Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce Frederick W. Taylor's lecture on his “task” system of management, given at his home in “Boxley” in 1907. Design/methodology/approach – The paper summarizes the lecture's contents, and details its background. Findings – The paper...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a transcript of Fredrick W. Taylor's 1907 lecture on his “task” system of management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper shows its advantages over traditional personal initiative styles, suggesting that managers should not allow...

Purpose – The paper seeks to examine the manifestation of management paradigms in personnel magazines of Finnish metal and forest industry corporations from the 1930s to recent years. Design/methodology/approach – The research data consist of articles of personnel magazines on management....

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to make a case for the co‐existence of Theories X and Y assumptions in everyone. The author does this by comparing the works of Douglas McGregor and Frederick W. Taylor, “the father of scientific management,” after having lived with their legacies...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief history and perspective on the influence of McGregor's Theory Y on research about and practice of management and leadership. Although best known for Theory X and Y, Douglas McGregor involved himself in more than theory. He was for a...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the historical emergence of psychological management in Finnish working life from the viewpoint of recruitment process by examining the changing qualities of the ideal manager in Finland in the post‐Second World War era....