Lillian M. Gilbreth played an influential but quiet role in the scientific management movement of the early 20th century. Through her work with Frank B. Gilbreth, she brought the appreciation of the human element into scientific management and thereby laid the groundwork for the development of contemporary managerial concepts and practices, such as ergonomics, work/life balance, job enrichment, and job placement. However, politics of gender discrimination disguised her distinctive contributions to the development of the field. This paper reclaims Lillian M. Gilbreth’s position in the history of management thought and illustrates the universal applicability of her philosophy of management in an analysis of her work in homemaking.
Alchon, G.1988. ‘Lillian Gilbreth and the Science of Management, 1900-1920.’ Essays in Economic and Business History7: 25-39.
2.
Banta, M.1993. Taylored Lives. Narrative Productions in the Age of Taylor, Veblen, and Ford. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
3.
Bedeian, A.G.1976. ‘Finding "The One Best Way". An Appreciation of Frank B. Gilbreth, the Father of Motion Study.’The Conference Board Record8: 37-9.
4.
Bruere, M.B., and R.W. Bruere.1913. Increasing Home Efficiency. New York, NY: The Macmillan Company.
5.
Child, G.B.1914. The Efficient Kitchen: Definite Directions for the Planning and Arranging of the Modern Labor-Saving Kitchen. New York, NY: McBridge, Nast and Company.
6.
Clark, S.1983. The Motion-Minded Kitchen: Step-by-Step Procedures for Designing and Building the Kitchen You Want with the Space and Money You Have . Boston, MA: Houghton.
7.
Frederick, C.1913. The New Housekeeping. Efficiency Studies in Home Management . New York, NY: Doubleday, Page and Co.
8.
Frederick, C.1919. Household Engineering. Scientific Management in the Home . Chicago, IL: American School of Home Economics.
9.
Fry, L.1976. ‘The Maligned F. W. Taylor: A Reply to his Many Critics.’ Academy of Management Review1(3): 124-9.
10.
Gilbreth, F.B.1908a. Concrete System. New York, NY: The Engineering News Publishing Co.
11.
Gilbreth, F.B.1908b. Field System. New York, NY: The Myron C. Clark Publishing Co.
12.
Gilbreth, F.B.1909. Bricklaying System. New York, NY: The Myron C. Clark Publishing Co.
13.
Gilbreth, F.B.1911. Motion Study: A Method for Increasing the Efficiency of the Workman. New York, NY: Sturgis and Walton.
14.
Gilbreth, F.B.1970. Time Out for Happiness. New York, NY : Crowell.
15.
Gilbreth, F.B., and E.G. Carey.1948. Cheaper by the Dozen. New York, NY: Crowell Company.
16.
Gilbreth, F.B., and E.G. Carey.1950. Belles on their Toes. New York, NY: Crowell Company.
17.
Gilbreth, F.B., and L.M. Gilbreth.1916. Fatigue Study. The Elimination of Humanity’s Greatest Unnecessary Waste. New York, NY: Sturgis and Walton.
18.
Gilbreth, F.B., and L.M. Gilbreth.1920. Motion Study for the Handicapped. Easton, PA: Hive Publishing.
19.
Gilbreth, F.B., and L.M. Gilbreth.1924. ‘Classifying the Elements of Work .’ Management and Administration8(2): 151-4.
20.
Gilbreth, L.M.1912a. ‘The Psychology of Management.’ In Industrial and Engineering and the Engineering Digest, edited by Kent W., Vol. 11, 343-349, 429-438. New York, NY: The Technical Literature Co.
21.
Gilbreth, L.M.1912b. ‘The Psychology of Management.’ In Industrial and Engineering and the Engineering Digest, edited by Kent W., Vol. 12, 13-7, 65-8, 116-20, 155-8, 199-204, 248-53. New York, NY: The Technical Literature Co.
22.
Gilbreth, L.M.1913. ‘The Psychology of Management.’ In Industrial and Engineering and the Engineering Digest, edited by Kent W., Vol. 13, 18-23, 66-70, 113-6, 161-6, 213-7. New York, NY: The Technical Literature Co.
23.
Gilbreth, L.M.1914. The Psychology of Management. The Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching and Installing Methods of Least Waste. New York, NY: Sturgis and Walton.
24.
Gilbreth, L.M.1926. The Quest for the One Best Way: A Sketch of the Life of Frank Bunker. Easton, PA: Hive Publishing Company.
25.
Gilbreth, L.M.1927. The Home-Maker and her Job. New York, NY: Appleton.
26.
Gilbreth, L.M.1998. As I Remember. Norcross, GA: Engineering and Management Press.
27.
Golonka, K.2006. ‘Lillian Moller Gilbreth: A Female Pioneer in the Field of Engineering and Scientific Management.’ Ergonomia IJE&HF28(1): 6-12.
