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    Toward a History of Management ThoughtCharles HowellSyracuseUniversity

    The history f managementhought uffers rom a constricted efinitionofits subject. onstituentields marketing) ndcognateields economics nd aw)areoftenneglectedn studies f thesubject. he term"thought"ends o be equatedto knowledge, ndthusgivena positivist ast,or describedn instrumentalermsand herebyeducedo a generalizedormof practice. he historyof managementthought, n short, nvitesmoreexpansivereatmenthan t hashitherto eceived.Thispaperexploreshepotential enefits f an enlarged efinition.The paper ocuses n two economists,dwinGay of HarvardandRichardEly of the University of Wisconsin,who influenced he developmentofmanagementhought, nd whosecareerslluminate spects f it that havebeenneglectedn previous istories. othareassociated ith institutionshatpromotedscholarship,ducation,ndpublicdiscourseboutbusinessnd tssocial unction--institutionshose ole n shapingmanagementhought as eceivedittle attention.Both showeda keen nterest n the role of the state n economic ife. Their advocacyof regulatory ndfiscalpoliciessuggestshat deasabout echniques f managinggrewup alongsidedeas boutpoliticalandsocial ife, and hat n any satisfactoryaccount f managementhoughthesewo strands ustbe nterwoven. othplayeda role in the professionalizationf economicsn the early twentieth entury: heircontributiono managementhought ighlightsnterconnectionsetweenhe twofields hathaveyet to be explored.Gay and Ely are not the most prominent iguresof their era, either inmanagementducation r in anyof theother ieldswith which heyare associated.Their intellectual ommitments, owever,are representativef thoseof manyoftheircolleagues, nd he themesof their work point owardan enlarged istoryofmanagement houghtand a more nuancedaccountof how ideas about theadministrationf businessave nfluenced olitics ndsocial ife.Gay, Ely, and the Influence of the German Historical School

    The backgrounds f both Gay and Ely point to an influenceon thedevelopmentf managementhoughthathasnotbeen tudiedn depth.Economistsby profession,othGay andEly did graduatework in Germanyandwere attractedto HistoricalEconomics, hichoffereda method ndphilosophy ery differentfromtheneoclassicalpproachhengaining round n the United States.Membersof theHistoricalSchool--Schmoller,ombart, ndWeber amongothers--criticizedthe classicalsystem or overdependencen deductive easoning nd urged aninductiveapproachn the studyof economicorces.HistoricaleconomistslsoBUSINESSAND ECONOMIC HISTORY, Volume wenty-four, o. 1, Fall 1995.Copyright 1995 by theBusiness istoryConference.SSN 0849-6825.

