White Shirts and Stopwatches: The Emerson Efficiency Engineers and Work Reorganization within Pennsylvania Firms, 1900–1920

Abstract

Harrington Emerson, a pioneer in early industrial engineering, formulated "efficiency engineering" to distinguish his work reorganization methods from those of Frederick W. Taylor's principles of scientific management. His company—the Emerson Efficiency Engineers—functioned as a prototype management consultancy, giving rise to a new business and profession. Pennsylvania's rapid industrial expansion and key industries became a proving ground for the development and application of Emerson's innovations in the fields of work reorganization and personnel management. His experience in the commonwealth provided the foundation for a successful business model in marketing efficiency to a diverse clientele. Pennsylvania became contested terrain in the rivalry between Taylor and Emerson for ascendancy in the industrial consulting field. Emerson promoted his philosophy of efficiency in numerous published works, speaking tours, and efficiency clubs, diffusing the concept of efficiency beyond its industrial context to a wider public audience and application in the Progressive Era's drive for rationalization.