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Article
Publication date: 1 October 2006

Stephanie C. Payne, Satoris S. Youngcourt and Kristen M. Watrous

To conduct a content analysis of the portrayal of Frederick W. Taylor in management and psychology textbooks to reveal differences both within and across disciplines.

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Abstract

Purpose

To conduct a content analysis of the portrayal of Frederick W. Taylor in management and psychology textbooks to reveal differences both within and across disciplines.

Design/methodology/approach

Forty‐four textbooks from six sub‐disciplines within management and psychology were content analyzed for the amount and accuracy of the material presented about Taylor and the extent to which key terms were included in these descriptions.

Findings

The data show that more information is provided in the management texts and the majority of the information conveyed across disciplines appears accurate.

Research limitations/implications

Not all textbooks were examined within all sub‐disciplines within management or psychology or all sub‐disciplines to which Taylor ostensibly contributed. Future research is needed to determine why Taylor is portrayed differently across texts.

Practical implications

Results have important teaching implications as they reveal how accurately textbooks portray one controversial historical figure and what students are learning. Students might be encouraged to consult original sources and information beyond the text. Textbook authors should be held accountable for the accuracy of the information in their texts and may find the comparison information informative. Instructors may find the results useful when selecting a new text.

Originality/value

This paper depicts variability in how historical figures are depicted in textbooks, which is an important part of management history education.

Details

Journal of Management History, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1751-1348

Keywords

Abstract

Organizational researchers studying well-being – as well as organizations themselves – often place much of the burden on employees to manage and preserve their own well-being. Missing from this discussion is how – from a human resources management (HRM) perspective – organizations and managers can directly and positively shape the well-being of their employees. The authors use this review to paint a picture of what organizations could be like if they valued people holistically and embraced the full experience of employees’ lives to promote well-being at work. In so doing, the authors tackle five challenges that managers may have to help their employees navigate, but to date have received more limited empirical and theoretical attention from an HRM perspective: (1) recovery at work; (2) women’s health; (3) concealable stigmas; (4) caregiving; and (5) coping with socio-environmental jolts. In each section, the authors highlight how past research has treated managerial or organizational support on these topics, and pave the way for where research needs to advance from an HRM perspective. The authors conclude with ideas for tackling these issues methodologically and analytically, highlighting ways to recruit and support more vulnerable samples that are encapsulated within these topics, as well as analytic approaches to study employee experiences more holistically. In sum, this review represents a call for organizations to now – more than ever – build thriving organizations.

Details

Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-046-5

Keywords

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