The Psychology of Management
Encyclopedia
The Psychology of Management: The Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching, and Installing Methods of Least Waste is a book written by Lillian Gilbreth which investigates the psychological aspects of scientific management
, incorporating concepts of human relations and worker individuality into management principles. Published in 1914, it is a major early work in the field of industrial psychology and scientific management
.
In this book, Gilbreth defines "the psychology of management" as "the effect of the mind that is directing work upon that work which is directed, and the effect of this undirected and directed work upon the mind of the worker." She expresses the view that scientific management is "built on the principle of recognition of the individual, not only as an economic unit but as a personality", stressing the importance of including the "human element" in management, which was lacking in the prevailing form of Taylorism at the time. It was also the first time that basic elements of management theory were brought together, including "(1) knowledge of individual behavior, (2) the theory of groups, (3) the theory of communication, and (4) a rational basis for decision making".
This book was originally Gilbreth's unpublished dissertation for a doctorate from the University of California
; however, since the university refused to grant her the degree due to her noncompliance with residency requirements, she instead opted to publish it. It was originally serialized during 1912-1913 in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Digest, before it was published in book form in 1914.
Scientific management
Scientific management, also called Taylorism, was a theory of management that analyzed and synthesized workflows. Its main objective was improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineering of processes and to management...
, incorporating concepts of human relations and worker individuality into management principles. Published in 1914, it is a major early work in the field of industrial psychology and scientific management
Scientific management
Scientific management, also called Taylorism, was a theory of management that analyzed and synthesized workflows. Its main objective was improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineering of processes and to management...
.
In this book, Gilbreth defines "the psychology of management" as "the effect of the mind that is directing work upon that work which is directed, and the effect of this undirected and directed work upon the mind of the worker." She expresses the view that scientific management is "built on the principle of recognition of the individual, not only as an economic unit but as a personality", stressing the importance of including the "human element" in management, which was lacking in the prevailing form of Taylorism at the time. It was also the first time that basic elements of management theory were brought together, including "(1) knowledge of individual behavior, (2) the theory of groups, (3) the theory of communication, and (4) a rational basis for decision making".
This book was originally Gilbreth's unpublished dissertation for a doctorate from the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
; however, since the university refused to grant her the degree due to her noncompliance with residency requirements, she instead opted to publish it. It was originally serialized during 1912-1913 in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Digest, before it was published in book form in 1914.
External links
Online editions- The Psychology of Management at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
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