On the basis of these and other ideas, Frank was able to reduce the motions involved in
bricklaying from 18 ½ to 4. Using his approach, workers increased the number of bricks
laid per day from 1000 to 2700 with no increase in physical exertion.
Frank married Lillian Moller, who began working with him on projects while she completed
her doctorate in psychology. The two continued their studies aimed at eliminating
unnecessary motions and expanded their interests to exploring ways of reducing task
fatigue. Part of their work involved the isolation of 17 basic motions, each called a
therblig ("Gilbreth" spelled backward, with the "t" and "h" reversed). Therbligs included
such motions as select, position, and hold - motions that were used to study tasks in a
number of industries. The Gilbreths used the therblig concept to study tasks in a number
of industries. The Gilbreths used the therblig concept to study jobs and also pioneered
the use of motion picture technology in studying jobs.
Lillian's doctoral thesis was published as a book, The Psychology of Management, making
it one of the early works applying the findings of psychology to the workplace. At the
insistence of the publisher, the author was lilted as L.M. Gilbreth to disguise the fact that
the book was written by a woman.
Lillian helped define scientific management by arguing that scientific studies of
management must focus on both analysis and synthesis. With analysis, a task is broken
down into its essential parts or elements. With synthesis, the task is reconstituted to
include only those elements necessary for efficient work. She also had a particular
interest in the human implications of scientific management, arguing that the purpose of
scientific management is to help people reach their maximum potential by developing
their skills and abilities. Lillian Gilbreth ranks as the first woman to gain prominence as a
major contributor to the development of management as a science.
Henry L Gantt (1861-1919):
One of Taylor's closest associates, Henry Gantt latter
become an independent consultant and made several contributions of his own. The most
well-known is the Gantt Chart, a graphic aid to planning, scheduling and control that is
still in use today. He also devised a unique pay incentive system that not only paid
workers extra for reaching standard in the allotted time but also awarded bonuses to
supervisors when workers reached standard. He wanted to encourage supervisors to
coach workers who were having difficulties.
176
Principles of Management and
Organisational Behaviour
The scientific managers like Taylor, Frank and Lillian Gilberth and Henry Gantt were not
the first or only group that recognized the importance of the operating functions. A
hundred years earlier, Adam Smith had carefully pointed out the advantages of division
of labour and in 1832, Charles Babbage, a British mathematician with some astounding
managerial insights, discussed transference of skill in his book Economy of Machinery
and Manufacture.
