Frederick W. Taylors

FREDERICK W. TAYLOR'S 1899 PIG IRON OBSERVATIONS: EXAMINING EACT, EICTION, AND LESSONS EOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM
CHARLES D. WREGE Cornell University RICHARD M. HODGETTS Florida InternationalUniversity Taylor's pig iron observations at Bethlehem Iron in 1899 are often cited as an example of how scientific management helped increase industrial efficiency. The current research, relyingalmost exclusively on primary sources, reveals that Taylor's famous pig iron anecdote was erroneous. Additionally, this article offers lessons and guidelines for managers in the new millennium.Although Frederick W. Taylor's impact on management cannot be denied, whether his work always represented the use of science to solve management problems is questionable. George has said thatTaylor believed "to maximize output with a given level of effort . . . the scientific method had to be applied to worker selection, job determination, creation ofa proper environment, and soon, to determine properly the task for each man" [1972: 93). This concept of a scientific, research-based approach in management practice was not new (Hoagland, 1955). For example, in Poland inthe late 1890s Karol Adamiecki was developing work flow network diagrams to solve production problems in local factories [Marsh, 1975). However, Taylor did impress his audiences by describingthe apparent use of scientific methods to reduce costs and to create prosperity for the workforce. More importantly, his claims were readily accepted by practitioners and scholars until almost 75years later, when they were challenged by Wrege and Perroni [1974). These authors focused on how Taylor's account of his study of pig iron loading at the Bethlehem Iron Company continuallychanged in the years from 1901 to 1911. However, they did not attempt to study the details of pig iron loading or whether the company or the workers actually prospered from the piece rate system