Although, the history of the word manage may be traced back to the Latin word manus meaning “hand,” the history of modern management begins with the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was the result of the development of the steam engine by James Watt in the eighteenth century in Great Britain. In 1830, shortly after the introduction of the engine in the United States, Colonel John Stevens, the father of American engineering, built the first 23-mile-long railroad. By 1850, the total railroad track increased to 9,000 miles extending as far west as Ohio. Another factor that played an instrumental role during the Industrial Revolution was the development of the telegraph by F. B. Morse. The first experimental telegraph line was built in 1844, and by 1860 there was a total of 50,000 miles of telegraph line in the United States.
Before 1835, there were only 36 firms in the United States that employed more than 250 workers. During the last decade of the nineteenth century, persons such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Cornelius Vanderbilt took advantage of railroads and telegraph lines to build big corporations employing thousands of people. In turn, this led to the need of a systematic approach to management.
Two engineers who may be called the fathers of modern management were Frederick W. Taylor (1856–1915) and Henri Fayol (1841–1925). Frederick W. Taylor was born in Philadelphia; although accepted into Harvard University, he served a 4-year apprenticeship as a machinist. In 1878, he joined Midvale Steel Company, and at the age of 28, in 1884, he became chief engineer. In 1906, Taylor became president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and his basic views concerning management were finding the most appropriate method for performing a job and assigning the right person for each job.
Henri Fayol graduated in 1860 from the National School of Mines at Saint-Etienne, France, and outlined 14 principles of management, including division of work, discipline, line of authority, initiative, order, and centralization. In 1916, he published a book entitled Administration Industrielle et Generale covering most of his thoughts on management. The book was translated into English twice: in 1930 by J. A. Coubrogh and in 1949 by C. Storrs.
In 1911, the first ever conference on the topic of scientific management was held, and during the period from 1912–1936 various professional societies concerned directly or indirectly with the promotion of management were formed. For example, in 1912, 1917, 1923, and 1936, the Society to Promote the Science of Management, the Society of Industrial Engineers, the American Management Association, and the Society for the Advancement of Management were established, respectively. By 1925, most engineering schools in the United States were offering some kinds of courses on management.
In 1924, a study on various aspects of human relations (e.g., investigating the effects of varying illumination, length of workday, and rest periods on productivity) was initiated by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences at the Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric in the state of Illinois. The findings of this study also played an important role in the development of the management field. Since those days, thousands of individuals have contributed to the management field. A vast number of publications in the form of books, conference proceedings, and journal articles have appeared, and thousands of university-level institutions award undergraduate and graduate degrees in various aspects of management around the world. Furthermore, the field of management has branched out into many specialized areas, and engineering and technology management is one of those areas.
Source: Dhillon, B.S., “Engineering and Technology Management Tools and Applications”, Artech House, U.S., 2002.
Before 1835, there were only 36 firms in the United States that employed more than 250 workers. During the last decade of the nineteenth century, persons such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Cornelius Vanderbilt took advantage of railroads and telegraph lines to build big corporations employing thousands of people. In turn, this led to the need of a systematic approach to management.
Two engineers who may be called the fathers of modern management were Frederick W. Taylor (1856–1915) and Henri Fayol (1841–1925). Frederick W. Taylor was born in Philadelphia; although accepted into Harvard University, he served a 4-year apprenticeship as a machinist. In 1878, he joined Midvale Steel Company, and at the age of 28, in 1884, he became chief engineer. In 1906, Taylor became president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and his basic views concerning management were finding the most appropriate method for performing a job and assigning the right person for each job.
Henri Fayol graduated in 1860 from the National School of Mines at Saint-Etienne, France, and outlined 14 principles of management, including division of work, discipline, line of authority, initiative, order, and centralization. In 1916, he published a book entitled Administration Industrielle et Generale covering most of his thoughts on management. The book was translated into English twice: in 1930 by J. A. Coubrogh and in 1949 by C. Storrs.
In 1911, the first ever conference on the topic of scientific management was held, and during the period from 1912–1936 various professional societies concerned directly or indirectly with the promotion of management were formed. For example, in 1912, 1917, 1923, and 1936, the Society to Promote the Science of Management, the Society of Industrial Engineers, the American Management Association, and the Society for the Advancement of Management were established, respectively. By 1925, most engineering schools in the United States were offering some kinds of courses on management.
In 1924, a study on various aspects of human relations (e.g., investigating the effects of varying illumination, length of workday, and rest periods on productivity) was initiated by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences at the Hawthorne Plant of Western Electric in the state of Illinois. The findings of this study also played an important role in the development of the management field. Since those days, thousands of individuals have contributed to the management field. A vast number of publications in the form of books, conference proceedings, and journal articles have appeared, and thousands of university-level institutions award undergraduate and graduate degrees in various aspects of management around the world. Furthermore, the field of management has branched out into many specialized areas, and engineering and technology management is one of those areas.
Source: Dhillon, B.S., “Engineering and Technology Management Tools and Applications”, Artech House, U.S., 2002.
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