Frederick Winslow Taylor

Frederick Winslow Taylor (March 20, 1856 – March 21, 1915) was an American mechanical engineer. He was widely known for his methods to improve industrial efficiency.^[1] He was one of the first management consultants.^[2] In 1909, Taylor summed up his efficiency techniques in his book The Principles of Scientific Management which, in 2001, Fellows of the Academy of Management voted the most influential management book of the twentieth century.^[3] His pioneering work in applying engineering principles to the work done on the factory floor was instrumental in the creation and development of the branch of engineering that is now known as industrial engineering. Taylor made his name, and was most proud of his work, in scientific management; however, he made his fortune patenting steel-process improvements. As a result, scientific management is sometimes referred to as Taylorism.^[4]

Frederick Winslow Taylor

March 20, 1856 (1856-03-20)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

March 21, 1915(1915-03-21) (aged 59)

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

West Laurel Hill Cemetery
Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Phillips Exeter Academy

Stevens Institute of
Technology (BS)

Efficiency expert
Management consultant

Father of scientific management, efficiency movement and industrial engineering

Louise M. Spooner

Elliott Cresson Medal (1902)

helped Taylor to develop speed-and-feed-calculating slide rules to a previously unknown level of usefulness. Similar aids are still used in machine shops today. Barth became an early consultant on scientific management and later taught at Harvard.

Carl G. Barth

developed the Gantt chart, a visual aid for scheduling tasks and displaying the flow of work.

H. L. Gantt

introduced scientific management to the railroad industry, and proposed the dichotomy of staff versus line employees, with the former advising the latter.

Harrington Emerson

adapted scientific management to educational and municipal organizations.

Morris Cooke

created industrial psychology.

Hugo Münsterberg

introduced psychology to management studies.

Lillian Gilbreth

(husband of Lillian) discovered scientific management while working in the construction industry, eventually developing motion studies independently of Taylor. These logically complemented Taylor's time studies, as time and motion are two sides of the efficiency improvement coin. The two fields eventually became time and motion study.

Frank Gilbreth

one of the first American universities to offer a graduate degree in business management in 1908, based its first-year curriculum on Taylor's scientific management.^[34]

Harvard University

as dean of Dartmouth's Amos Tuck School of Administration and Finance, promoted the teaching of scientific management.

Harlow S. Person

professor of accounting at the University of Chicago and founder of the consulting firm bearing his name, advocated budgets as a means of assuring accountability and of measuring performance.

James O. McKinsey

C. Bertrand Thompson

at Project Gutenberg

Works by Frederick Winslow Taylor

at Internet Archive

Works by or about Frederick Winslow Taylor

. The Samuel C. Williams Library at the Stevens Institute of Technology has an extensive collection. OCLC 123905137.

Special Collections: Frederick Winslow Taylor

. Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Harvard University. OCLC 77066758.

"Frederick W. Taylor, 1856–1915"

(see Charles D. Wrege; 1924–2014). Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library. OCLC 826068268
Series III: Frederick W. Taylor
Series X: Boxly: Frederick Taylor's Residence – Includes the 1921 Hawthorne Film, a video tour of Boxly (Frederick W. Taylor's house), and videos on management history and historical research.

Frederick Winslow Taylor