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    promotedstate nterventionn economicaffairs and regarded he principle oflaissez-faireas a veiled expression f the self-interestof business. he Germaneconomists'nterest n the social effectsof business nd in inductive nquirymergedn the amous eries f statistical ompilations ublished y the Verein forSozialpolitik--anassociation f scholars ommitted o social reform and to theprovision f a factual oundationor publicpolicy.As Jones ndMoniesonpointout n their studyof early marketing hought,studentsof the German historicaleconomistsncluded many future leadersofAmerican conomics:esides ay andEly, thesenclude rankTaussig t Harvard,HenryC. Adamsof Michigan,JohnBatesClark andE.R.A. Seligman f Columbia,andEmoryJohnson,oseph ohnson, olandFaulkner,SimonPatten,andEdwardJones t the WhartonSchool 10, p. 14; 14, p. 104]. Many of the German-trainedeconomists lso played important oles in the evolutionof management s anacademicdiscipline.In the caseof Ely andGay, the most mportantnfluence f the HistoricalSchool appears o have been its stimulus o inductive work. Ely stronglyemphasizedmpirical tudyof economic henomenaothat JohnsHopkins,wherehe taught fter eturningrom Germany, ndat theUniversityof Wisconsin,wherehe spentmostof the rest of his career.Ely encouraged tudentso look to localeconomicconditions or thesisand paper topics; studentwork on marketinginstitutionsnd heeconomicsf publicutilities oreshadowedhe development fseveral reas f applied conomics19, p. 25; 14, p. 104].Jones ndMonieson otethatEly believedheempirical ndpractical mphasisf hisGerman rainingwereessential ot ust for the studyof economics ut also or business ducation. heypoint out that SamuelSparling,an early studentof Ely's who went on to teachpublicadministrationnd o writean early extbook nbusiness,viewedmarketingas part of the science f businesshat wouldbe developed y usingan inductive,comparative, istorical pproach"14, pp. 104-105].Gay, too, looked o the ocaleconomyor raw datafrom which to constructa theoryof business.ndustrialists ere nvited o address lasses, nd ield trips olocal irmswereorganized. ay helped o found he Bureauof Business esearch,whichcollected tatistics n business perations. he accounting racticesnstitutedby theBureauo ensure onsistentataproved ohelpful hatproprietorsrequentlyadoptedhemasregular perating rocedure.he Bureau'sesearchnfluenced otonlymanagementractice, ut alsomanagementducationhroughpublication fits famous eries f casestudies,which orm an important art of the pedagogy fmanagement own o the present ay [6, pp. 216-220].Though n principle mpiricalmethods eednotentailcommitmento socialaction, both men were drawn inexorably oward ssuesof public policy andultimately o advocacyof a larger role for governmentn economic ife. TheHistorical chool ad aid the ntellectual roundworkor this ransition,eachingthat the idea of a custodial tatewasa specifically nglishcreation,a theoreticalconstruct nd representationf class nterest ather han a consequencef thenaturalorderdiscoverablehroughobjective tudy.Once the conceptof limited government ad been called into question,government tself proved willing to supplyan alternativevision.While still inGermany. Ely was recruitedby United StatesAmbassador ndrew D. White, onleave from the presidency f CornellUmversity, o conduct tudies f the Berlincity administrationnd he nationalization f Prussianailroads; ly idealizedhis

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    subjects o suchan extent hat White warnedagainst he "generalsurrender findividualism"hathe fearedsuch nextensive ureaucracy ightentail 19, p. 15].Ely, however,was not deterredby the dangerof state ntervention. or him, thefacts of economic ife were to be considered in the contextof a plastichumannature ndan ethical deal" 19, p. 25]. On return o theUnitedStates, e advocatedpublic ownership of natural monopolies, ncluding railroads, purchasebymunicipalities f unusedand to socialize he profitsof urbandevelopment, ndpublicworksbureauso ensure ull employment. erviceon tax commissionsortheStateof Marylandand he City of Baltimoreallowedhim to suggest trategiesfor public inancehatcouldultimately e used o fundsuchprojects. e proposedthat property axesshouldbe allocatedexclusively o local governmental nits,whichcouldbe expectedo assess roperty aluesmorestringently; t state evel,a graduatedncome ax wouldprovide moreampleandreliablestream f revenue.Suchproposals re significantnot becausehey were unusual t the time--politicians nd economistslike debated imilarmeasures--butatherbecause fEly'spositionn thehistoryof managementhought. ookingback o the originofmanagementsan academic iscipline, istorians ill discovern at leastoneof thefield's early strandsan overarching thical commitmentand a zest for stateintervention n economicaffairs quite different from the ethos implied bypresent-dayefinitions f managementr representedn recenthistorical ccountsof its development. or Ely, the studyof business as irst the studyof economicfacts, construed o include business trategy,and second, he studyof the stateaction hat hose acts equired.Modernorganizationalheorynotwithstanding,heidea of managementhought s a setof decisionools,applied n a dispassionatesearchor efficiency, epresentsbreak romoneof the field's ounding raditions.Gay, too,wassympathetico thepopular ocial eformsof his day:as Deanof the Harvard Graduate School of BusinessAdministration, he collaborated withHenry Dennison,Chairmanof the BostonChamberof Commerce, o form theMassachusettsranchof theAmericanAssociation f LaborLaws,whichpromotedlegislationgainst hild aborand or a minimumwageandworkers' ompensation[9, pp. 89-90]. Gay's primary contribution o an American-style ozialpolitik,however, ay in the introduction f statisticalmethods o government gencies.nWorld War I, he servedon various conomic lanning nd radegroups, ddinghisexpertise o that of GeorgeGoethals,BernardBaruch,and HerbertHoover,andcoordinating is effortswith thoseof otherbusinessacultymembers,ncludingA.E. Swansonof Northwestern,C.K. Leith of Wisconsin,Henry Hatfield ofBerkeley,andArch Shaw,Henry Dennison, ndMelvin Copelandof Harvard 9,pp. 98, 110].Eventually ay wasnamedby PresidentWilson o direct heCentralBureauof Planning nd Statistics,whichwas o ensurenteragency oordination.After the war, Herbert Hoover, now Secretaryof Commerce,appointedGay,WesleyMitchell, anda numberof othereconomistso his AdvisoryCommitteeonStatistics, hichurged timelypublication f dataon key sectors f theeconomy"--informationwhich Hoover believedcould help rationalize business lanning,moderatecyclicalfluctuations, nd providea statistical asis or governmentstimulationf theeconomy3, p. 8]. This advisory ommitteewasa forerunner fthe National Bureauof EconomicResearch,which Gay and Mitchell helped ofoundand which Hoover,as president, ommissionedo conduct tudies loselyresemblinghose hat he AdvisoryCommittee adrecommended3, p. 20].

