Frederick Winslow Taylor, born on March 20, 1856, in Philadelphia, and passed away on March 21, 1915, is widely recognized as the father of Scientific Management. His contributions to industrial engineering and management theory have had a lasting impact on how work is organized and performed.
Taylor was born into a prosperous family. His father, Franklin Taylor, was a lawyer, and his mother, Emily Annette Taylor, was an ardent supporter of abolition. Taylor's health was fragile as a child, which led his family to send him to Phillips Exeter Academy in hopes that the New England climate would be more beneficial. However, he left Exeter without graduating and instead took an apprenticeship in Patternmaking and Machining at the Enterprise Hydraulic Works in Philadelphia.
After his apprenticeship, Taylor worked his way up in the machine-tool industry. He started as a common laborer at Midvale Steel in 1878, where he quickly advanced through the ranks, eventually becoming chief engineer. Here, he began to develop his theories on management and efficiency.
Taylor's approach to management, which he called Scientific Management, focused on:
His most famous studies were conducted at Bethlehem Steel, where he:
Taylor's most influential works include:
His principles were not only adopted in the U.S. but also influenced management practices in Europe and beyond. However, his methods were also met with resistance from labor unions, who saw them as dehumanizing and exploitative.
Taylor's health deteriorated, and he died soon after the publication of his seminal work. His ideas have continued to evolve and are still studied and applied in various forms today. The Taylor Society was established in his honor to promote scientific management.