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Gantt Charts December 24, 2006

Posted by Lawrence Loucka in : Definitions, Lean, Lean Sigma , add a comment

Henry GanttHenry Laurence Gantt (1861-1919) was a mechanical engineer, and management consultant. He developed a visual scheduling tool in the second decade of the 20th century that we know today as a Gantt Chart.  Gantt Charts are used to show scheduled and actual project progress. Accepted as a commonplace project management tool today, it was an innovation of world-wide importance in the 1920s, based on his work studying ship building during WWI. Gantt charts were used on large construction projects like the Hoover Dam started in 1931 and the US interstate highway network started in 1956.

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Frederick Taylor December 17, 2006

Posted by Lawrence Loucka in : Definitions, Lean, Lean Sigma , add a comment

Frederick TaylorTaylor, Frederick Winslow (1856-1915), American industrial engineer, who originated scientific management in business.  He was born in Germantown (now part of Philadelphia), Pennsylvania.  In 1878, he began working at the Midvale Steel Company.  He became foreman of the steel plant and applied himself to studies in the measurement of industrial productivity.  Taylor developed detailed systems intended to gain maximum efficiency from both workers and machines in the factory.  These systems relied on time and motion studies, which help determine the best methods for performing a task in the least amount of time.  In 1898 he became joint discoverer of the Taylor-White process, a method of tempering steel.  Taylor served as consulting engineer for several companies.  His management methods were published in The Principles of Management.

 

 

 

Mentoring December 10, 2006

Posted by Lawrence Loucka in : Consulting, Definitions , add a comment


Supporting another person by sharing knowledge and experience in an area is mentoring. For example, an experienced executive might coach a new manager in the art of leadership. Mentoring derives its name from Ancient Greek mythology when Odysseus left Mentor to look after his household while he fought the Trojan wars. Mentor was charged with raising Odysseus’s son Telemachus in the ways of wisdom. Mentors:

Here are a few good references:

 Mentor's Guide  The Elements of Mentoring Managers and Mentors