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Article
Publication date: 12 January 2015

C. Bertrand Thompson and management consulting in Europe, 1917-1934

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…

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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By drawing on rarely accessed published and unpublished materials, this paper discusses Thompson’s many contributions to management thought and practice, most of which previously have not been highlighted in the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
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-12-2013-0126
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

  • Management
  • Scientific management
  • International management
  • C. Bertrand Thompson
  • Management consulting
  • Taylorism

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Book part
Publication date: 11 June 2019

References

Leon C. Prieto and Simone T. A. Phipps

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African American Management History: Insights on Gaining a Cooperative Advantage
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78756-659-020191011
ISBN: 978-1-78756-659-0

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Article
Publication date: 8 June 2015

Implementing the Gantt chart in Europe and Britain: the contributions of Wallace Clark

Daniel A. Wren

The purpose of this paper is to trace the European and British activities of Wallace Clark and his consulting firm with public sector agencies and private firms implement…

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Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to trace the European and British activities of Wallace Clark and his consulting firm with public sector agencies and private firms implement Henry L. Gantt’s chart concept.

Design/methodology/approach

Archival records and secondary sources in English and French.

Findings

Developed to meet the shipbuilding and use needs for the Great War (World War I), the Gantt chart was disseminated through the work of Wallace Clark during the 1930s in numerous public sector and private organizations in 12 nations. The Gantt concept was applied in a variety of industries and firms using batch, continuous processing and/or sub-assembly lines in mass production. Traditional scientific management techniques were expanded for general management, such as financial requirement through budgetary control. Clark and his consulting firm were responsible for implementing a managerial tool, the Gantt chart, in an international setting.

Research limitations/implications

Some firms with which Clark consulted could not be identified because the original records of the Wallace Clark Company were disposed of by New York University archival authorities. Industries were identified from the writings of Pearl Clark and Wallace Clark, and some private or public organizations were discerned from archival work and the research of French and British scholars.

Originality/value

This is the first study of the diffusion of a managerial tool, developed in America by Henry L. Gantt, into Europe and Britain through the contributions of Wallace Clark.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 21 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-09-2014-0163
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

  • Scientific management
  • Management consulting
  • Budgetary control
  • Gantt chart
  • Henry L. Gantt
  • Wallace Clark

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Book part
Publication date: 11 June 2019

Charles Clinton Spaulding – The Father of African American Management Thought

Leon C. Prieto and Simone T. A. Phipps

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Abstract

Details

African American Management History: Insights on Gaining a Cooperative Advantage
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78756-659-020191005
ISBN: 978-1-78756-659-0

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Article
Publication date: 1 December 2000

Completing the triangle: Taylorism and the paradigms

Richard K. Fleischman

Taylorism and scientific management, as significant components of productive relations in the USA during the early twentieth century, have been examined by accounting…

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Taylorism and scientific management, as significant components of productive relations in the USA during the early twentieth century, have been examined by accounting historians representing the major paradigms that hold sway in contemporary historiography – the Foucauldian, the Marxist (labour process), and the economic rationalist (Neoclassical). The great bulk of this work has assumed that the major tenets of scientific management, such as time study, incentive wage schemes, standard costing, and variance analysis, were in common usage during the first two decades of the current century. This paper intends to set the record straight by demonstrating that theory was running far ahead of practice in that the number of actual adoptions of the new methods were not concomitant with the prevalence of scientific management literature. Subsequently, the paper will endeavour to show how the three major paradigms combine to enhance our understanding of Taylorism. Much of what Taylor wrote can be interpreted within a Foucauldian framework; the negative reaction of organised labour was much in the Marxist tradition; and, finally, the lack of applications in practice reflected economically rational action on the part of entrepreneurs (thereby completing the triangle).

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 13 no. 5
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/09513570010353729
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

  • Accounting history
  • Management history
  • Marxian economics
  • Rationalization
  • Scientific management
  • Standard costing

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Article
Publication date: 12 January 2015

Objectivism, Lyman Porter and ethical leadership

Shawn Carraher

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Abstract

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-10-2014-0171
ISSN: 1751-1348

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Article
Publication date: 11 January 2016

Re-discovering Charles Clinton Spaulding’s “The Administration of Big Business”: Insight into early 20th century African-American management thought

Leon C. Prieto and Simone T. A. Phipps

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the contributions made by Charles Clinton Spaulding, a prominent black business leader in the USA in the early 1900s. This paper…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the contributions made by Charles Clinton Spaulding, a prominent black business leader in the USA in the early 1900s. This paper highlights the management philosophies and practical work of Spaulding, an individual who considerably influenced African-American management thought and practice, and played an important role in Corporate America from the turn of the twentieth century onward.

Design/methodology/approach

The research was conducted by reviewing and synthesizing a number of writings including published works by Spaulding himself, as well as articles about Spaulding from sources such as history journals, newspapers and other resources.

Findings

Spaulding’s contributions were significant, from his insight regarding the fundamental necessities for the effective management of a business, to his management style and implementation of practices which reflected his recognition of the importance of transformational leadership, employee development, diversity, corporate social responsibility and a strong positive culture for the successful management of an enterprise. Thus, this paper concludes that the title of “Father of African-American Management” is a fitting tribute to this business pioneer who overcame the odds to become the most successful black business executive in the early twentieth century.

Originality/value

The contributions made by minorities, including African-Americans, to management thought and practice have not been adequately covered in the literature. This paper begins to fill a noticeable void by drawing from infrequently acquired sources such as Spaulding’s article “The Administration of Big Business” and highlighting his contributions to the African-American community and the business community at large.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-01-2015-0004
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

  • Administration of Big Business
  • African-American management thought
  • Charles Clinton Spaulding

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Book part
Publication date: 15 June 2020

Bibliography

Diana Kelly

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Abstract

Details

The Red Taylorist: The Life and Times of Walter Nicholas Polakov
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78769-985-420201009
ISBN: 978-1-78769-985-4

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Article
Publication date: 13 June 2016

Editorial

Bradley Bowden

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Journal of Management History, vol. 22 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-04-2016-0023
ISSN: 1751-1348

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Book part
Publication date: 15 June 2020

Introduction

Diana Kelly

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The Red Taylorist: The Life and Times of Walter Nicholas Polakov
Type: Book
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78769-985-420201002
ISBN: 978-1-78769-985-4

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