Frederick Winslow Taylor was his name. A child of the Edwardian Age. He was a key voice of the Efficiency Movement and the founder of Scientific Management. Arguably, he was one of the most important men of the industrial age.
His theory of management became known as Taylorism.
At the core of this theory was the precise analysis of workflows to improve efficiency by increasing labor productivity.
Tasks that could be broken down, put into a sequential order, and precisely timed. An approach that laid the foundation for Henry Ford's production lines. Production lines that become the model for production throughout the industrial economy, production that was managed through Control Planning.
This mechanistic approach was then applied to an education system created to deliver workers to this economy. A production line.
The industrial production lines were designed with the premise of superior intellect. The intellect of the engineer and of the manager, that would be responsible for designing and controlling the process. The workers were expected to obediently follow instructions.
Compliant workers who would be malleable to the will of their superiors.
The intention for this industrial education system was to teach a body of knowledge, sort students by their potential role in this economy and, above all, teach them how to follow instructions. Create compliant learners who would become compliant workers.
But our new economy needs vastly different skills. We need creative problem solvers who can become nimble architects of complex systems in Value Networks that deliver new solutions faster.
DOT FROM preview-next-diagram