The "Spirit of Time" in "Principles of Scientific Management" by Frederick Winslow Taylor. Ideology and science

Journal title STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI
Author/s Riccardo Giorgio Zuffo
Publishing Year 2013 Issue 2013/1 Language Italian
Pages 23 P. 9-31 File size 520 KB
DOI 10.3280/SO2013-001001
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

The aim of this study is to place historically the most relevant and famous contribute by Frederick W. Taylor, «Principles of Scientific Management», at a century since its publication in 1911. The understanding of the late positivist context of "Progressive Era" and the new processes of industrialization shape some topics related to the development of Work and Organizational Psychology and the nascent Science of Management. At the beginning there is a close, constructive and original relationship among the development of Scientific Management and, on the other hand, the nascent applied psychology and new sciences linked to work such as sociology, economy and engineering itself. It is reported how Taylor, like other American intellectuals of the time, felt the social duty to offer models and theories characterized by an ethic dimension oriented to collective utility and wellness. This two-level, scientific and ethic-politic, rising from the reading of «Principles of Scientific Management» is theorized and supported by Taylor himself. In his opinion the scientific order is in fact a combination of factors that can be summarized as a "relation between science and harmony; cooperation, not individualism. This drives to the maximum output, in place of restricted output and the development to each man to his greatest efficiency and prosperity". The model of "shop management" proposed by Taylor has well shown the broader conception of "wellness of nation", while his personal and professional excursus (Copley, 1923; Kanigel, 1997; Nelson, 1980) raised him as an icon of his time. However all this has influenced, in the years and decades following his death, the instrumental and ideological use of his thought that different social parts - employers, labor unions, parties, governments, institutions - did. However also the scientific question rising from his proposal has animated and separated the scholars during the XX century. Taylor, taylorism, Taylor’s cooperators, Ford, fordism have been often considerated joint, including an era of 30-40 years of the XX century, although the taylorian model is instead a heritage of the end of XIX century and the beginning of the following one. We think that is historiographically important and even worthwhile to propose again an analytic reflection about the "context" and the text that represents the most famous and the most politically relevant work in the history of management: this especially in the scientific and cultural actuality that often proposes decontextualized technicalities, without emphasizing the widest outcomes.

Keywords: F.W. Taylor, Principles of Scientific Management, Origin of Work Psychology, Psychotechnics, Management, Ideology and Psychology.

