ABSTRACT

Surrounded by a spacious garden and hidden from the public by luscious green walls of shrubs and trees, 8410 St. Martins Lane is a large Georgian mansion in the wealthy part of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born in 1856 into a well-to-do Philadelphia Quaker family, Frederick Winslow Taylor's parents enrolled him in the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy as a preparation for Harvard Law School. At the time, workers were less subject to the power of management than to the power wielded by foremen, who operated largely independently from their superiors. Managers were glad to leave matters in the hands of their foremen, who hired, fired and disciplined the rough, tough and uncivilized workers at their own discretion. The remedy that Taylor ultimately developed during his 30-year period of working for and with various companies was scientific management. Taylor was eager to spread his ideas.