Keiei Shigaku (Japan Business History Review)

Show abstractHide abstract

In this paper, the author describes the adoption of the “Taylor System” by the Pont-A-Mousson Company, a representative French manufacturer of iron tubes and other iron products.
With the help of the Saint-Gobain Pont-A-Mousson Archives (25, rue de la Valée Maillard, 41000 Blois, France), it is possible to trace the efforts of this company to rationalize their production system.
This paper is composed of three sections. The first section analyses the rationalization efforts of the company in the 1910s. Pont-A-Mousson asked the Morinni consulting company of Paris to suggest methods of rationalizing the production system. Morinni submitted a report concerning (a) worker's attitude and discipline, (b) the card system, (c) work time, labour and materials and (d) methods of bolt production.
The second section examines the missions of company engineers sent to the United States in the 1920s in order to study the American “Taylor System”. Upon their return, these engineers improved the company's production system, and generated savings in production costs.
The third section deals with the slowdown of the pace of rationalization in the 1930s. In this decade, the Bedeaux consulting company of Paris tried unsuccessfully to sell their system to Pont-A-Mousson.
The Pont-A-Mousson company was very enthusiastic in adopting the American production system and we may conclude that their efforts produced significant results.

View full abstract

Download PDF (3521K)

Register with J-STAGE for free!