Alexander Hamilton Church (28 May 1866 – 11 February 1936) was an English efficiency engineer, accountant and writer on accountancy and management, known for his seminal work of management and

cost accounting Cost accounting is defined as "a systematic set of procedures for recording and reporting measurements of the cost of manufacturing goods and performing services in the aggregate and in detail. It includes methods for recognizing, classifying, al ...

Biography

Church was born in Uxbridge near London to Richard Stephen Hamilton Church and Jane Grace Quick Clemence, both American. His father was the son of Angelica Schuyler and John Barker Church and grandson of

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler. Born in Alb ...

, a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. There were some rumors that his father was an illegitimate son of Alexander Hamilton, who had married another of General Schuyler's daughters. Alexander H. Church grew up in England, where he received a liberal education. Church started his career at the British

National Telephone Company The National Telephone Company (NTC) was a British telephone company from 1881 until 1911 which brought together smaller local companies in the early years of the telephone. Under the Telephone Transfer Act 1911 it was taken over by the General P ...

. Over the years he became a technical expert in electrical engineering and started working as manager in an electrical manufacturing business. He rejoined the telephone company and organized and opened their factory at Birmingham, England. Subsequently he became secretary for multiple manufacturing companies. For a period of seven years he was European manager for The '' Engineering Magazine.''''Factory and Industrial Management,'' Vol. 46. McGraw-Hill publishing Company, Incorporated, 1914. p. xc. Late 19th century he was mentored by J. Slater Lewis (author of "The Commercial Organization of Factories"), and started writing on accountancy and management, publishing his first article in the '' Engineering Magazine'' in 1890. Church moved to the United States between 1900 and 1905,James R. Huntzinger. ''Lean Cost Management: Accounting for Lean by Establishing Flow.'' J. Ross Publishing, 15 mei 2007. p. 69-70 where he started working as consulting engineer In the next decade with his consulting firm made a special study of factory organization and manufacturing efficiency. He further wrote the notable works "The Proper Distribution of Expense Burden" (1908) and "Production Factors in Cost Accounting and Works Management" (1910).

Work

Analysis of the Sales Price of a Manufactured Article, 1908

Church became known as one of the pioneers in reducing the commercial organization of factories to the basis of a science, a work in which he was associated with J. Slater Lewis in Britain. He also worked with

Hans Renold Hans Renold (31 July 1852 - 2 May 1943) was a Swiss/British engineer, inventor and industrialist in Britain, who founded the Renold manufacturing textile-chain making business in 1879, and with Alexander Hamilton Church is credited for introducin ...

, who is credited for introducing scientific management to England.Richard Vangermeersch (1996)
Church, Alexander Hamilton (1866–1936
" In ''History of Accounting: An International Encyclopedia,'' edited by Michael Chatfield and Richard Vangermeersch. New York: Garland Publishing, 1996. p. 124. In the United States Church worked with L.P. Alford and developed a systems of management principles partly based on the ideas of Charles Babbage. Their theory contrasted Taylor's shop management principles, and paved the way to modern industrial management. Church first book "The Proper Distribution of Expense Burden" was published as a series of articles in the '' Engineering Magazine'' in 1901, and as book in 1908. This became a reference for accounting both in The United States and England.Jayanta K Nanda (2006) ''Management Thought''. p.81

Selected publications

Books: * 1908.
The Proper Distribution of Expense Burden
' (second edition, 1913) * 1910.
Production Factors in Cost Accounting and Works Management
' * 1914.
Science and Practice of Management
' * 1917.
Manufacturing Costs and Accounts
' * 1923. ''Making an Executive'' Articles, a selection: * Church, Alexander Hamilton, “The Meaning of Commercial Organization,” in ''The Engineering Magazine,'' December 1900. Vol. 20, pp. 391–398 * Church, Alexander Hamilton, “The Proper Distribution of Establishment Charges.” in ''Engineering Magazine,'' July to Dec. 1901. * Church, A. H. "Premium, Piece-work and Expense Burden." in: ''Engineering Magazine'', Vol. 46, New York, 1913. pp. 7–18, 207–216.

References

External links

The Contributions of Alexander Hamilton Church to Accounting and Management
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church, Alexander Hamilton 1866 births 1936 deaths English non-fiction writers English engineers English male non-fiction writers

Biography

Work

Selected publications

References

Further reading

External links