A new book excerpt details the rise of scientific management in the late nineteenth century.
Frederick Winslow Taylor began his career at Midvale Steel Company in the 1880s. He clashed with workers over productivity rates after becoming a gang boss. Taylor later applied time studies at Bethlehem Steel Company in 1899, focusing on pig iron loaders including Henry Noll. In 1914 he testified before the Commission on Industrial Relations, defending his methods against criticism from labor representatives like John F. Tobin. The excerpt comes from Control Science by Henry Snow, published by Verso Books.