Frederick Winslow Taylor - the Father of Scientific Management

Frederick Winslow Taylor - The Father of Scientific Management The years leading up to the 1920’s were a time of momentous change for America. New technology was gaining momentum and factories were producing more and more goods. People were able to buy goods rather than making them like they had in the past and the standard of living was going up. Manufactured goods were a major part of life, especially during the 1920’s. This change towards being a consumer nation didn’t happen all at once and it certainly didn’t happen without prompting from some amazing innovators of the time. One of these people was Frederick Winslow Taylor, the founder the scientific management, a system which revolutionized production and largely contributed to making our nation the way it is today. Frederick Winslow Taylor was born on March 20, 1856 in Germantown, Pennsylvania to Franklin Taylor and Emily Annette Winslow. The youngest of eleven, Taylor was raised as a devout Quaker. Born into wealth, he travelled through Europe for three years as a young teen before attending Phillips Exeter Academy in order to prepare him for Harvard School of Law. Being bright and having access to all the resources he could possibly need, Taylor aced the entrance exam and was accepted into Harvard. Around this time, however, his eyesight was quickly worsening and he chose to go down a different path based on his doctor’s advice. It was this fateful decision that would eventually lead Frederick Winslow Taylor into a career at Midvale Steel Works, a career that that would serve as the foundation for his breakthrough management theory which he is still renowned for today. When Taylor arrived at Midvale, he soon realized, after carefully observing the workplace, that workers didn’t work to their full capability despite methods designed to get them to do just that. He is quoted as saying at one point, “Hardly a competent workman can be found who does not devote a considerable amount of time to studying

Cited: Sandrone, Vincenzo. “F.W. Taylor and Scientific Management.” Skymark. 2010. 10-31-10 < http://www.skymark.com/resources/leaders/taylor.asp>. “Principles of Scientific Management: Appropriateness for Managing Modern Organizations.” UK Essays. 2003-2010. 10-31-10 < http://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/scientific-management.php>.