Scope and Contents
The collection consist primarily of notes and articles on work standardization and personnel policies, and routine business materials used in industrial organizations practicing scientific management principles. The collection reflects Feiss' work and theories on worker welfare and personal relationships, as influenced by Frederick W. Taylor's scientific management principles.
Dates
- 1905-1977
Language of Materials
Collection material in English
Conditions Governing Access
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.
Biographical / Historical
After receiving a law degree from Harvard, Feiss joined his father's clothing manufacturing business, where he attempted to combine elements of Frederick Taylor's theories of scientific management with his own theories of personal relationship. His goal was to establish a factory in which production was efficient while at the same time the employees had the opportunity to experience personal development, growth, and self actualization.
To improve production, Feiss employed aspects of scientific management, including standardization of equipment, routing instructions, and time studies. To enhance conditions for the workers, he established a program of "Personal Relationships" which gave the workers a chance to participate in decision-making, and also improved the selection, orientation processes. Additionally, workers were offered counseling services, recreational facilities, mental and physical examinations, and other advantages.
Due to economic hardships and personality conflicts among the top managers in Joseph & Feiss, R.A. Feiss resigned from the company in 1925 and went into business on his own. Consequently, the system he developed at Clothcraft crumbled.
Extent
3 cubic feet
Abstract
This collection is made up of letters, notes, articles, and other papers pertaining to the life and career of Richard A. Feiss.
Quantity:
3 linear ft.
Forms of Material:
Patents, records (documents) .
General
- Contact Information:
- Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives Martin P. Catherwood Library 227 Ives Hall Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 255-3183 kheel_center@cornell.edu http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/kheel-center
- Compiled by:
- Kheel Staff, April 02, 2008
- EAD encoding:
- Kheel Staff, March 21, 2019
- Title
- Feiss Company Records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Compiled by Kheel Staff
- Date
- March 21, 2019
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Revision Statements
- 02/23/2024: This resource was modified by the ArchivesSpace Preprocessor developed by the Harvard Library (https://github.com/harvard-library/archivesspace-preprocessor)
Repository Details
Part of the Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives Repository
227 Ives Hall
Ithaca NY 14853