This dissertation analyzes the causes, development, and consequences of scientific management in American and British industry between 1878 and 1920. It contextualizes Frederick Winslow Taylor’s wage incentive system in economic and social changes associated with the transition from proprietary capitalism to managerial capitalism during this period, especially the growth of high fixed-cost investments in plant and machinery. This study also reorients scholarly understanding of scientific management by expanding the analysis to include figures who were neither efficiency engineers nor managers. Therefore, it examines how and why Louis Brandeis popularized scientific management, and argues that in doing so, he turned scientific management into a movement which proponents thought could be applied to all realms of work, far removed from the manufacturing setting for which Taylor had designed it. This study also analyzes the congressional investigation into Taylor’s system by arguing that the opposition to scientific management of the investigation’s leader, William B. Wilson, must be understood in the context of the nature of work in coal mining and its technical differences from the metalworking industries. By examining Wilson’s tenure as secretary of the newly created Department of Labor, the dissertation also traces the role of coal miners in shaping the development of the American state. Additionally, the dissertation offers an analysis of scientific management at the Cadbury chocolate factory, which raises questions about the system’s transatlantic construction, the role of organizational knowledge in improving the production process, and debates over the nature of British industrial decline. / 2027-03-01T00:00:00Z

Bakgrund: Karin Holmblad Brunsson, forskare på Uppsala Universitet, har genom sin forskning tolkat Frederick W. Taylor och Henri Fayols forskning inom management med den slutsatsen att det finns ett gap mellan teori och praktik. Med utgångspunkt i denna forskning vill vi utreda detta gap genom att undersöka vilken kompetens som efterfrågas vid chefsrekrytering i Sverige. Syfte: Syftet med denna undersökning är att, med hjälp av headhunters, utreda huruvida det är Taylor eller Fayol’s principer som dominerar i företagsledningen. Metod: Med en deduktiv ansats och strukturerade intervjufrågor har datainsamling skett genom intervjuer med headhunters. Dessa data ligger till grund i den tolkning och analys som avser att besvara syftet.TEORI: Kompetens, Headhunting/Executive Search, Taylorism, Fayolism. Slutsatser: Denna studie är avsedd att utreda om management är ett generellt yrke som går att tillämpa oavsett organisation och bransch eller om det är ett yrke som kräver anpassning efter specifika organisationer och branscher. Svaret på denna fråga går ej att generalisera i stort baserat på denna studie, då det är väldigt beroende på chefsnivå, storlek på företag och bransch. Oberoende av företagets storlek dominerar Taylors principer på lägre chefspositioner medan Fayols principer dominerar på högre nivåer. Övergången varierar även mellan Taylor och Fayol beroende på företagets storlek, där övergången sker på högre nivå i små företag och på lägre nivå i stora företag. / Background: Karin Holmblad Brunsson, a scientist at Uppsala University, has through her research investigated differences between Frederick Winslow Taylor and Henri Fayols research regarding management. Her conclusion is that there is a gap between theory and practice in their views of management. With basis in this research we want to investigate this gap by looking into which competence that is asked for when headhunting managers. Purpose: Our purpose with this study is with help by interviewing headhunters to investigate whether there is the theories of Taylor or Fayol that dominates the management team. Methodology: Interviews with headhunters have been done to collect data with a deductive approach and structured surveys. This data is the foundation of our analysis whose purpose is to answer our question. Theory: Competence, Headhunting/Executive Search, Taylorism, Fayolism. Conclusion: The primary goal with this study is to investigate whether management is applicable in a general manner in every organization or if management requires special and for the organization specific knowledge. There is a quite complex answer to this question when it is depending on which type of organization, organization size, line of business and level of management. Taylors principles of scientific management is dominating the managerial work in lower levels of the hierarchy while Fayols general principles of management is dominating in higher levels of management. The changeover between Taylor and Fayol varies depending on the company size where the transition occurs in an earlier stage in big organizations while this happens later in smaller organizations.