  1. Accornero, A. (1980), Il lavoro come ideologia, Bologna, il Mulino.
  2. Accornero, A. (1997), Era il secolo del lavoro, Bologna, il Mulino.
  3. Accornero, A. (2004), “Prefazione”, in Zuffo, R.G., Taylor. Le origini dello Scientific Management e della psicologia del lavoro, Milano, Raffaello Cortina.
  4. Amar, J. (1917), Organization physiologique du travail, Paris, H. Dunod & E. Pinat. Anfossi, A. (1968), “Principi impliciti nella teoria dello Scientific Management”, Quaderni di sociologia, XVII, 1-2.
  5. Angelici, A. (1928), Il sistema Taylor e l’organizzazione razionale del lavoro, Roma, Stabilimento tipografico centrale.
  6. Bauer, J. (1922), Orientamento professionale e Taylorismo, Atti della III Conferenza Internazionale di psicotecnica applicata all’orientamento professionale, Milano, Società Umanitaria.
  7. Bonazzi, G. (1972), “Il taylorismo tra strumento del capitale ed utopia tecnocratica”, Economia & Lavoro, 1-2.
  8. Boring, E.G. (1929), A History of the Experimental Psychology, New York, Century.
  9. Braverman, H. (1974), Labor and monopoly capital: the degradation of work in the twentieth century, New York, Monthly Review Press.
  10. Butera, F. (1972), I frantumi ricomposti: struttura ed ideologia nel declino del taylorismo in America, Venezia, Marsilio.
  11. Chandler, A.D., Jr. (1977), The Visible Hand. The Managerial Revolution in American Business, Cambridge, Harvard University Press.
  12. Chandler, A.D., Jr. (1990), Scale and Scope: The Dynamics of Industrial Capitalism, Cambridge, Belknap Press.
  13. Copley, F.B. (1923), Frederick W. Taylor, Father of Scientific Management (2nd Volume), New York, Harper.
  14. Claparède, E. (1931), L’éducation fonctionnelle, Neuchâtel et Paris, Delachaux & Niestlé (trad. it. L’educazione funzionale, Firenze, Giunti, 1978).
  15. Crozier, M., Friedberg, E. (1977), L’acteur et le système, Paris, Seuil.
  16. De Masi, D. (1992), a cura di, Processo a Taylor, Milano, Edizioni Olivares.
  17. Derickson, A. (1994), “Physiological science and scientific management in the Progressive Era: Frederic S. Lee and the Committee on Industrial Fatigue”, The Business History Review, 68, 483–514. DOI: 10.2307/3117196
  18. Emerson, H. (1912), The twelve principles of efficiency, New York, The Engineering Magazine.
  19. Ferrari, L. (2010), L’ascesa dell’individualismo economico, Milano, Vicolo del pavone.
  20. Ford, H. (1922), My life and work, Garden City, Garden City Publishing Company.
  21. Forgeaud, A. (1929), La Rationalization: Etats Unis et Allemagne, Paris, Payot.
  22. Friedmann, G. (1946), Problèmes humains du machinisme industriel, Paris, Gallimard.
  23. Gantt, H.L. (1910), Work, wages, and profits: their influence on the cost of living, New York, The Engineering Magazine.
  24. Geymonat, L. (1971), “Linee generali di sviluppo della scienze matematiche e fisico-chimiche nella seconda metà dell’Ottocento”, in Geymonat, L., Storia del pensiero filosofico e scientifico, Dall’Ottocento al Novecento, Vol. V, Cap. IV, Milano, Garzanti.
  25. Gemelli, A. (1917), Il nostro soldato. Saggi di psicologia militare, Milano, Treves.
  26. Gemelli, A. (1945), L’operaio nell’industria moderna, Milano, Vita e Pensiero.
  27. Giannini, F. (1915), “Sul sistema Taylor”, in trad. it. Taylor, F.W., L’organizzazione scientifica del lavoro, Roma, Atheneum.
  28. Gilbreth, F.B. (1911), Motion Study, New York, Van Nostrand.
  29. Gilbreth, F.B., Gilbreth, L.M. (1917), Applied motion study, New York, Sturgis and Walton.
  30. Gilbreth, F.B., Gilbreth, L.M. (1919), Fatigue Study, New York, Sturgis and Walton.
  31. Gilbreth, L.M. (1914), The Psychology of Management: the Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching and Installing Methods of Least Waste, New York, Greenwood Press. Gould, L.L. (2000), America in the Progressive Era, 1890 – 1914, Harlow, Pearson Education.
  32. Gramsci, A. (1929), “Americanismo e fordismo”, in Gramsci, A., Note sul Machiavelli, sulla politica e sullo stato moderno. Quaderni dal carcere, Roma, Editori riuniti.
  33. Hoxie, R.F. (1915), Scientific Management and Labor, New York, Appleton & Co.
  34. Kaneklin, C. (2004), “Introduzione. Tra Passato e Presente”, in Zuffo, R.G., Taylor. Le origini dello Scientific Management e della psicologia del lavoro, Milano, Raffaello Cortina.
  35. Kanigel, R. (1997), The One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the Enigma of Efficiency, New York, Viking.
  36. Lahy, J.M. (1921), Le système Taylor et la psychologie du travail professionnel, Paris, Masson.
  37. Lang, F. (1926), Metropolis.
  38. Le Chatelier, H. (1914), Le Système Taylor, Paris, Société pour l’encouragement de l’industrie nationale (trad. it. La filosofia del sistema Taylor e altri scritti, Roma, Enios, 1929).
  39. Lenin, V.I. (1918), “I compiti immediati del potere sovietico”, in Lenin, V.I., Opere scelte, Roma, Editori Riuniti, 1970.
  40. Lombardo, G.P., Pompili, A., Mammarella, V. (2002), Psicologia del lavoro in Italia, Milano, FrancoAngeli.
  41. Mayers, C.S. (1920), Mind and work: the psychological factors in industry and commerce, London, University of London Press.
  42. Mayers, C.S. (1922), The Efficiency Engineer and the Industrial Psychologist, Atti della III Conferenza Internazionale di psicotecnica applicata all’orientamento professionale, Milano, Società Umanitaria.