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    Economiccontrolsduringwartimeand collectionof statisticsn time ofpeace, t might be argued,do not in themselves onstitute n extension f stateauthority n economic ife. The Bureauwas not a government gency,and itsreportsservedonly an advisory unction.Hooverhad proposedntervention omoredrastichanpostponementf publicworksprojectsn timesof boom,so hatthe backlogof work could providea stimulative ffect duringdownturns.Gay,however, ad easono knowthat he N.B.E.R. laid foundationsor a much argerpoliticalshift. His closeassociateWesleyMitchell, Directorof Researchor theBureau, xplicitly nvisioned mixedeconomy, ith government lanners layinga role n directing rivateeconomic ctivity 15, p. 396]. Although rogressowardthisgoalduring he twentieswas modest, he directionwas clearlydiscernible.AsWilliam Barberhasshown, roponentsf moreexpansiveoliciesn theNew DealcitedHoover's ctivismasprecedent3].That Gay, through his work at the N.B.E.R., helped to promotemacroeconomicanagementoesnotestablish tie betweenmanagementhoughtandmacroeconomicolicy,any more hanmanagementhought anbe logicallylinked to Ely's policy of publicownership f railroads.As in the caseof Ely,however,a moregeneralized onnection etween arly managementhought ndthepolitical deas f itspromoters aybe hypothesized.n theeraof Gay andEly,business rosperitywasgenerally ssociated ith publicwelfare.By promotingenterprise,business choolscontributed o the general good. Professionalmanagementouldnot,however, olve heproblem f businessycles. he beliefarose that government could ameliorate the problem through well-timed'expenditures.n effect,somemanagers ndmanagementcholars ame o believethat public spendingwas needed o maintainbusiness rosperity,which n turnserved he publicwelfare.To whatextentGay acceptedhisview s notclear romHeaton's iographyor Barber's ccount f the N.B.E.R. If he did accept t, and f othermanagementeducatorshared isview, henearly managementhoughtmay havedevelopednconjunctionwith a political program hat has not previouslybeen articulated nhistories f the field. Granted, hatprogrammay neverhavebeenannounceds atenet of managementheory. f it can be shown,however, hat managers rmanagementeachers r scholars romoted timulative pending oliciesor otherpolicies ssociatedithmacroeconomiclanning,henmanagementhought annotbe dissociateduch program. he example f Gay suggestshatthe possibilitydeserves xploration.The Institutional Context of Management Thought

    A study f Gay's ndEly's nstitutionalssociationsrovides different indof insightnto heircontributionso managementhought. hey eft their mprintonuniversitiesndprofessionalrganizationshatprofoundlynfluencedheeducationof businesseaders,he direction f research n managementechniques,nd hecharacter f publicdiscoursebout herole of businessn national ife. This aspectof theirwork, oo,suggestsew inesof developmentor thehistory f managementthought.Histories f individualnstitutionsbound, ut with rareexceptions7],their nfluence n the development f thoughthasnotbeenexamined.Of the two men, it was Gay whose nstitutionalnfluencewas more directand hereforemoreeasilydescribed:t washe. notEly, who actually ounded nd

