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Article: Robert Owen: pioneer of personnel management.
- Article from:
- Thinkers
- Article date:
- December 1, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Chartered Management Institute. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Robert Owen (1771-1858) was an early industrialist--perhaps best known for his model textile factory and village at New Lanark in Scotland.
Conditions in early factories were extremely harsh, with very hazardous working conditions for all employees. Long working hours (normally at least 13 hours per day, six days a week) were the norm, with children as young as five or six working under the same conditions as adults. Factory owners placed more importance on the care of their expensive machines than on the well-being (or otherwise) of their expendable employees. Owen's strength was that he saw his employees as every bit as important to the success of his ...