Frederick Winslow Taylor: The Father of Scientific Management :: Frederick Taylor Management Labor Essays

Frederick Winslow Taylor: The â€Å"Father of Scientific Management† Introduction This paper is in response to the assignment for a paper and short speech concerning a person with relevant contributions to the world of management. Frederick Taylor is affectionately referred to as the â€Å"Father of Scientific Management.† The modern systems of manufacturing and management would not be the examples of efficiency that they are today, without the work of Taylor. Frederick Taylor was instrumental in bringing industry out of the dark ages by beginning to revolutionize the way work was approached. Taylor was able to increase wages, productivity and reduce per piece costs at the same time. Taylor's work was eventually adopted in a wide array of applications. Taylor's ideas had a significant influence on the industrial life of all modernized countries. Even Lenin went as far as to publish an article in Pravda , â€Å"Raising the Productivity of Labour,† based on the writings of Taylor. Thus Taylor changed the way the world conducted business. Taylor's work was an extension of technology. It was a marriage of human work and technology. His Priniciples of Scientifiic Management was conceived to be free of value judgement. The Younger Years   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Frederick W. Taylor was born into a well-to-do family in Philadelphia in 1856 . His family was not wealthy , but they were well exposed to the high culture of the local society. Growing up it was expected that Taylor would study to become an attorney. Taylor attended Phillips-Exeter Academy. He was a devout student, doing very well with his studies. To achieve good grades, Taylor studied many long hours. It was quite unfortunate that Taylor was to miss Harvard Law School due to bad eyes that doctors attrributed to studying in the poor light of a kerosene lamp. In later years it was realized that his eye problem was actually caused by stress, as it improved after he left Phillips. Taylor moved back home after graduating from Phillips. He realized that he should take up a trade and got a job as an apprentice machinist and pattern maker. Having spent four years learning his trade, Taylor got a job as a yard laborer at Midvale Steel Company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Taylor realized that at this point he needed to continue his education. He convinced the people at Stevens Institute of Technology to allow him to attend classes long distance. He would study in his spare time in Philadelphia and go to the school in New Jersey to take his exams. In June of 1883, Taylor graduated with a Mechanical Engineering degree. He subsequently joined the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).