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    led a business school. As first Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of BusinessAdministration, ay helped o establish number f intellectualraditionshatstillfigureprominentlyn managementesearchndeducation.is nterestn empiricalstudy, is oundationf theBureau f Business esearch,ndhisemphasisnthecasemethodoriginallyheproblemmethod) sa basisor businessnstructionavealreadybeenalluded o, and have n any casebeenamplydocumentedn theliteratureof management.wo otheraspects f the earlybusinessurriculum tHarvard,however, uggest irectionsor further nquiry.The first of these s law. Gay'sGermanexperience otwithstanding,heHarvard awSchool as heprimarymodel or thenewBusinesschool.Widelyrecognizedn the late 19th centuryas the preeminent merican nstitution f itskind, heLaw Schoolwasalready ducating any oungmendestinedor businesscareers.Melvin Copeland,n hisofficialhistoryof the Business chool, bservesthat he Socratic pproach sed n the Law School erved s the inspirationorGay'sproblemmethod.Commercial aw wasone of the first courseshe BusinessSchool offered; it conferred benefits both of relevance to a career in businessandtheconveniencef publishedourt aseswhichwereeasilyadaptableo classroomuse 6, p. 28], presumablyecauseheiremphasisncompetingrgumentspurredclass iscussionndbecauseheirdeductiveogicalstructure ascongenialo theproblem pproach aywasdeveloping.he echoes f legal rainingn managementthought ndeducation,oth n research,eachingmethods, nd nstitutionalorms,deserve urtherexploration. he role of law as constitutive f marketsand stateeconomic olicysuggestsnotherayerof significanceor such n inquiry.A second uggestivespect f theHarvard urriculums theparticipationfFrederick aylorandhisassociates.ay went o considerableengthso employTaylor as a lecturer n IndustrialOrganization,uccessfullyvercoming aylor'sskepticism bout he valueof academic tudy n a field dominated y practicalproblems. Jones and Monieson cite Taylor as a critical influence on thedevelopmentf a scientific pproacho marketing.The significanceof the scientific approach o problemsof humanorganizationasbeenwidely cknowledged8]. Historians avenotneglectedhecontributions f engineerso the development f administrative ystems ndfinancialand costaccounting5, pp. 95, 132, 465]. The contributionsf thenational overnmentavealsobeennoted, houghhepoliticalmplicationsf itsrole have not been examined.The government romotedboth disciplines,sometimesn conjunctionwith one another.West Point was the site of the firstengineering chool.The SpringfieldArmory, a military supplier,pioneeredtechniquesf large-scale roduction5, pp. 72-75], while heWatertownArsenalprovideda famous estcase or the application f Taylorism 1], whichhadbeenpopularizedarlier hroughxpertestimonyn theEastern ateCase 22, p. 143],anearly estof governmentuthorityo regulate rivateeconomic ctivityandanunusuallyxplicit nstance f governmentromotion f managementheory. essexplicit but more widely nfluential n the long run was he Morrill Act, whichallocatedederalandso support echanicalndcommercialducation. hile hisacthasbeen dentified sa milestonen thedevelopmentf higher ducationn theUnitedStates,ts link to thecentralizationf politicalpowerhas eceivedittleattention. he acthadbeenblocked y Southern tates s an unwarrantedntrusionof federal ower, ndwasn'tinallypassed ntil 1862aftersecession.overnmentencouragementf managementndengineeringhusdepended n a specific nd

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    debatable construction of the role of the state, which has not been considered inpreviouswork n the historyof managementhought.

