The creator of scientific management theories that use
time-and-motion studies to increase efficiency. His study about how much time
it took a laborer to shovel coal saved Bethlehem Steel Corporation millions of
dollars in material-handling costs in the 1890s. He was pushed into the
national limelight when attorney Louis Brandeis used Taylor’s scientific
management theories in a highly publicized lawsuit that kept railroads from
increasing freight rates. Taylor described his theories in his book, The Principles of Scientific Management.