''The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business'' is a book by American business historian

Alfred D. Chandler Jr. Alfred DuPont Chandler Jr. (September 15, 1918 – May 9, 2007) was a professor of business history at Harvard Business School and Johns Hopkins University, who wrote extensively about the scale and the management structures of modern corporatio ...

, published by the

Belknap Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

imprint of

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

in 1977. Chandler argues that in the nineteenth century,

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...

's famous invisible hand of the market was supplanted by the "visible hand" of middle management, which became "the most powerful institution in the American economy". ''The Visible Hand'' was awarded the 1978

Pulitzer Prize for History The Pulitzer Prize for History, administered by Columbia University, is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It has been presented since 1917 for a distinguished book about the history ...

and the

Bancroft Prize The Bancroft Prize is awarded each year by the trustees of Columbia University for books about diplomacy or the history of the Americas. It was established in 1948, with a bequest from Frederic Bancroft, in his memory and that of his brother, ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Chandler's eight propositions

Chandler uses eight propositionsChandler, Alfred. ''The Visible Hand''. Belknap Press, 1977. . Introduction. to show how and why the ''visible hand'' of management replaced what Adam Smith referred to as the ''invisible hand'' of the market forces: # that the US modern multi-unit business replaced small traditional enterprises, when administrative coordination permitted better profits than market coordination; # that a managerial hierarchy has been created for this multi-unit business enterprise; # that the multi-unit business enterprise appeared for the first time in history at a time when the volume of economic activities reached a level that made administrative coordination more efficient than market coordination; # that once a managerial hierarchy has been created and successfully carried out its functions of administrative coordination, the hierarchy itself became a source of power, permanence and continued growth; # that the careers of salaried managers became increasingly professional and technical; # that the multi-unit business enterprise grew in size and diversity, and as its managers became more professional, the management of the enterprise became separated from its ownership; # that managers preferred policies that favored long term stability and growth of their enterprises to those that maximized current profits; # that as large enterprises grew and dominated major sectors of the economy, they altered the basic structure of these sectors and of the economy as a whole.

References

External links

Summary of ''The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business'' by Max Olson
1977 non-fiction books Business books Pulitzer Prize for History-winning works History books about the United States Belknap Press books {{business-book-stub

Chandler's eight propositions

See also

References

Further reading

External links