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Harrington Emerson: Biography

Emerson was born in Trenton, New Jersey to Edwin Emerson, a Professor of Political science, and MaryLouisa Emerson, daughter of Samuel D. Ingham, a U.S. Congressman and U.S. Treasury Secretary underPresident Andrew Jackson. Emerson attended private schools in Europe, and from 1872 to 1875 studiedengineering at the Technical University Munich.

After returning to the United States in 1876, Emerson was appointed as Professor of Modern Languagesat the University of Nebraska, where he was dismissed in 1882 because of his progressive educationalideas. In the years after, Harrington had several jobs, including a frontier banker, land speculator, taxagent, troubleshooter, lecturer, and educator. In 1893, he joined William Jennings Bryan's campaign forthe presidential electio n of 1896, which created the foundation for his career as efficiency engineer.

In 1897, Emerson started focusing on mechanical engineering, and was employed shortly after by theElectric Storage Battery Company in New York. After his new projects during the Alaskan Gold Rushfailed, he became the general manager in a small glass factory. In 1900, he established the EmersonInstitute in New York City in order to focus on his work as efficiency engineer. Through the AmericanSociety of Mechanical Engineers, he got acquainted to the work of Frederick W. Taylor, which heimplemented in his own praxis.

Emerson was married to Mary Crawford Suplee, and the youngest of their three daughters was theAmerican painter Louise Emerson Ronnebeck.

Harrington Emerson: Work

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The ideal of setting up of standardsEmerson had spent his youth in Europe. It was to French character, and to German military efficiency asevidenced before his eyes in the conduct of the Franco-Prussian War, that Emerson attributes hisstrongest ideal — the setting up of standards. His admiration for systematic method and perfectcooperation was further strengthened by studies under a European music teacher, by observation of the remarkable results obtained by breeders of fine horses, and by contact with A. B. Smith, a skilfulrailroad surveyor.

Earlier efforts in the field of systematizing managementEmerson's earlier efforts in the field of systematizing management were in organizing and standardizingone of the new western state universities, the University of Nebraska, of which for six years he wasregistrar, secretary of the faculty, and head of a department. It was not until some years after this thathe entered the profession of reorganizing industrial plants.

In 1895 he began a rapid survey of these, determining what their product and costs were compared towhat they ought to be. In 1900 or 1902, he checked up minutely the losses occurring in the use of materials, while planning, scheduling, and dispatching work through a large factory.

Of all Emerson's undertakings, however, that which has attracted the most attention was his"betterment work" introduced into the shops of the Santa Fe Railway during three years beginning in1904. He has installed his system partially, though in no instance completely, in some 200 differentplants from Alaska to Mexico, from Louisiana to Canada, from Southern California to Maine. Theseactivities were carried on through the Emerson Company, which late 1910s employs between forty andfifty efficiency specialists.

Betterment workIn May, 1904, because of labor troubles, Harrington Emerson was given the task of reorganizing certainfeatures of the Sante Fe railway system. His authority extended only to that one department known asthe motive power department; and he was, therefore, concerned mainly with the maintenance andrepair of locomotives, much of which work was centralized in shops at Topeka. Nevertheless, by thetime Emerson had worked out from Topeka to the end of the 10,000 or so miles of road, his system wasaffecting 12,000 men, and he had a task upon his hands which took three years of time, and theassistance of a large staff of railway experts.

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The cause of starting Emerson's "betterment work" as it was officially called, having been a strike, hisfirst and most important aim was to establish a basis for permanent harmony by introducing an"individual effort and bonus system." Increased supervision of the men was to be undertaken, and forgood work special rewards were to be given. Accordingly, time studies were made, tasks were set, andbonuses offered. There were several distinguishing features which marked this phase of scientificmanagement as it was introduced on the Santa Fe:

First, extreme emphasis was laid on the individual character of the relations of men and management:"The schedule is a moral contract or agreement with the men as to a particular machine operation, rateof wages and time. Any change in men calls for a new schedule."Second, there was a lack of insistence on the selection of unusual men: "The standard time set isreasonable, and one that can be reached without extraordinary effort; is, in fact, such time as a goodforeman would demand."And third, bonuses were paid to foremen. Thus the Santa Fe management sought to make of itsemployees industrious, well paid, and loyal workmen.

