Richard H. Lansburgh

Richard Hines Lansburgh was an American economist, management consultant, and Professor of Industry at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, known for his work in the field of industrial management.

Biography

Lansburgh was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and studied economics at the University of Pennsylvania. There in 1915 he obtained his Bsc in economics, and in 1916 his MA, and in 1918 his PhD in Political Economy with a thesis entitled "Labor turnover."
In 1915 Lansburgh had started his life-long academic career at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, only interrupted by World War I. From 1917 to 1919 he served in the Ordnance Corps of the United States Army. He started out as First Lieutenant, and got promoted to the rank of Captain and of Major. Back at the Wharton School he was assistant professor from 1919 to 1921, and Professor of Industry until his retirement in the late 1930s.
Furthermore, Lansburgh served as director of the Pennsylvania Economy League of Southwestern Pennsylvania; as Secretary at the Labor and Industry Commonwealth of Pennsylvania since his appointment by Gifford Pinchot in 1924; as Industrial Officer; at the First National Bank of Detroit, management consultant and management author.

Work

Lansburgh is particularly known for his seminal work in industrial engineering, particularly with the publication of his 1923 book Industrial Management. The text is designed not to make any original contribution, but to create an overview of the field. In the introduction to the 3rd edition he explained the work as:
The work itself consists of seven parts.

Reception

The author of Yardsticks of Management remembered Lansburgh for his outstanding opinion about those matters. Lansburgh in 1930 had argued:

Selected publications

Lansburgh, Richard Hines. . John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 1923; 2nd revision ed, 1928; with William R. Spriegel, 1940.

;Articles, a selection

Lansburgh, Richard H. "Industrial Fact: Finding as a Function of Government." Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science 13.1 : pages 14–19.
Lansburgh, Richard H. "Recent Migrations of Industries in the United States." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 142.1 : pages 296–301.
Lansburgh, Richard H. "United States Department of Commerce Standards Yearbook, 1929". Pages vi, 401. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 145.1 : page 211.