Frederick Winslow Taylor and His Lasting Legacy of Functional Leadership Competence

Abstract

In the century since his death a great deal of speculation surrounds just how much Taylor has meant to business and industry functional and leadership practices in the United States and the world. It is generally acknowledged that Taylor not only greatly influenced how work was done in the 20th century but also had a direct impact on contemporary management practices and management education. This paper is an attempt to chronicle the life and work of a most extraordinary man who changed the way production, work processes and leadership practices are formulated and put into practice.