    Anotherneglected spect f governmentnfluencen the development fmanagementndengineerings its effect on the economy ndon the structure fmarkets. Governmentencouragement f management, nd especially ofscience-basedanagement,sually entered n very arge-scalenterprises,nd sthusoftenassociatedithconditionsf monopoly, ligopoly, r monopsony. hataresometimesharacterizedsattemptso improve heefficiency f managementseem o haveproliferated here ncentiveso efficiencywere mpairedand o havecontributed to their further impairment.A study of how science influencedmanagementhought herefore equires n assessmentf its effectson the size oforganizations,he effectsof the size of organizationsn the numberof marketparticipants,nd heeffectof market tructure n thepoliticaldispositionsf firmsandmanagers. hile politicalnfluence nd he eorganizationf marketsmaynotbe announcedgoals of management hought, they could still turn out to bepreconditionsor or unanticipatedonsequencesf its development, nd if so,importantelementsof any accountof how it came o be what t is now.Engineering, n short,has had a complex nfluenceon the evolutionofmanagementhought,on its connectiono the state,andevenon the structure fmarkets.Although he fact of engineering'sontributions well documented,tspolitical mplications ave not beenexplored n depth.There is, to be sure, noevidencehatGayponderedhepoliticalmplicationsf engineering henhe hiredTaylorto teachat the HarvardBusiness chool.For the historian f managementthought,however, he fact thatGay recognized aylor'ssignificancendthathepursuedand hired him justifies inquiry into the political implicationsof thisconnection.That Taylor strongly nfluencedboth studentsand other facultymemberstrengthensotivationor such n nquiry.ThatGay subsequentlyentto work for Hoover, and that he appliedthe scientificattitude n service o apoliticalproject,wouldappear o render he project ndispensable.Ely, by contrast,never directed a business chool.As first director of theUniversityof WisconsinSchoolof Economics, e had expected o be givenauthority ver henewly-establishedchoolof Commerce, ut waspassed ver nfavor of the moreconservativeWilliam A. Scott [19, p. 162]. Ely's institutionalinfluence n managementhought as hereforeess irect hanGay's; isapproachto teaching, ast n theGermanmoldandemphasizing ocialproblems ndethicalideals,may be regarded s the road not taken or managementducation. imonPatten,ScottNearing,andothers rieflyexperimented ith a similarapproach tthe WhartonSchool,but soon ell afoul of local businesseadersand trustees 20,pp.91-126].Elsewhere,he echnocraticpproach mbodied y Gay andHarvardgenerallyprevailed.

    Ely, however,muststill be considered n important orce both in thedevelopmentf businessducationnd n theevolution f managementhought. snoted bove, is esearchnterest elpedaythe oundationsor businessisciplinesin the areasof marketing, ublicutilities,and publicadministrationnd finance.Perhapsmore mportant rehiseffects n individual tudents,manyof whomwenton to exercisenfluencen theirown ighton theeconomic ndpolitical hought fthe nation: Frederick JacksonTurner, Thomas Nixon Carver, Thorsten Veblen,Wesley Mitchell, Albion Small, JohnR. Commons,andWoodrow Wilson. Threeof his students--Albert Shaw, Newton D. Baker, and Frederick Howe--went on to

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    becomeprominentmunicipal eformers.Shaw edited the influentialReviewofReviews and became an advisor to Theodore Roosevelt. Baker served as Wilson'sSecretary f War. Howe,whowenton to serve n theNew Deal, wrote ellingly oEly of the nspiration e hadprovided:

    You disclosed to us the whole forest rather than a few trees whichconstitutedhescience f politicaleconomyn thepast,and hatmanis somethingmore hana merecovetousmachineand that the sciencewhich dealswith him in societyhas argeraimsthan the studyofrent, interest,wages,and value [19, p. 22].

    Raderclaims hat "[n]o professor f politicaleconomyn the countrydirectedorhelped o directsomany uture eadersn the socialsciences"p. 26].Within the profession f economics, ly was a forceful f not a dominantpresence.As a reformer, he contested he views of neoclassicists uchas SimonNewcombandWilliam GrahamSumner,who argued or an analyticaleconomicswhichavoidedmoralquestionsbout hedistributionf wealthor theresponsibilityof governmento protect he poor and vulnerable.He contributed nergetically opopular discussion f economic ssues,speakingout vigorously n supportofworkers ndunions. akinghiscue romhis riendand ellow-studentn GermanyCharlesBaxterAdams, ounderof the AmericanHistoricalAssociation, e helpedto found the AmericanEconomicAssociation,ntending t to counterbalanceheinfluence of Sumner and the other conservatives, who had founded the PoliticalEconomy Club to promote neoclassical rinciples. n due course, however,moderation revailed, ndthe Association roppedEly'srestrictive tatement fprinciples,which had been ntended o exclude he conservatives.ly tried andfailed to createotherorganizationsor progressiveconomists,specially n theWestern part of the country; his efforts, however, must be counted asencouragemento sozialpolitik nd the survivalof the ethical deal in the face of asometimes hostile academic climate.

