Taylor y Gantt Los Pioneros De La Administracion Cientifica

2007 AACE International Transactions

PS.15 Henry L. Gantt and Frederick Taylor: The Pioneers of Scientific Management
Peter B. Darmody, PSP
Modern methods of managing people and what is now called project controls emerged during the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries by, unarguably, the work of two pioneering men and their followers: Frederick W. Taylor and Henry L. Gantt. Bothmen were mechanical engineers who studied theory but both believed in actual experience as well as data to develop the concept of what became known as “scientific management.” Studying work and tasks to determine the “best way” was a novel concept in US business and industry during the late 19th century. Taylor and Gantt discovered that the old way of doing things didn’t always apply. This periodwas an era of rapid economic advancement and industrial expansion in the US in conjunction with advances in science and progressive thought. The US was rapidly becoming a world military superpower during this period which required advanced industrial and management techniques. Taylor’s and Gantt’s contributions were considered controversial and even radical but their work influences us even tothis day. They truly laid the foundations for our methods of planning and execution of work. Up until Taylor’s time, industrial processes and the management of them were influenced by the US ideals of freedom and democracy as espoused by Thomas Jefferson. In Jefferson’s world, the US was a democratic land of a small federal government. Businesses were small and independent: the land of the yeomanfarmer or craftsman toiling away at his workshop bench. The great late 19th century economic growth, especially in heavy industries such as railroads and steel and the US federal government – the US Army and Navy, quickly left Jefferson’s idealized America behind. American business and industry’s expansion, fueled even further by the Civil and Spanish American Wars, required a different economicmodel. Taylor and his associates, especially Gantt, quickly met this need for a new way of doing things. Their ideas were translated and adopted by businesses and governments in many countries, even in the emerging Soviet Union after the First World War. Taylor was most famous for introducing the concept of studying and planning work to seek ways to do it faster and cheaper. He believed that the oldway and durations of tasks were not necessarily the best way. He was accused of being arrogant and inhumane. I believe that most of these allegations are exaggerations fabricated mostly by his competitors or detractors.

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Taylor’s followers, in particular Gantt, “softened” some of Taylor’s initial or misunderstood ideas and unnecessary harshness. Gantt’s association with Taylor lasted 30years. Taylor believed that, in order to follow his “system,” a new mindset was required - what is now called a “new paradigm.” He was the earliest advocate of “work smarter, not harder.” His methods accomplished this by the study of tasks and finding the most efficient, less wasteful methods by using “good” data. Gantt furthered these ideas by inventing the bar chart and developing the concept ofincentive pay. Gantt’s bar chart schedules and the advanced schedule forms are some of the most essential tools in project management. His Gantt charts were first used in armament production for the US Army. Taylor and Gantt also studied ways of making and improving the production of steel for guns and ships for the US Navy. In spite of criticisms of their methods, I believe Taylor and Gantt can beconsidered successful in changing the way the US conducts business. Their influence can be felt in the heavy and construction industries, as well as human resources and accounting methods. In summation, the Taylor System and its disciples created a new way of looking at work and management. In essence, this was an early form of “thinking outside the box.” Taylor discovered that “one can’t manage...