Mythology remains: one more tale behind The Principles of Scientific Management

摘要

F.W. Taylor had a vision for his Principles of Scientific Management (PSM) to be read by experts of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers ahead of general public. Taylor printed his work privately and raced to distribute it to experts prior to popular release. It has been a standard notion in management history to date that Taylor won that race. Previously unpublished materials in the guise of archival sources, including the Library of Congress'catalogs of copyright entries and the U.S. Copyright Office's applications of copyright registration reveal a different history: Taylor's victory was a myth that never materialized. Against Taylor's wishes and contrary to what historians accepted as accurate - non-experts read and judged Taylor's treatise first - the situation that Taylor tenaciously raced to avoid and conclusively failed to. What new evidence tells about the publication of PSM deviates from what is currently known about this important chapter of management history, but it also reveals more than just the chronology of publication. Though he tried hard to control the release of his PSM in order to influence the way it was received, Taylor failed in this task. The result was change in order in which PSM was published, possibly leading to its mixed reception. New information about the timing of the publication of PSM helps to inform a broader view of the contemporary reception of Taylor's system and why his science of management proved to be so controversial.