    Perhapshegreatestnfluence ly exercised, owever,washiswork at theUniversity f Wisconsin. ollowingup on his nterestn charities ndcorrections,he inauguratedcoursen sociology, hichwas"not ntendedo trainspecialistsbut to preparestudentsor citizenship." ecturers rom penal nstitutionswerebrought o campus.Ely raisedmoney o support tudent ieldwork n settlementhousesndother harities. e gavepublic ectures n socialism, ublicownershipof utilities, and other controversialssues.He stimulatedoriginal researchbystudentswith his seminars, ebate eams,and round able researchmeetings.Hedevelopedelationshipsith stateagencies,which ater ormed he basis or closecooperation etween tategovernment nd he university. n short,as Rader pointsout, he laid the foundationsor the work of the next generation f institutionaleconomists: ohn R. Commons,CharlesMcCarthy, Albion Small, and WesleyMitchell. In doing so, he did not exercise the kind of direct influence onmanagementhought hatcan be attributed o Gay, but he did much o encouragecross-fertilizingnfluences nd o shape he ntellectual ontextwithin which deasaboutmanagement eveloped.Marketing, Management, and Economics

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    Gay and Ely have been claimedas pioneers n marketing,an area oftenexcluded rom the historyof managementhought, espite he two fields' unctionalinterdependence. ay's and Ely's diverseaccomplishmentsuggest hat suchadistinctions unrealistic. heir careers,moreover,are not the only enticement hatmarketing oldsout o historiansf managementhought.t alsooffersa largebodyof its own historicaland philosophical cholarship.Marketershave explored hesocialmplicationsf theirdiscipline 18], the historical ackgroundf marketingtheory 4, 14], andmarketing'spistemicoundationss seen rom the perspectiveof the philosophy f science 2, 12, 13, 16, 17]. Particularlyhelpful has beenmarketers' ecognitionof their debt to economics 11]--an awarenesswhich theintellectualhistorianof managementwoulddo well to heed.Attention o economicss critical o the historyof managementhoughtnotonly becausemanymanagementcholars avebeen rainedaseconomists, ut alsobecause conomic deas have been imported nto managementhoughtwithoutexaminationof the assumptions n which they are based or consideration fsubsequent riticismof them n their field of origin. One obviousexample s theinstitutionof markets,often characterizedn managementhought n termsof theclassicalnorm of pure competition, eady access,and wide dissemination fknowledge.As marketershave pointed out, however, his characterizationsproblematic. n a studyof how marketers onceptualize xchange,HoustonandGassenheimerrgue hat heactualstrategiesf marketers re heantithesis f purecompetition:

    [S]uccesso a marketer s escaping erfectcompetition... Successis the gainingof the differential dvantage, ecoming monopolisticcompetitor or, with enough finesse or prowess,maybe even amonopolist 11, p. 15].Economists,n theotherhand,are said o consider urecompetitionhe deal case,becauseresourcesreallocated fficiently ndcustomersregetting heirproductsat their least cost."

    The contrasts telling.Purecompetition anbe construed s the failureofmanagement: nder these conditions,markets ightly constrainevery businessdecision nd eaveno scope or strategy.t follows hatmanagement'sask s to earnmonopolyprofits; thus, its affinity for large enterprise,which tendsto restrictcompetition nd makemonopolyprofitsmoreeasilyattainable, nd its quest orpolitical nfluence nd statesponsorship, hichpermitescape rom the restraintsof markets. uchan understandingf businessehavior,n fact,correspondsloselywith a traditionof economic nalysis, ot mentioned y Houston ndGassenheimer,whichbeginswith the FrencheconomistCournotand s elaboratedn the work ofSraffa and Robinson n Englandand EdwardChamberlin n the United States.AsSchumpeter haracterizeshis tradition, t treatsmonopolistic ompetition s thenormrather han a deviation;pure monopolyand pure competition re viewedasdegenerate asesn whichoneof the two essential haracteristicsf marketsdrivesout the other and incentives o competition nd enterprise re destroyed 21, pp.1151-52]. If managementhoughtcan be shown o imply sucha view, then thefield'sethical oundationss well as historians'ccount f the motivesof its leadingfiguresmaybe duefor revision.Such ime-honored oncepts s consumer hoice,

