Born March 20, 1856 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,Frederick Winslow Taylorwas an American inventor and engineer known as the father of scientific management. Its industrial management system has influenced the development of practically all countries that enjoy the benefits of modern industry.
Taylorhe was the son of a lawyer. He entered the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire in 1872. After passing the Harvard entrance exam, he was forced to abandon enrollment plans, as his eyesight had deteriorated from night study. In 1875, with his sight restored, he apprenticed at Enterprise Hydraulic Works in Philadelphia. Three years later he went to Midvale Steel Company, where, beginning as a machine shop worker, he successively became a shop clerk, machinist, foreman, maintenance foreman, chief of the drawing office, and chief engineer.
In 1881, at age 25, he introduced time study to the Midvale plant. The profession of time study built on the success of this project, which also formed the basis for later theories ofTayloron administrative science. Essentially,Taylorsuggested that production efficiency in a workshop or factory could be greatly improved by closely observing the worker individually and eliminating time and movementslosingin your operation. Although the system ofTaylorit provoked resentment and opposition from the labor system when it was pushed to the extreme, its courage in rationalizing production was indisputable, and its impact on the development of mass production techniques was immense.
Studying at night,TaylorHe earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1883. The following year he became chief engineer at Midvale and completed the design and construction of a new machine shop.TaylorHe may have enjoyed a brilliant full-time career as an inventor (he had over 40 patents under his belt) but his interest in what was soon called scientific management led him to resign his position at Midvale and become CEO of Manufacturing Investment. Company (1890-1893), which in turn led him to develop a “new profession, that of a management consulting engineer“He worked for a long list of prominent firms that ended up with Bethlehem Steel Corporation, while at Bethlehem he developed high-speed steel and conducted notable experiments in the handling of shovels and pig iron.
TaylorHe retired at age 45, but continued to spend time and money promoting the principles of scientific management through lectures at universities and professional societies. From 1904 to 1914, with his wife and three adopted children,Taylorlived in Philadelphia. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers elected him president in 1906, the same year that the University of Pennsylvania awarded him an honorary doctorate of science. His influential publications include “Notes on Belting“(1894),”A Piece-Rate System“(1895),”Shop Management“(1903) and”On the Art of Cutting Metals”(1906).Scientific Management PrinciplesIt was published commercially in 1911.
The fame ofTaylorincreased after his testimony in 1912 at hearings before a special committee of the United States House of Representatives to investigate his own system and other store management systems. Considering himself a reformer, he continued to expound the ideals and principles of his management system until his death.
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