Downloadable Materials
“The role of the composer is similar to the role of the manager: both aim for harmony, the musician in terms of the harmony of the sounds, the manager in terms of the harmony of the work elements.”
-Karol Adamiecki
Harmonic Leadership: Karol Adamiecki
While best remembered for the "Harmonogram," Karol Adamiecki's influence extended significantly further. His Cycle of Organization: Planning-Execution-Control-Analysis anticipated the development of the now PDSA/PDCA cycle, and his cost flow analysis is perhaps the earliest known example of a Value Stream Map. Additionally, his concept of "rytm" (rhythm) resonated with his Polish and German contemporaries who substituted "takt," a shared synonym, and a term familiar to modern industrial engineers and managers across languages.
"Harmonic Leadership' offers an unprecedented exploration of management theory and practice that makes it an essential read for anyone embarking on a career in management. Drawing from the profound insights of a pioneering thought leader, you'll gain a comprehensive appreciation and understanding of management theory. For those seeking a comprehensive, insightful, and practical guide to management, 'Harmonic Leadership' is an indispensable resource.
Selected Articles
Harmonization as One of the Main Foundations of Scientific Management, 1924 Article Series - In this series, Karol Adamiecki identifies the lack of coordination or “harmonization” between departments and work cells as the biggest waste in industry; contributing to idleness and underwork in some areas, while leaving the machines and workers in others overutilized and overburdened. Just as in musical harmony, the goal of the plant manager is to ensure “each sound is played at the right time, neither earlier nor later. In this regard, the role of the composer is similar to the role of the manager: both aim for harmony, the musician in terms of the harmony of the sounds, the manager in terms of the harmony of the work elements."
Harmonograph, 1931 Instructional Article - Despite the prevalent use of Harmonographs in European factories by 1931, and their frequent mentions in scientific management articles and conferences, this piece is Adamiecki’s first instructional article explicitly aimed at newcomers. The article also presages an early iteration of an "A3" report; advising users to photograph the board before erasing it, documenting progress and providing a tangible record "in the normal A3 format."
Adamiecki’s Laws and Principles of Scientific Management, a summary of the foundational principles of management covering organizational transformation, laws of economy, laws of harmony, and value stream principles.
Notes on the Definition of Organizational Science, a critique of the superficial “rationalization” efforts that rely on piecemeal tools rather than deeper, universal principles, much like today’s “tool age” of Lean. He emphasizes that genuine organizational transformation depends on understanding fundamental cause-and-effect relationships and applying a scientific, iterative approach to guide people and processes.
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Karol Adamiecki’s Technical Papers
In the late 1800’s Karol Adamiecki wrote three papers summarizing some of the technical innovations in the rolling mill industry. During this time, was already heavily involved, concurrently with, but independently of, Frederick Taylor, in the development of the principles of scientific organization. He famously created quite a stir in 1903 with his presentation of “harmonization” at an engineering conference in Russia, but did not begin focusing on publishing more on the topic until the end of the decade. This article gives some insight into Adamiecki’s technical proficiency.
In 1931 he also published a paper that he had written in 1906 on types of piece-work systems common at the time. As with Frederick Taylor, Adamiecki’s technical achievements are interesting, but it was his contributions to the field of scientific management that are still relevant today. Hence, the exclusion of these articles from our translation of his collected works.
Henry Le Chatelier - Philosophy of the Taylor System
The field of scientific management, often referred to in its early days as "Taylorism," stands unique in comparison to other disciplines. Much of the confusion surrounding scientific management, both then and now, can be traced back to its pioneering author, Frederick Taylor. His writing was acknowledged to be problematic by friends, supporters, and contemporaries such as the Gilbreths and others, even within the pages of the Bulletins of the Taylor Society.
Enter Henry Le Chatelier, one of Taylor's early friends and collaborators. Though best remembered today for his eponymous "equilibrium theorem" in chemistry, his equally profound contributions to scientific management are all-but-forgotten—with the promised English translations likely never published ... until now.
Le Chatelier entrusted the translation and arrangement of the Polish edition of his works, upon which this translation is based, on scientific management to Karol Adamiecki, a co-founder of the discipline, who was also invited to write the foreword, where his timeless insights resonate with the modern business leader. He writes, “Even among those who have read Taylor's works... there are very few who have properly understood the fundamentals of the subject,” and "there is only one commentator who ... captured Taylor's main guiding idea even better than the author himself. It is...Henry Le Chatelier ... If a reader truly wishes to understand the full depth of this system, they should study this book."
Book preview: Table of Contents, and Introductions
Le Taylorisme (1928) - French language edition. *Note to libraries (and others): feel free to upload our scan to your collections.
Part I - Preface, Ch 1, But du Taylorisme; Ch 2 Définition du Taylorisme
Part II - Chapter 3, L’organisation
Part III - Chapter 4, La méthode scientifique. A. Principe de division
Part IV - Chapter 5, La méthode scientifique. B. L'Expérimentation
Part V - Chapter 6, Enseignement de l'organisation. A. Enseignement secondaire; Chapter 7, Enseigneme,n~ de l'organisation. B. Enseignement supérieur; Chapter 8, Résumé et conclusion
Le Chatelier’s Laws and Principles of Taylorism: two page summary
