Philadelphia-born Frederick Winslow Taylor, the well-educated son of a lawyer, became a machinist whose factory-floor observations prompted him to decry workers who "soldiered"—the slackers of his day. His Principles of Scientific Management, published in 1911, offered solutions for improving industrial efficiency, from piecework incentives to time cards and worksheets. In the U.S., managers took heed, while workers were suspicious. In Soviet Russia, leaders eager to industrialize a mostly agrarian society in the 1920s and 1930s embraced Taylor's notion that "the system must be first." American engineers influenced by both Taylor and Henry Ford advised on the construction of giant complexes such as Magnitogorsk, the steelmaking center in the Ural Mountains.

Related Links
Brief bio of Frederick Taylor

"The Man Who Changed Work Forever"

Documents for the History of Economics: Excerpts from "The Principles of Scientific Management" by Frederick Winslow Taylor

BOOK EXCERPT: "The One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the Enigma of Efficiency" by Robert Kanigel