-
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie created "the first low-cost Bessemer steelmaking plant in the United States." He decided to perform all the steps in making iron ore into steel in one continuous process within his plant, instead of only doing one of the steps and having other companies do other steps. This severely reduced the cost of making steel, revolutionizing the U.S. steel industry (Jones & George, 2014). -
The Pullman Strike
In Chicago, 250,000 strikers refused to work from May 11 to mid-July. These strikers included factory workers who were sick of 12hr work days and wage cuts, along with members of the American Railway Union (ARU). With ARU members striking, trains were not being worked on or being run by anyone. Train traffic to the west of Chicago came a halt. This event caused many areas around the U.S. to support and sympathize with prounion sentiments (Sauter, Stockdale, & McIntyre, 2011). -
Frederick W. Taylor
Taylor is the man behind the techqniques of scientific management. He "believed that if the amount of time and effort that each worker expends to produce a unit of output can be reduced by increasing specialization and the division of labor, the production process will become more efficient." He created four principles that he used to increase efficiency in the workplace, and went on to teach other managers how to apply his techniques and principles (Jones & George, 2014). -
Mary Parker Follett
Mary believed strongly in the study of behavorial management. She lead the way to self-managed teams and empowerment among employees in an organization. She also believed that employees from different departments should work together on projects (Jones & George, 2014). -
The Gilberths
Frank and Lillian Gilberth contributed much to the time-and-motion studies. They used film to record employees while working to, frame by frame, figure out the most efficient means of movement to increase productivity and save organizations money. They helped create an opening for new advances in management theory (Jones & George, 2014). -
Max Weber
Max Weber developed the principles of bureaucracy, which was influenced by Taylor's principles of scientific management. He advocated that employees should be treated equally, and not given certain rights because of who they may know, but by how they work. Managers were to lead with rules, standard operating procedures, and norms. An employees position should be clearly defined so they know their duties and can be held accountable (Jones & George, 2014). -
Conveyer Belt Assembly Lines
Ford had a dream to create a car for the masses. In response, he installed moving conveyer belt assembly lines. This reduced the time it took to make a car from more than 12 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes. Ford used job specialization with his employees and trained them to focus on only one aspect of the car to help reduce building time. These things greatly reduced the cost to build the Model T, allowing Ford to market to the masses (History, n.d.). -
Fordism
With the conveyer belt assembly lines and job specialization, Ford was experiencing extremely high turnover rates due to the monotony of the job. So Ford did something completely unexpected: he reduced employees' working hours from 9 to 8 hours a day, and doubled the wage they made from $2.50 to $5.00 per day. Employee's tend to want to stay at a job longer if they are getting paid more to do so. Ford's new idea for helping to keep turnover low was termed Fordism (Jones & George, 2014). -
Fayol's Principles of Management
Henri Fayol began to decide which were the most important principles of management, and came up with a list of 14 principles. He believes these to be the most important to increase efficiency in the management process, by describing how managers should organize and interact with their staff. These principles build the very foundation upon which modern management theory is based on (Jones & George, 2014). -
Supermarkets
Michael Cullen opened the first King Kullen store in 1930. This store focused on selling large quantities, "with this one store projected to do the volume of up to one hundred conventional chain stores." This approach allowed prices to be lowered, which drove sales higher. The super market idea became a hit, and today you can find super markets pretty much every city (Groceteria, n.d.). -
Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932
After the Great Depression, many citizens in the United States were unemployed. Those who were pushed harder than ever for the right to unionize. The Norris-LaGuardia Act helped unions by banning yellow-dog contracts, which "pledges workers not to join a labor union". It also helped by further restricting "the use of court injunctions in labor disputes against strikes, picketing, and boycotts" . (Society for Human Resource Management, 2008). -
The Hawthorne Effect
An electric company was testing whether brighter lighting would increase productivity from workers. Instead, they discovered that employees' productivity could be influenced by the behavior of their management. This led the way to the human relations movement (Jones & George, 2014). -
Wagner Act
Senator Wagner proposed the National Labor Relations Act to the senate to create the National Labor Relations Board. This board would enforce employee rights, instead of simply dealing with all the disputes. "It gave employees the right... to form and join unions, and it obligated employers to bargain collectively with unions selected by a majority of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit" (National Labor Relations Board, n.d.). -
The HP Way
HP was created by William Hewlett and David Packard. The HP way is one that emphasizes that each employee deserves to be treated with consideration and respect. They avoided laying off workers by cutting pay and work hours. They wanted their employees to be innovative and encouraged them to communicate among one another. They also allowed employees to work on their own projects part of the time. This led to employee loyalty (Jones & George, 2014). -
The National Council of Physical Distribution Management (NCPDM)
The NCPDM "was the first time that physical distribution practioners could assemble in a formal way to discuss strategies and tactics related to their profession." It changed names and focus a few times, eventually ending up as the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) in 2005. This group is still the leader in "... education, research, and practices in the areas of logistics and supply chain management" (Stock, 2013). -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was created to protect minorities from discrimination. It states that it is unlawful for an employer to "fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions or privileges or employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin" (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). -
Occupational Safety and Healh Act of 1970 (OSHA)
OSHA was signed into law by President Nixon. The purpose of OSHA is to "assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions". It is meant to reduce the number of employee illnesses, injuries, and deaths caused while working (AllGov, n.d.). -
Personal Computers
The first personal computer was nothing like the ones we know today. They came as kits, and had to be put together by the purchaser. They could originally only play games or be used as a replacement for the electric typewriter. This did not stop brilliant minds from creating ways of utilizing the PC's potential, and they are now an integral part to every business. They help with organization, cost savings, speed, research and development, sales, and more (Jansen, 2014). -
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) is an amendment to the sex discrimination section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.This amendment states that employers cannot discriminate against women due to being pregnant, becoming pregnant, or after having their child. Even with this act, 50 years later, there is still discrimination in the workforce against pregnant women (American Association of University Women, n.d.). -
VisiCalc
Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston created the first electronic spreadsheet, with the program VisiCalc. While computers had been around for a little bit, they were not truly useful to businesses and organizations until the production of VisiCalc, allowing computers to become powerful business tools instead of just toys for gaming (Hormby, 2006).
