A Brief Analysis of The Steel Industry Essays -- Industry

Steel Industry In the early part of this century was a time when industry was booming with growth around the installation of major railroads. With this growth came the transatlantic cable, the telegraph, and a whole lot of steel. Steel would be needed in the construction of these new transportation systems and communications were now possible between businesses and industries. (Wren, 2005) This paper will first discuss the development of the steel industry. Next, it will examine steel, and in the impact it had on the transportation industry. Finally, it will discuss systematic management practices of this time and how they gave birth to the scientific approach that is still in use today. Steel The steel industry was needed for almost everything. Alfred D Chandler Jr. could see the potential market value early on. According to Wren: Chandler traced the history of various firms and delineated four phases in the history of the large U.S. enterprise: 1. The initial expansion and accumulation of resources 2. The rationalization of the use of resources 3. The expansion into new markets and lines to help assure the full use of resources; 4. The development of a new structure that rationalized the renewal of growth. For many companies, the phases started and ended at different times, depending on the state of technology and the firm’s ability to react and capitalize on market opportunities. Chandler further noted two facets of industrial growth: 1. Horizontal growth from 1879 to 1893- which occurred when producers of similar fields combined through mergers, pools, or trusts to gain economies of scale, and 2. Vertical growth from 1898 to 1904- which occurred when firms moved backward or forward in ter... ...vents/pande01.html English Online. (Ed.). (n.d.). The Industrial Revolution. Retrieved April 23, 2012, from English-online.com Web site: http://www.english-online.at/history/industrial-revolution/industrial-revolution-manufacturing.htm History.com. (Ed.). (n.d.). Andrew Carnegie. Retrieved April 23, 2012, from History.com Web site: http://www.history.com/topics/andrew-carnegie Kernsanalysis.com. (Ed.). (n.d.). An Overview of Management. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from Fredrick Taylor Scientific Management Web site: http://www.kernsanalysis.com/sjsu/ise250/history.htm Vectorstudy.com. (Ed.). (2008). Henri Fayol Management Gurus. Retrieved April 25, 2012, from Vector Study.com Web site: http://www.vectorstudy.com/management_gurus/henri_fayol.htm Wren. (2005). The History of Management Thought (5th ed.). Danvers, MA: Wiley & Sons. (Original work published 1976)