  43. Mayo, E. (1933), The Human Problems of an Industrial Civilization, New York, Macmillan.
  44. Morgan, G. (1986), Images of organization, Newbury Park, CA, Sage (trad. it. Images: le metafore dell’organizzazione, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 1997).
  45. Mosso, A. (1890), La Fatica, Milano, Treves.
  46. Münsterberg, H. (1899), Psychology and life, Boston, Hoghton-Mifflin.
  47. Münsterberg, H. (1913), Psychology and industrial efficiency, London, Constable & Co Limited.
  48. Nacci, M. (2000), Pensare la tecnica. Un secolo di incomprensioni, Bari, Laterza.
  49. Nelson, D. (1975), Managers & Workers. Origin of the new factory system in the U.S. 1880-1920. Madison, University of Wisconsin Press.
  50. Nelson, D. (1980), Frederick W. Taylor and the Rise of Scientific Management. Madison, University of Wisconsin Press.
  51. Noble, D.F. (1977), America by Design: Science, Technology and the Rise of Corporate Capitalism, Oxford, Oxford University Press (trad. it. Progettare l’America: la scienza, la tecnologia e la nascita del capitalismo americano, Torino, Einaudi, 1987).
  52. Ortoleva, P. (1980), “Introduzione e postfazione”, in Ford, H. (1922), La mia vita e la mia opera, Milano, La Salamandra.
  53. Roethlisberger, F.J., Dickson, W.J. (1939), Management and the worker, Cambridge, Harvard University Press.
  54. Rossi, P. (1995), Naufragi senza spettatori. L’idea di progresso, Bologna, il Mulino.
  55. Sasso, G. (1984), Tramonto di un mito, Bologna, il Mulino. Simon, H.A. (1956), “Scelte razionali e struttura dell’ambiente”, in Simon, H.A., Casualità, razionalità, organizzazione, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1985.
  56. Simon, H.A. (1957), Models of man: social and rational, New York, Wiley.
  57. Smith, A. (1776-78). An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, London, Strahan & Cadell (trad. it., Indagine sulla natura e le cause della ricchezza delle nazioni, Torino, Utet, 1945).
  58. Sombart, W. (1913), Der Bourgeois, München und Leipzig, Duncker & Humblot (trad. it. Il borghese. Lo sviluppo e le fonti dello spirito capitalistico, Milano, Longanesi, 1978).
  59. Spaltro, E. (1967), La psicologia del lavoro, Milano, Etas Compass.
  60. Spengler, O. (1918), Der Untergang des Abenlandes: Umrisse einer Morphologie der Weltgeschichte, Gestalt und Wirklichkeit, Welthistorische Perspektives (trad. it. Il tramonto dell’Occidente, Milano, Longanesi, 1957).
  61. Stella, S., Quaglino, G.P. (1976), Prospettive di psicosociologia dell’organizzazione, Milano, FrancoAngeli.
  62. Taylor, F.W. (1895), A piece Rate System, ASME Transactions, Vol. 16, 856-903.
  63. Taylor, F.W. (1903), Shop Management, New York, Harper & Row (trad. it. La direzione di stabilimento, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 1974).
  64. Taylor, F.W. (1906), On the art of cutting metals, ASME Transactions, Vol. 28, 3-350.
  65. Taylor, F.W. (1911), The Principles of Scientific Management, New York and London, Harper & brothers.
  66. Taylor, F.W. (1912). “Deposizione di Taylor davanti alla Commissione speciale della Camera dei Deputati”, in De Masi, D. (ed.), Processo a Taylor, Milano, Edizioni Olivares.
  67. Veblen, T. (1904), Theory of Business enterprise, New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons (trad. it. La teoria dell’impresa, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 1970).
  68. Whitston, K. (1997), “The Reception of Scientific Management by British Engineers, 1890-1914”, The Business History Review, 71(2), 207-229.
  69. Wrege, C.D., Greenwood, R.G. (1991), Frederick W. Taylor. The Father of Scientific Management: Myth and Reality, Homewood, Business One Irwin.
  70. Wrege, C.D., Hodgetts, R.M. (2000), “Frederick W. Taylor’s 1899 pig-iron observations: examining fact, fiction, and lessons for the new millennium”, Academy of Management Journal, 43(6), 1283-1291.
  71. Wrege, C.D., Perroni, A.G. (1974), “Taylor’s Pig-Tale: A Historical Analysis of Frederick W. Taylor’s Pig-Iron Experiments”, Academy of Management Journal, 17(1), 6-27.
  72. Wrege, C.D., Stotka, A.M. (1978), “Cooke Creates a Classic: The Story Behind F. W. Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management”, Academy of Management Review, 3(4), 736-749.
  73. Zuffo, R.G. (2002), “Le origini della selezione professionale”, in Zuffo, R.G., Il processo di selezione. Un lungo percorso nella storia della psicologia del lavoro. Milano, Il tavolo di Piero, Quaderno Telema, 2.
  74. Zuffo, R.G. (2004), Taylor. Le origini dello Scientific Management e della psicologia del lavoro, Milano, Raffaello Cortina.
  75. Zuffo, R.G., Kaneklin, C. (2009), Agostino Gemelli “positivista”? Le influenze dell’epoca del progresso nella concezione della scienza applicata al lavoro e all’industria, in Storia dell’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Vol. VI, 262-302, Milano, Vita e Pensiero.
  76. Zuffo, R.G. (2012), “Taylor is dead, Hurray Taylor! The “human factor” in Scientific Management: between ethics, scientific psychology and common sense”, Journal of business and management, 17(1), 23-41.

Riccardo Giorgio Zuffo, Lo "Spirito del tempo" del volume "Principles of Scientific Management" di Frederick Winslow Taylor. Ideologia e scienza in "STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI " 1/2013, pp 9-31, DOI: 10.3280/SO2013-001001