Frederick Taylor's Contribution to Modern Day Understanding of Organizations

Frederick Taylor's Contribution to Modern Day Understanding of Organizations

Frederick Taylor's work was taking place in a time period when the

United States of America was undergoing mass industrialisation after

the Civil War. National industries grew out of local trades; what were

once small factories rapidly became large organisations with new

technologies for production and mass workforces.[1] Many large

corporations such as Ford, Esso and United States Steel were developed

in this time; however they all faced the same problem; there was only

a limited pool of skilled workers to recruit from. Many labourers were

based in the agricultural regions of America or were immigrants from

Europe. Directing the efforts of workers with little understanding of

the English language, few required skills and no experience of working

in the disciplined region of a factory, left the organisation with key

problems.[2] Scientific management solved these problems and was one

of the first practices to be used in many different types of

organisations.

Frederick Winslow Taylor was born in 1856 into an upper class, liberal

Philadelphia family. His upbringing was constrained as both parents

were Quakers and believed in high thinking and plain living. Taylor

grew up to be a resourceful person. There is evidence to support this

from an early age; at twelve, he invented a harness to keep himself

from sleeping on his back, hoping to avoid the nightmares he was

having.[3] Once grown up at the age of twenty five Taylor earned

himself an engineering degree at the Stevens Institute of Technology

in New Jersey whilst still having the commitment of a full-time jo...

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[16] Buchanan & Huczynski Organisational Behaviour An Introductory

Text – Fifth Edition

[17] Buchanan & Huczynski Organisational Behaviour An Introductory

Text – Fifth Edition

[18] Dunphy 1998

[19] Buchanan & Huczynski Organisational Behaviour An Introductory

Text – Fifth Edition

[20] The Principles of Scientific Management Text - Eric Eldred.

[21] Business – The Ultimate Resource Goleman, Bono, Handy

[22] Buchanan & Huczynski Organisational Behaviour An Introductory

Text – Fifth Edition

[23] Business – The Ultimate Resource Goleman, Bono, Handy

[24] The Principles of Scientific Management – F.Taylor- 1911

[25] The Principles of Scientific Management – F.Taylor- 1911

[26] Business – The Ultimate Resource Goleman, Bono, Handy