This collection includes evaluations of and responses to the contributions made by Henry Ford and the ways in which his influence helped shape the understanding of management practices.
Henry Ford was an eccentric, and occasionally enlightened, thinker and remains a controversial figure today. He developed F.W. Taylor's ideas of scientific management (the subject of another four volume collection in this series), turning them into a whole 'system of production'. Ford's system was characterized by highly efficient, high volume and vertically integrated production, with high wages and low...

This husband and wife team, Frank Gilbreth (1868-1924) and Lilian Gilbreth (1878-1972), are the figures most closely identified with time and motion studies. Pushing F.W. Taylor's ideas to the limit, they sought ways to determine the one best way to do work. Their lasting influence is evident in the fact that the process charts and other techniques they devised remain essentially unchanged in modern systems analysis. Along with this, they were also interested in the human aspect of work, emphasising the need for training and worker involvement.

Alfred P. Sloan is credited with the invention of the modern corporation. At the helm of General Motors from 1923 to 1946, he had a profound influence on management thinking in America and much of the Western world through his unique, ahead-of-its-time, management style.
Sloan's leadership and the sheer success of General Motors led to an enormous amount of study and writings on his contribution to management theory and practice.
This set is part of the Critical Evaluations in Business and Management series. Future titles in the series will include:
George Elton...

George Elton Mayo (1880-1949) is widely recognized as the progenitor of the human relations movement in management and his work laid the foundations for later management and organizational thinking.
Mayo's work highlighted the importance of communication between management and workers and identified the now-accepted notion that work satisfaction, and therefore productivity, lies in recognition, security, and a sense of belonging, rather than monetary rewards. His findings were contrary to the theories of his contemporaries that the worker is motivated solely by self-interest (e.g....

W. Edwards Deming's name is synonymous with Total Quality Management. His ideas were at first enthusiastically adopted by Japanese businesses. Deming is recognized as putting Japan on the road to leadership in international business and industry and was awarded the Second Order of the Sacred Treasure by the Japanese Emperor.
It was not until the 1970s, however, that Deming started to make an impact in the West. Heads of leading businesses began to consult with him, and an NBC television documentary entitled 'If Japan Can, Why Can't We?' broadened his audience still further. Throughout the...

Following the volumes on Henri Fayol, this next mini-set in the series focuses on F.W. Taylor, the initiator of scientific management. Taylor set out to transform what had previously been a crude art form in to a firm body of knowledge. His working is synonymous with breaking down tasks into the smallest detail, diagnosing the abilities of workers and then fitting the two together to achieve greater efficiency. His methods have been associated with both massive increases in productivity and with an obsession with control.

Alfred D. Chandler (1918 2007) was the founder of modern business history. He was a critical early influence on strategic management and is famous for the dictum that structure follows strategy . This two-volume collection, a new title in the Routledge Major Works series, Critical Evaluations in Business and Management, gathers together the key journal articles and other vital research on Chandler to enable students and scholars to explore fully the impact of his ideas.

Together with an extensive annotated bibliography and a full index, the collection has a comprehensive...