Charles D. Wrege (March 11, 1924 – August 19, 2014)
[ Art Bedeian, Dan Wren and Regina Greenwood ]
Charles D. Wrege Obituary
" Academy of Management,at ''aom.org,'' 2014. Accessed 14-05-2017 was an American management historian, and Professor at
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
. He is known for his contributions to management history, especially his critical work on
Frederick W. Taylor and
scientific management.
Biography
Born and raised in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.[Newark Arts High School
Newark Arts High School is a four-year magnet public high school, serving students in Ninth through twelfth grades in Newark, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Newark Public Schools. The school is located in ...]
. In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
he joined the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
, where he was deployed to the
Pacific Theater and served as photographer in the
Twentieth Air Force
The Twentieth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (20th AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.
20 AF's primary mission is Interco ...
.
Back in the States after the war, he started his studies at the
New Mexico Highlands University
New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) is a public university in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Founded in 1893, it has satellite campuses in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Farmington and Roswell. NMHU has an average annual enrollment of approximate ...
. Later on he moved back East, and obtained his AB in 1952 at the
Upsala College
Upsala College (UC) was a private college affiliated with the Swedish-American Augustana Synod (later the Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church) and located in East Orange in Essex County, New Jersey in the United States. Upsala was founded in ...
. Next at
The New School
The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
he had participated in the
Asch conformity experiments
In psychology, the Asch conformity experiments or the Asch paradigm were a series of studies directed by Solomon Asch studying if and how individuals yielded to or defied a majority group and the effect of such influences on beliefs and opinions ...
, and in 1955 obtained his MA in Experimental Psychology. In 1956 he obtained his M.B.A. at the
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, th ...
, where in 1961 he also obtained his Ph.D. under John Glover.
In 1952, Wrege had started his career as industrial engineer at the
Weston Electric Light Company in Newark, New Jersey. After his graduation at The New School he joined the faculty of the New York University at its School of Commerce. After his graduation in 1961 he moved to the
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
, where he spend the rest of his academic career until his retirement in 1991.
Wrege died on August 19, 2014, at his home in
Spring Lake, New Jersey.
Work
''Facts and fallacies of Hawthorne,'' 1961
Wrege wrote his PhD thesis at the New York University about the
Hawthorne studies
The Hawthorne effect is a type of reactivity in which individuals modify an aspect of their behavior in response to their awareness of being observed. The effect was discovered in the context of research conducted at the Hawthorne Western Electric ...
conducted by
Elton Mayo
George Elton Mayo (26 December 1880 – 7 September 1949) was an Australian born psychologist, industrial researcher, and organizational theorist.Cullen, David O'Donald. ''A new way of statecraft: The career of Elton Mayo and the development ...
and others in the 1920s and 1930s at the
Hawthorne Works
The Hawthorne Works was a large factory complex of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois. Named after the original name of the town, Hawthorne, it opened in 1905 and operated until 1983. At its peak of operations, Hawthorne employed 4 ...
in Cicero, Illinois. Wrege published his findings in 1961 and his work was republished in 1986 by Garland publisher in New York.
Wrege conducted a historical study of the Hawthorne illumination tests, one of the earliest studies at the Hawthorne works that studied the effect of light levels on worker
productivity
Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proces ...
. Wrege looked at the origins, procedures, and results of these early studies and their influence upon the later Hawthorne studies.
In his later years Wrege supplied
Steven D. Levitt and
John A. List
John August List (born September 25, 1968) is an American economist known for establishing Field experiment, field experiments as a tool in empirical economic analysis. He works at the University of Chicago, where he serves as Kenneth C. Griffin ...
with unpublished information and background data for their research later published in the 2011 article "Was There Really a Hawthorne Effect at the Hawthorne Plant?."
F.W. Taylor and the principles of scientific management
In the 1970s Wrege conducted further research into the origins of
scientific management, especially on the
pig-iron experiments by Frederick W. Taylor's.
[Wrege & Perroni, 1974] The pig-iron experiments on the loading of pig-iron were conducted by Taylor in 1899. Wrege and Perroni (1974) found out that
They even concluded:
In 1991 Wrege and a colleague management historian Ron Greenwood (d. 1995) published a more general work on the myth and reality of Frederick W. Taylor as father of scientific management.
Graphic history of Scientific Management 1856–1929
During his historical studies of scientific management, Wrege developed a growing interest in the graphic history of Scientific Management, which he dated from 1856 to 1929. The year of 1856 apparently signified the origin, and this is the same year in which
Daniel McCallum published the first modern
organizational chart
An organizational chart, also called organigram, organogram, or organizational breakdown structure (OBS) is a diagram that shows the structure of an organization and the relationships and relative ranks of its parts and positions/jobs. The term ...
of the
New York & Erie Railroad drawn by
George Holt Henshaw
George Holt Henshaw (September 1, 1831 – January 10, 1891) was a Canadian engineer and draftsman, who worked as engineer in waterworks and for railway companies in Canada, the United States and Denmark. He is particularly known for drafting t ...
.
This organizational chart was thought lost for years, until
Alfred D. Chandler Jr. had suggested its existence. Chandler had unsuccessfully searched for it, which inspired Wrege to follow into his footsteps. After many years of research Wrege and Guidon Sorbo Jr. (1950 - ) located one last specimen at the Library of Congress in 2005 (see image).
[Charles Wrege and Guidon Sorbo, Jr., "A Bridge Builder Changes a Railroad: The Story of Daniel Craig McCallum," ''Canal History and Technology Proceedings'' 24 (March 2005): 183–218.]
Selected publications
* Charles D. Wrege, ''Facts and Fallacies of Hawthorne,'' Doctoral Dissertation. 1961 ; republished 1986.
* Wrege, Charles D., and Ronald G. Greenwood. ''Frederick W. Taylor, the father of scientific management: myth and reality.'' Irwin Professional Pub, 1991.
;Articles, a selection
* Wrege, Charles D., and Amedeo G. Perroni. "Taylor's pig-tale: A historical analysis of Frederick W. Taylor's pig-iron experiments." ''Academy of Management Journal'' 17.1 (1974): 6–27.
* Wrege, Charles D. "Solving Mayo's Mystery: The First Complete Account of the Origin of the Hawthorne Studies-The Forgotten Contributions of CE Snow and H. Hibarger." ''Academy of Management Proceedings. Vol. 1976. No. 1.'' Academy of Management, 1976.
* Wrege, Charles D., and Anne Marie Stotka. "Cooke creates a classic: the story behind FW Taylor's principles of scientific management." ''Academy of Management Review'' 3.4 (1978): 736–749.
* Wrege, Charles D., Regina A. Greenwood, and Sakae Hata.
What we do not know about management history: Some categories of research and methods to uncover management history mysteries" ''Journal of Management History'' 5.7 (1999): 414–424.
* Wrege, Charles D., and Richard M. Hodgetts. "Frederick W. Taylor's 1899 pig iron observations: Examining fact, fiction, and lessons for the new millennium." ''Academy of Management Journal'' 43.6 (2000): 1283–1291.
References
External links
Charles D. Wrege Obituary Academy of Management
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wrege, Charles D.
1924 births
2014 deaths
Historians from New York (state)
American organizational theorists
New Mexico Highlands University alumni
Newark Arts High School alumni
New York University Stern School of Business alumni
New York University faculty
People from Newark, New Jersey
People from Spring Lake, New Jersey
Rutgers University faculty
The New School alumni
United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
Upsala College alumni
United States Army Air Forces soldiers
Historians from New Jersey