Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Although the period from approximately 1900 until the late 1920's is commonly seen as a time in which mechanistic models of management and organization predominated, several outstanding humanistic management writers and practitioners also emerged. An outstanding example of these industrial humanists was Henry Dennison. Among his employee-centered innovations at Dennison Manufacturing Company was that firm's employee representation plan. This plan opened upward channels of communications for employees and contributed to the granting of numerous employee benefits. While such contributions would be judged as modest by today's standards, the representation plan was an innovation for its time and was typical of the employee-oriented programs instituted by Dennison.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

1. See the Boston Herald (Monday, March 3, 1952), editorial page and The Christian Science Monitor (Tuesday, March 4, 1952), editorial page.

2. Ernest R. Burton , Employee Representation (Baltimore: Wilkins and Wilkins, 1926).

3. Constitution of the Employers' Cooperative Plan (Framingham, Mass.: Dennison Manufacturing Company, 1919).

4. From personal interviews with John Curtis, retired photoengraver, March 3, 1970; Curtis Damon, retired printing division superintendent, February 24, 1970; Charles Richards, retired paper cutter, March 4, 1970.

5. James J. Denneally , "Women and Trade Unions, 1870-1920: The Quandry of the Reformer, "Labor History (Winter, 1973), pp. 42-55.

6. Henry Dennison , "Management Sharing," in Profit Sharing and Stock Ownership for Employees (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1926).

7. For some examples of the opposite problem of the overemphasis on differences see W. Jack Duncan, "Engineers and Psychologists of the Scientific Management Period: An Overdue Exercise on the Notation of Similarities," Southern Journal of Business (January 1970), pp. 30-40.

8. Employee Representation or Works Councils (Washington, D. C.: Chamber of Commerce of the United States, 1927).

9. Personal correspondence with John Garvey, retired production manager, December 8, 1969.

10.

10. Personal interview with John Garvey, February 27, 1970.

11.

11. Claude S. George, Jr. , The History of Management Thought, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1972).

12.

12. C. Ray Gullett, The Impact of Employee Representation Plans Upon the Development of Management-Worker Relationships in the United States (Baton Rouge, La.: Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Louisiana State University, 1970).

13.

13. James G. March and Herbert A. Simon , Organizations (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1958).

14.

14. Franklin J. Meine , "The Introduction and Development of the Works Committee in the Dennison Manufacturing Company," Journal of Personnel Research (August 1924).

15.

15. Taken from a Memorial Booklet published by the Dennison Manufacturing Company, 1952.

16.

16. Robert Owen , A New View of Society (New York: E. Bliss and White, 1825).

17.

17. William G. Scott and Donald K. Hart , "The Moral Nature of Man in Organizations: A Comparative Analysis," Academy of Management (June 1971), pp. 245-246.

18.

18. T. E. Stephenson , "The Longevity of Classical Theory," Management International Review, No. 6 (1968).

19.

19. V. Subramaniam , "The Classical Organization Theory and Its Critics," Public Administration (Winter 1966), pp. 436-440.

20.

20. L. Urwick , ed., Golden Book of Management (London: Newman Neame, Ltd., 1956).

21.

21. Daniel A. Wren , Evolution of Management Thought (New York: Ronald Press, 1972).

Henry Dennison and Employee Representation: A Counterpoint in Management Thought

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References