ISSN: 2474-7890
Published by: University of Virginia Darden School Foundation

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1997

Carol Carlson Dean

This paper documents the publishing exposure of Frederick W. Taylor’s The Principles of Scientific Management subsequent to the February 1911 private printing. In doing so, the…

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Abstract

This paper documents the publishing exposure of Frederick W. Taylor’s The Principles of Scientific Management subsequent to the February 1911 private printing. In doing so, the paper completes a chronology of the multiple occasions that Taylor’s classic occurred in print. Landmarks in the publishing history of Taylor’s “principles” following the private printing include its appearance in The American Magazine and The Journal of Accountancy. Following these serialized mediums, the trade edition ‐ the most familiar version ‐ was published. These and various other forms of Taylor’s “principles” were basically the same discourse. However, the details of the various occurrences and Taylor’s related personal correspondence proffer glimpses of the personality of the man and of his motives.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-252X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2002

Satyanarayana Parayitam, Margaret A. White and Jill R. Hough

Much has been written about the works of Chester I. Barnard and Frederick W. Taylor but little attempt has been made by scholars to compare Barnard and Taylor. Barnard is a

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Abstract

Much has been written about the works of Chester I. Barnard and Frederick W. Taylor but little attempt has been made by scholars to compare Barnard and Taylor. Barnard is a successor of Taylor and this may be one of the reasons why there has been a reluctance to place them side‐by‐side. The purpose of this paper is to capture the similarities and differences that existed in the thinking of these two individuals who greatly influenced management thinking during the twentieth century.

Details

Management Decision, vol. 40 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0025-1747

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 January 2015

Daniel A. Wren, Regina A. Greenwood, Julia Teahen and Arthur G. Bedeian

This paper aims to highlight myriad accomplishments of C. Bertrand Thompson, who is perhaps most well known as a scientific-management bibliographer and a Taylor disciple, in the…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to highlight myriad accomplishments of C. Bertrand Thompson, who is perhaps most well known as a scientific-management bibliographer and a Taylor disciple, in the belief that his contributions as a pioneer management theorist and consultant in Europe deserve to be more widely known and more deeply appreciated.

Design/methodology/approach

Archival, primary and secondary sources were used in the research.

Findings

Thompson was among the first to bring management consulting to Europe. He understood the importance of adapting scientific-management principles to meet the diverse needs of each client for whom he consulted. Thompson’s strong belief and value system remained constant throughout his life.

Practical implications

Understanding the needs of customers or clients and adapting systems to meet those needs is essential in achieving success as a consultant.

Originality/value

By drawing on rarely accessed published and unpublished materials, this paper discusses Thompson’s many contributions to management thought and practice, most of which previously have not been highlighted in the referent literature.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

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