The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business is a book by American business historian Alfred D. Chandler Jr., published by the Belknap Press imprint of Harvard University Press in 1977. Chandler argues that in the nineteenth century, Adam Smith's famous invisible hand of the market was supplanted by the "visible hand" of middle management, which became "the most powerful institution in the American economy".[1]
The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business
Chandler uses eight propositions[3] to show how and why the visible hand of management replaced what Adam Smith referred to as the invisible hand of the market forces:
that the US modern multi-unit business replaced small traditional enterprises, when administrative coordination permitted better profits than market coordination;
that a managerial hierarchy has been created for this multi-unit business enterprise;
that the multi-unit business enterprise appeared for the first time in history at a time when the volume of economic activities reached a level that made administrative coordination more efficient than market coordination;
that once a managerial hierarchy has been created and successfully carried out its functions of administrative coordination, the hierarchy itself became a source of power, permanence and continued growth;
that the careers of salaried managers became increasingly professional and technical;
that the multi-unit business enterprise grew in size and diversity, and as its managers became more professional, the management of the enterprise became separated from its ownership;
that managers preferred policies that favored long term stability and growth of their enterprises to those that maximized current profits;
that as large enterprises grew and dominated major sectors of the economy, they altered the basic structure of these sectors and of the economy as a whole.
^. AScribe – via HighBeam Research(subscription required). May 11, 2007. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
^. The Washington Post. – via HighBeam Research(subscription required). May 14, 2007. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2012.
^Chandler, Alfred. The Visible Hand. Belknap Press, 1977. ISBN978-0674940529. Introduction.
Further reading
Antonio, Robert J. "The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business." Telos 1979.42 (1979): 188–193.
Hensel, Nayantara. "The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business." Defense A R Journal 19.3 (2012): 345+. Academic OneFile. Web.
John, Richard R. "Elaborations, Revisions, Dissents: Alfred D. Chandler, Jr.'s, The Visible Hand After Twenty Years." Business History Review 71#2 (1997): 151–200. online
External links
Summary of The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business by Max Olson
This article about a book on business is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
visible, hand, economic, concept, visible, hand, economics, managerial, revolution, american, business, book, american, business, historian, alfred, chandler, published, belknap, press, imprint, harvard, university, press, 1977, chandler, argues, that, ninetee. For an economic concept see Visible hand economics The Visible Hand The Managerial Revolution in American Business is a book by American business historian Alfred D Chandler Jr published by the Belknap Press imprint of Harvard University Press in 1977 Chandler argues that in the nineteenth century Adam Smith s famous invisible hand of the market was supplanted by the visible hand of middle management which became the most powerful institution in the American economy 1 The Visible Hand The Managerial Revolution in American BusinessAuthorAlfred D Chandler Jr CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishGenrehistoryPublisherBelknap PressPublication date1977Pages608AwardsPulitzer Prize for HistoryISBN9780674940529The Visible Hand was awarded the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for History and the Bancroft Prize of Columbia University 2 Contents 1 Chandler s eight propositions 2 See also 3 References 4 Further reading 5 External linksChandler s eight propositions EditChandler uses eight propositions 3 to show how and why the visible hand of management replaced what Adam Smith referred to as the invisible hand of the market forces that the US modern multi unit business replaced small traditional enterprises when administrative coordination permitted better profits than market coordination that a managerial hierarchy has been created for this multi unit business enterprise that the multi unit business enterprise appeared for the first time in history at a time when the volume of economic activities reached a level that made administrative coordination more efficient than market coordination that once a managerial hierarchy has been created and successfully carried out its functions of administrative coordination the hierarchy itself became a source of power permanence and continued growth that the careers of salaried managers became increasingly professional and technical that the multi unit business enterprise grew in size and diversity and as its managers became more professional the management of the enterprise became separated from its ownership that managers preferred policies that favored long term stability and growth of their enterprises to those that maximized current profits that as large enterprises grew and dominated major sectors of the economy they altered the basic structure of these sectors and of the economy as a whole See also EditInvisible hand Vanishing Hand The Managerial Revolution by James Burnham The Nature of the Firm The New Industrial StateReferences Edit Harvard Business School Professor Alfred D Chandler Jr Preeminent Business Historian Dead at 88 AScribe via HighBeam Research subscription required May 11 2007 Archived from the original on March 25 2016 Retrieved December 9 2012 Noted Economic Historian Alfred Chandler Jr 88 The Washington Post via HighBeam Research subscription required May 14 2007 Archived from the original on March 11 2016 Retrieved December 9 2012 Chandler Alfred The Visible Hand Belknap Press 1977 ISBN 978 0674940529 Introduction Further reading EditAntonio Robert J The Visible Hand The Managerial Revolution in American Business Telos 1979 42 1979 188 193 Hensel Nayantara The Visible Hand The Managerial Revolution in American Business Defense A R Journal 19 3 2012 345 Academic OneFile Web John Richard R Elaborations Revisions Dissents Alfred D Chandler Jr s The Visible Hand After Twenty Years Business History Review 71 2 1997 151 200 onlineExternal links EditSummary of The Visible Hand The Managerial Revolution in American Business by Max Olson This article about a book on business is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Visible Hand amp oldid 1128041752, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
