''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 Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

imprint of

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

in 1977. Chandler argues that in the nineteenth century, Adam Smith's ''invisible'' hand was supplanted by the "''visible'' hand" of

middle management Middle management is the intermediate management level of a hierarchical organization that is subordinate to the executive management and responsible for "team leading" line managers and/or "specialist" line managers. Middle management is indire ...

, which became "the most powerful institution in the

American economy The United States has a highly developed mixed economy. It is the world's largest economy by nominal GDP and second largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). As of 2025, it has the world's seventh highest nominal GDP per capita and ninth ...

". ''The Visible Hand'' was awarded the 1978 Pulitzer Prize for History and the Bancroft Prize of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Chandler's eight propositions

Chandler uses eight propositionsChandler, Alfred. ''The Visible Hand''. Belknap Press, 1977. . Introduction. 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 was 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.

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External links

Summary of ''The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business'' by Max Olson
1977 non-fiction books Business books Pulitzer Prize for History–winning works History books about the United States Belknap Press books {{business-book-stub

Chandler's eight propositions

See also

References

Further reading

External links