PurposeThe paper aims to highlight the fact that Louis Dembitz Brandeis, well known for his time as a US Supreme Court Justice, was also very influential in promoting the virtues of scientific management in its early period of development while America was experiencing progressivism. In addition to his well known brilliance as a legal scholar, he was also a proponent of the importance of the role of efficient business practices in benefiting the worker and society in general. This paper aims to discuss the relationship between Brandeis and the scientific management movement that evolved over a period of decades that ultimately led to their mutual success.Design/methodology/approachThrough a discussion of the key relationship developed between Brandeis and scientific management the paper shows how each was able to thrive during progressive times.FindingsOver the span of his career Brandeis was adept at blending his appreciation and understanding of efficient business practices based on scientific management concepts with his view of a legal society. His legal and judicial temperament were best illustrated by his well known Brandeis brief which methodically combined economic facts and statistics of work performance with sound and convincing legal recommendations.Originality/valueThis is a historical account that provides a better understanding of the key role that Brandeis played in highlighting the field of scientific management while at the same time applying its concepts in a unique way to issues in the law and society.
This paper is an acknowledgement of the role of technology as an enabler that encourages the constant need to evaluate, update and employ changing job descriptions and business processes that truly acknowledge job requirements as they are versus notions of what they have been or should be. Advancements in technology have brought about a significant amount of change in terms of how we go about doing our daily work. The evolution from being a manufacturing economy to being information and service based brought to the workplace new realities and responsibilities. As a result, workers can no longer expect to be given a specific listing of assigned duties and tasks that remain fixed over a long period of time. The new paradigm in the workplace relies on continuous demands for improvement and acquired knowledge in a dynamic environment. The catalyst that enables continuous improvement is technology.
Joseph Schumpeter’s concept of creative destruction is being put to the test as each month of 2023 passes with the process of economic evolution and recreation being witnessed as a rapid pace of change is upon us. Mark Zuckerberg’s pronouncement of 2023 as the year of efficiency was not a prediction but rather a description of the events that have unfolded in the Tech industry that has also spilled over to other key economic sectors. Are we seeing a normal evolution of the development of the next phase of economic realities or a major upheaval of the system to correct decisions and actions of the past that were ill conceived and executed? This study is an attempt to accurate identify this unique economic phenomenon this has been occurring since Spring of 2022.
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