Although management principles have been implemented since ancient times,
most management scholars trace the beginning of modern management thought back to
the early 1900s, beginning with the pioneering work of Frederick Taylor (1856-1915)
Taylor was the first person to study work scientifically. He is most famous for introducing
(5)techniques of time and motion study, differential piece rate systems, and for systematically
specializing the work of operating employees and managers. Along with other pioneers
such as Frank and Lillian Gilbreth, Taylor set the stage, labeling his philosophy and
methods “scientific management’. At that time, his philosophy, which was concerned with
productivity, but which was often misinterpreted as promoting worker interests at the
(10)expense of management, was in marked contrast to the prevailing industrial norms of
worker exploitation.

The time and motion study concepts were popularized by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth.
The Gilbreths had 12 children. By analyzing his children’s dishwashing and bedmaking
chores, this pioneer efficiency expert, Frank Gilbreth, hit on principles whereby workers
(15)could eliminate waste motion. He was memorialized by two of his children in their 1949
book called “Cheaper by the Dozen”.

The Gilbreth methods included using stop watches to time worker movements and
special tools (cameras and special clocks) to monitor and study worker performance, and
also involved identification of “therbligs” (Gilbreth spelled backwards) – basic motions
(20)used in production jobs. Many of these motions and accompanying times have been used
to determine how long it should take a skilled worker to perform a given job. In this way an
industrial engineer can get a handle on the approximate time it should take to produce a
product or provide a service. However, use of work analysis in this way is unlikely to lead
to useful results unless all five work dimensions are considered: physical, psychological,
social, cultural, and power.