Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) is regarded as the original time-and-motion man, the first efficiency expert, a man who in 1911 said, "In the future the System must be first". To organized labour, Taylor was a slavedriver, to the bosses he was an eccentric and a radical. To himself he was a misunderstood visionary, possessor of "the one best way" who under the banner of science would erase the antagonism between labour and management. He is also the man most responsible for the modern obsession with time and efficiency ...
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Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) is regarded as the original time-and-motion man, the first efficiency expert, a man who in 1911 said, "In the future the System must be first". To organized labour, Taylor was a slavedriver, to the bosses he was an eccentric and a radical. To himself he was a misunderstood visionary, possessor of "the one best way" who under the banner of science would erase the antagonism between labour and management. He is also the man most responsible for the modern obsession with time and efficiency. This biography is also a business book but rather than focusing on balance sheets and boardrooms it is about making things and the men who make them.
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Add this copy of The One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the to cart. $68.43, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2005 by MIT Press.
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New. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 706 p. Sloan Technology. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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This is a very well-written, engaging and comprehensively-researched biography of Taylor - and beyond a good introduction to scientific management in general and its universal legacy through the pervasive cult of efficiency which subliminally defines, to a large extent, our age. Something that Kanigel explains very well.
It has the great merit to be on the whole fairly balanced, leaving the reader ample space to make his/her own opinion on this important yet controversial figure. It also suggests several further reading avenues, including on education, Soviet economics, and management scholarship.
It is, however, regrettable that Kanigel does not deal more explicitly with the very serious and convincingly documented accusations made by the Taylor scholar Wrege (the other biographer of reference) regarding Taylor's outright falsifications and blatant lies and manipulations throughout his career - including use of personal connections and direct ownership of companies in order to secure the conduct of ethically and economically-flawed human experiments for self-publicity purposes.
Although Kanigel repeatedly touches on these disturbing aspects of Taylor's life and ideas - and insightfully highlights the myriad contradictions, prejudices, flaws and showman/tyrannical nature of Taylor, as well as the complete lack of real scientific basis of scientific management - this biography would have gained from some dialogue with Wrege's work. Wrege's contribution is acknowledged in the bibliographical section, with mention of certain differences of views but without explaining their exact nature. If Taylor's ideas have defined our modern times, but if these ideas have, as it seems, absolutely no valid empirical foundations, don't we have then a serious problem?
In combination with Wrege's 'Frederick W. Taylor, the Father of Scientific Management: Myth and Reality', Kanigel's work remains an excellent biography and good starting point for all those interested in and wish to revisit - or critically reassess - Taylor, scientific management, taylorism, and overall the efficiency principle on which personal power strategies and legitimising discourses are often built.
Is efficiency really efficient? In the light of Taylor's life, peculiar methods and unconvincing results, one might wonder if the efficiency principle should continue to be taken for granted.
Raphael V
Oct 4, 2012
Must read if interested in Taylor
Appears to be well researched. Uses direct quotes from Taylor and his colleagues. Somewhat opinionated in areas, but none of the opinions seem unsupported. Does not fully integrate what he reports - but the data is there for you to do so. Provides a great insight into aspects of Taylor not present elsewhere - as far I know. Also, a great insight into the machinations of the Gilded Age.