28.
Graham, L.D.1992. Lillian Moller Gilbreth’s Extensions of Scientific Management into Women’s Work, 1924- 1935. Urbana-Champaign : University of Illinois.
29.
Graham, L.D.1998. Managing on her Own: Dr Lillian Gilbreth and Women’s Work in the Interwar Era. Norcross, GA: Engineering and Management Press.
Greenwood, R.G., R.A. Greenwood, and J.A. Severance.1978. ‘Lillian M. Gilbreth, First Lady of Management.’ In Academy of Management Proceedings , edited by J. C. Susbauer, 2-6. San Francisco, CA: Academy of Management.
32.
Haber, S.1964. Efficiency and Uplift. Scientific Management in the Progressive Era 1890-1920. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
33.
Herzberg, F., B. Mausner, and B.B. Snyderman.1959. The Motivation to Work. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.
34.
Household Efficiency Classes are Successful. The New York Times, May 28, 1916.
35.
Kanigel, R.1997. The One Best Way: Frederick Winslow Taylor and the Enigma of Efficiency. New York, NY: Viking .
36.
Kent, W.1912. ‘The Psychology of Management.’ In Industrial Engineering and the Engineering Digest, edited by W. Kent, 391. New York, NY: The Technical Literature Co.
37.
Lancaster, J.2004. Making Time: Lillian Moller Gilbreth: A Life beyond ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’. Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press.
38.
Lesieur, F.G.1958. The Scanlon Plan: A Frontier in Labor-Management Cooperation . Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
39.
Maslow, A.H.1943. ‘A Theory of Human Motivation.’ Psychological Review50: 370-96.
40.
Montgomery, D.1987. The Fall of the House of Labor: The Workplace, the State, and American Labor Activism, 1865-1925. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
41.
Mousa, F.T., and D.J. Lemak.2009. ‘The Gilbreths’ Quality System Stands the Test of Time.’Journal of Management History15(2): 198-215.
42.
Nadworny, M.J.1957. ‘Frederick Taylor and Frank Gilbreth. Competition in Scientific Management.’ Business History Review21(1): 23-34.
43.
No Reason for Waste in Housekeeping. The New York Times, January 17, 1915.
44.
Obituary.Dr Gilbreth, Engineer, Mother of Dozen. The New York Times, January 3, 1972.
45.
Pattison, M.1918. The Business of Home Management. The Principles of Domestic Engineering. New York, NY: Robert M. McBride and Co.
46.
Perloff, R., and J.L. Naman.1996. ‘Lillian Gilbreth: Tireless Advocate for a General Psychology.’ In Portraits of Pioneers in Psychology, edited by A. G. Kimble, C. A. Boneau, and M. Wertheimer, Vol. 2, 106-16. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
47.
Phillips, M., and A. Rippin.2010. ‘Striving to Uncover a Lost Heritage: Reclaiming Women in Management and Organization History.’ Management and Organizational History5(3-4): 283-95.
48.
Rutherford, J.W.2003. Selling Mrs Consumer: Christine Frederick and the Rise of Household Efficiency. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press.
49.
Senate Document 725, 61st Congress, 3rd session, 3540-3551. 1911. Evidence Taken by the Interstate Commerce Commission in the Matter of Proposal Advances in Freight Rates by Carriers. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.
50.
Spriegel, W.R., and C.E. Myers.1953. The Writings of the Gilbreths. Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin, Inc.
51.
Square Deal for the Husbands. The New York Times, May 6, 1915.
52.
Strasser, S.1982. Never Done. A History of American Housework. New York, NY: Pantheon Books.
53.
Taylor, F.W.1903. Shop Management. New York, NY: Harper and Row.
54.
Taylor, F.W.1911. The Principles of Scientific Management. New York, NY: Harper and Row.
55.
The Starting Point. Financial World, June 25, 1991.
56.
The Woman Who Invented Scientific Housekeeping. The New York Times, July 6, 1913.
57.
Trescott, M.M.1990. ‘Women in the Intellectual Development of Engineering: A Study in Persistence and Systems Thought.’ In Women of Science: Righting the Record, edited by G. Kass-Simon, and P. Farnes, 157-164. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
58.
Watts, F.1921. An Introduction to the Psychological Problems of Industry . New York, NY: The MacMillan Company .
59.
Where They Make Housekeeping a Learned Profession. The New York Times, September 4, 1910.
60.
Witte, I.M.1920. Correspondence. I. M. Witte Collection, Mannheim: Landesmuseum fuer Technik und Arbeit.
61.
Wrege, C.D., and R.G. Greenwood.1991. Frederick W. Taylor: The Father of Scientific Management: Myth and Reality. Homewood, IL: Business One Irwin.
62.
Wren, D.A.2005. The History of Management Thought. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.
63.
Yost, E.1949. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth: Partners for Life. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