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    the evelplayingield,and ree lowof information aybeconvenienthetorically,butcanscarcely e said o be an important artof theagenda f management.Conclusion

    Study of the careersof Edwin Gay and RichardEly suggests everaldirections or exploration n the history of managementhought.First, itdemonstramshe mportancef interdisciplinaryonnections,speciallyn theareaof economicsnd aw. Second,t illuminatesheroleof institutionsn shapingmanagementhought, othdirectly, hrough romotion f educationnd esearch,and ndirectly,hrough nvironmentalnfluence. hird, t showshat hepoliticaldimension of managementhought may be more significant han has beenrecognizedn previous ccounts.Whether r not hese spectsf thesubjecteceiveheattentionheyappearto meritdependsn partonhow hemanagementhoughts defined y historians.If it is equated ither o knowledge r to practice,hen he interdisciplinary,institutional, nd politicalaspects f the subjectwill tend to drop out of thehistoricalnarrative. ven a cursory eviewof Gay'sand Ely'scareers, owever,showsheundesirabilityf such result.Any accounthatsegregatedheiractivitiesintodisciplinaryategories ouldexplain o ittleaboutwhat hey hought nddidandcontributedo thehistory f managementhoughthat t couldscarcely e saidto constitute a historical narrative.References1. HughG. J. Aitken,Taylorism t Watertown rsenal.'Scient!ficManagementn Action1908-1915

    (Cambridge.1960).2. JohanArndt, "On MakingMarketingScienceMore Scientific:Roleof Orientations, aradigms,

    Metaphors, nd PuzzleSolving,"Journalof Marketing, (Summer 1985), 11-23.3. William J. Barber, From New Era to New Deal: Herbert Hoover, the Economists,and American

    EconomicPolicy 19211933 (London. 1985).4. J.M. Cassels,TheSignificancef EarlyEconomichought n Marketing,"ournal ['Marketing,(October 1936), 129-33.5. Alfred D. Chandler, r., The VisibleHand.'The ManagerialRevolutionn AmericanBusiness

    (Cambridge,1977).6. MelvinT. Copeland, ndMark an Era.' TheStory ['theHarvard Business chool Boston,1958).7. Richard Gillespie, ManufitcturingKnowlecge: History of the Hawthorne Experiments

    (Cambridge,1991).8. SamuelHaber,Elciency nd Uplift':Scient!fic anagementn theProgressivera 1890-1920

    (Chicago,1964).9. HerbertHeaton, Scholarn Aorion:EdwinF. Gay New York, 1968).10. JurgenHerbst,TheGermanHistoricalSchooln American cholarshipIthaca,1965).11. Franklin . HoustonndJuleB. Gassenheimer,Marketing ndExchange,"ournal 'Marketing,

    (October 1987), 3-18.12. Shelby . Hunt, Truthn Marketing heory ndResearch,"ournal fMarketing,July1990),1-

    15.13. __, "Objectivityn Marketing heory ndResearch."ournal ['Marketing, April 1993),

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    14. D.G. Brian Jonesand David D. Monieson,"Early Developmentof the Philosophy f MarketingThought," ournalq['Marketing, January1990), 102-113.

    15. J.A. MuncyandRaymond . Fisk, "CognitiveRelativism nd he Practice f MarketingScience,"Journalq['Marketing, January1987),20-32.

    16. Lucy SpragueMitchell, Two Lives: the Story qf WesleyClair Mitchell and Myse![' New York,1953).

    17. J. Paul PeterandJerryC Olson,"Is ScienceMarketing?" ournalq['Marketing Fall 1983), 111-125.

    18. Richard W. Pollay, "The Distorted Mirror: Reflectionson the UnintendedConsequences fAdverlising,"ournal fMarketing, April 1986), 18-35

    19. BenjaminG. Rader,TheAcademicMind andReJrm:The n[luenceq['RichardT. Ely in AmericanLt.'/bLouisville,1966).

    20. Steven A. Sass, The Pragmatic magination:A History t' the WhartonSchool 1881-1981(Philadelphia, 982).21. JosephA. Schumpeter, istory 'EconomicAnalysisNew York, 1954).22. Daniel A. Wren, The Evolutionof ManagementThought New York, 1979).