article thumbnail

Management’s Three Eras: A Brief History

Harvard Business Review

By the early 1900’s, the term “management” was in wide use, and Adam Smith’s ideas came into their own. Others – such as Frederick Winslow Taylor, Frank and Lillian Galbreth, Herbert R. Gantt – developed theories that emphasized efficiency, lack of variation, consistency of production, and predictability. Townes, and Henry L.