But before actually setting tasks, it was necessary to study and standardize all tools and equipment,and this led in itself to important improvements. Specially notable was the improvement in the care of belting, this being taken out of the hands of the workmen and put into those of specialists, with aresulting saving of 70 per cent in the expense of belt maintenance. Perhaps the most interestingfeatures which Emerson introduced were the various routing and scheduling devices. All of the work inthe machine shop was so arranged that it could be controlled from dispatch boards located in a centraloffice; likewise on a bulletin board was indicated the progress in the repair of each locomotive. Most of the other changes — such as the centralization of work at Topeka, and the introduction of improvedmethods of cost accounting — are beyond the pale of things which are distinctively "scientificmanagement."

It is agreed that the principles of scientific management were only part of them introduced on the SantaFe. Nevertheless the estimated savings were at the time put at enormous figures. Thus in the articlefrom which the above quotations were taken, its writer estimated from figures contained in thepresident's annual report that during the fiscal year ending June 31, 1906, fully a million and half quarter of dollars were saved. Other critics were equally enthusiastic, and the work attracted a greatdeal of attention throughout the country.

Emerson's system of efficiency and scientific managementEmerson distinguished his system from scientific management based on three characteristics:

He calls his system "efficiency" rather than "scientific management."He opposed functional management with its numerous heads, and substitutes for it the "line and staff"idea, under which there is but one boss. The functional experts whom Emerson employs are notexecutive officers, but simply advise the single responsible authority; and it is the latter who puts allplans into practice through command over his "line" subordinates. The idea is to avoid creating toomany bosses, and yet operate under expert advice.Emerson uses a wage system which bases remuneration partly upon the "efficiency per cent" of theemployee. Standard times are set on the basis of time study analysis, and the workman who justcompletes the same in the allotted time is credited with 100 per cent efficiency.

Efficiency may thus be reckoned as below, above, or at 100 per cent. Although everyone receives his dayrate, which is supposed to be a normal compensation when compared with prevailing wages, a manwho cannot attain 66.7 per cent efficiency in the long run is regarded as subnormal and is in danger of discharge. At 67 per cent a small bonus is paid, which grows in size until at 90 per cent efficiency itreaches 10 per cent. Above this point one per cent in bonus is added for each additional one per centgain in efficiency.

Emerson has thus developed a wage system which is in its results practically the same as Gantt's "taskand bonus" plan, except that under the Gantt system no bonus is paid until a man comes up tostandard performance, in the hope that the large increase then suddenly granted will bring all up to a

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common productivity.

Emerson and Frederick W. TaylorEmerson is nearly three years older than Frederick W. Taylor; he did not meet the latter until December,1900, and the two never worked together. Emerson was present, however, when Taylor's "ShopManagement" was read, in 1903. and has dene almost all of his mature work in the light of thatexposition.

As regards his general thought, Emerson has received stimuli from many sources; but as concerns theapplication of efficiency to industrial plants, there is good ground for believing that he is much moredeeply indebted to Taylor than to any other. Indeed, men well acquainted with both have told us thatEmerson was once accustomed to refer to Taylor as the source of his ideas: Taylor he regarded as tryingto do too much, as being in advance of his time; it was he, Emerson, who, by rendering lofty projectsmore practical, was able to achieve results.

On the other hand, it cannot be denied that Emerson has brought into the field a great deal of originalforce. He may have adopted some of Taylor's ideas; but if so, his conduct is similar to the appropriationwhich every man makes of any scheme that appeals to him as useful; and beyond this, he has at thesame time combined them with so many ideas derived from other sources that his resultingphilosophical system is a truly original contribution to the subject. Certainly in his books he hasexpressed himself in a way which is in many respects far more effective than the style of the otherscientific management or efficiency men.

ConclusionHarrington Emerson was an American efficiency engineer and business theorist, who founded themanagement consultancy firm Emerson Institute in New York City in 1900. He is known for hispioneering contributions to scientific management, where he developed a contrasting approach toefficiency.

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