Henry Sturgis Dennison (March 4, 1877 – February 29, 1952)

Morgen Witzel Morgen Witzel (born 1960) is a Canadian historian, business theorist, consultant, lecturer and author of management books, especially known from his work on "Doing business in China" and on "Managing in virtual organizations".Fineman, Stephen, Yiann ...

(2005). ''Encyclopedia of History of American Management.'' p. 116 was an American progressive business man, president and owner of Dennison Manufacturing Co. Paper Box Factory,

economic analyst An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

, and

organizational theorist Organizational theory refers to the set of interrelated concepts that involve the sociological study of the structures and operations of formal social organizations. Organizational theory also attempts to explain how interrelated units of organiz ...

.Bruce, Kyle Donovan,
Activist management : the institutional economics of Henry S. Dennison
'' Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Department of Economics, University of Wollongong, 1999. He was president of the

Taylor Society The Taylor Society was an American society for the discussion and promotion of scientific management, named after Frederick Winslow Taylor. Originally named The Society to Promote The Science of Management, the Taylor Society was initiated in 191 ...

from 1919 to 1921, and recipient of the

Henry Laurence Gantt Medal The Henry Laurence Gantt Medal was established in 1929 by the American Management Association and the Management section of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for "distinguished achievement in management and service to the community" in h ...

in 1932.

Biography

Youth, education and career

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Dennison was the son of Henry Beals Dennison and Emma Stanley Dennison. His grandfather Andrew Dennison was founding president of Dennison Manufacturing Co. Paper Box Factory in 1844, and his father had followed in his footsteps. After regular education Dennison graduating from Harvard College in 1899.Harvard University Library.
Dennison, Henry S. (Henry Sturgis), 1877-1952.
" ''oasis.lib.harvard.edu.'' Accessed 10-05-2017 After his graduation Dennison entered the family business in 1899, where he was promoted to work manager in 1906. From 1917 to 1942 he was president of the company, realizing a steady growth of the company.

Other activities, honours and death

Besides his work at the Dennison Manufacturing Co., Dennison was active member in several organizations, lectured at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

, and authored several books and articles. Dennison participated in the

, where he was president from 1919 to 1921 as successor of John E. Otterson. In 1921 he was succeeded by

Henry P. Kendall Henry Plimpton Kendall (January 15, 1878 – November 3, 1959) was a New England entrepreneur, industrialist, and philanthropist from Walpole, Massachusetts. He is considered one of the pioneers of scientific management. Biography Early life ...

. Dennison also served as director of the

American Management Association The American Management Association (AMA) is an American non-profit educational membership organization for the promotion of management, based in New York City. Besides its headquarters there, it has local head offices throughout the world. It o ...

, and as president of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, the National Resources Planning Board, and the Business Research Council. He was also industrial advisor to the administrations of Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt. in 1932 Dennison was awarded the

by the

and the

ASME The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

, and the Taylor Key Award by the Society for Advancement of Management in 1940. Dennison died in 1952 in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popu ...

Work

Dennison had a specific interest in the theories of

scientific management Scientific management is a theory of management that analyzes and synthesizes workflows. Its main objective is improving economic efficiency, especially labor productivity. It was one of the earliest attempts to apply science to the engineer ...

and as president of Dennison Manufacturing Company initiated several reforms in line with those insights. These included "an unemployment fund, a reduction in working hours, non-managerial profit-sharing and the establishment of health and personnel services. "

Publications

* Henry S. Dennison.
E.W. Dennison : a memorial
'' Boston : Merrymount Press, 1909. * Burritt, A. W., Dennison, H. S., Gay, E. F., Heilman, R. E., & Kendall, H. P. ''Profit sharing, its principles and practice: A collaboration.'' Harper & brothers, 1918. * Henry S. Dennison. ''The psychological foundations of management,'' 1927. * Henry S. Dennison.
Organization engineering
'. New York: McGraw Hill, 1931. * Stanley B. Mathewson. With chapters by William M. Leiserson, Henry S. Dennison and Arthur E. Morgan. ''Restriction of output among unorganized workers,'' New York : Viking Press, 1931. * Henry S. Dennison.
Ethics and modern business
'' 1932. * Henry S. Dennison , et al.
Toward full employment
'' New York : Whittlesey House, McGraw-Hill, 1938. *

John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through t ...

& Henry S. Dennison. ''Modern Competition and Business Policy,'' 1938. ;Articles, a selection * Dennison, Henry S. "Management and the Business Cycle." ''Journal of the American Statistical Association'' 18.137 (1922): 20-32. * Dennison, Henry S. "The Need for the Development of Political Science Engineering." ''American Political Science Review'' 26.02 (1932): 241-255. ;Publications about Henry S. Dennison * James T. Dennison. ''Henry S. Dennison, 1877-1952: New England industrialist who served America,'' No. 187. Newcomen Society in North America, 1955. * Kim McQuaid, "Henry S. Dennison and the" Science" of Industrial Reform, 1900-1950." ''American Journal of Economics and Sociology'' (1977): 79-98. * Kyle Bruce, "Henry S. Dennison, Elton Mayo, and Human Relations historiography." '' Management & Organizational History'' 2006, 1: 177–199.

References

External links

Henry S. Dennison Papers, 1900-1971
at Harvard University {{DEFAULTSORT:Dennison, Henry Sturgis 1877 births 1952 deaths Engineers from Massachusetts People from Boston Henry Laurence Gantt Medal recipients Harvard College alumni