Frank L. Sweetser

Frank Loel Sweetser (June 2, 1873 – December 17, 1953) was an American pioneer management consultant, business executive, and organizational theorist. He was general manager of the Dutchess Manufacturing Company,^[1] and served as president of the American Management Association,^[2] and of the National Association of Cost Accountants, now Institute of Management Accountants.^[3][4]

Frank L. Sweetser
Born	(1873-06-02)June 2, 1873
Died	December 17, 1953(1953-12-17) (aged 80)
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	management consultant, business executive, and organizational theorist

Biography

Sweetser was born in 1873 in Wilton, New Hampshire, son of Harrison Cole Sweetser, a traveling salesman, and Abby Ann (Walton) Sweetser.^[5] Sweetser came into prominence early 1920s as author of a series articles on cost accounting, published in the System magazine. In those years he served as general manager of the Dutchess Manufacturing Company, a trouser manufacturers at Poughkeepsie, N. Y.

In 1925 Sweetser was elected president of the American Management Association for 1927 at their recent annual meeting,^[6] as successor of Sam A. Lewisohn and was in 1928 succeeded by William W. Kincaid.^[2] In 1927 he also served as new chairman of the International Garments Manufacturers' Association,^[7] and in the year 1928-29 he served as president of the National Association of Cost Accountants.^[8][9]

In 1930 Sweetser became partner in the consulting firm of Stevenson, Harrison & Jordan,^[10] and later senior partner. He also became partner in the National Photo Laboratories.^[4]

Family and deaths

Sweetser married Lura Hill Parker on June 22, 1897,^[5] and they had 3 children and lived in Montclair, New Jersey. Sweetser died on December 27, 1953, in New York City at the age of 79 after a brief illness.^[4]

His son, Frank L. Sweetser Jr. (1913–1994), became a notable sociologist,^[11] at the department of sociology at the Indiana University.^[12]

Selected publications

• Frank L. Sweetser. Financial management of the Dutchess Manufacturing Company, 1925.
• Paul W. Herring, F. L. Sweetser, Joseph M. Meyers. Following Up Complaints and Errors. American Management Association Office executives' division. Committee on salary standardization, 1925.

Articles, a selection

• Sweetser, F. L., "Things We Learned from Making Over a Business," System, November, 1923.
• Sweetser, F. L., "Why Our Labor Costs Are Low," System, December, 1923.
• Sweetser, F. L., "Coaching Our Workers to Meet 1924 Labor Costs," System, February, 1924.
• Frank L. Sweetser. "Operationg data for line officials." in: Handbook Of Business Administration, Leona Powell (ed.). 1931. p. 681-702
• Frank L. Sweetser. "Essentials in Budgeting." in: Handbook Of Business Administration, Leona Powell (ed.). 1931. p. 1536-1554
• Sweetser, F. L. 1937. "Standard costs simplified for garment manufacturers." N.A.C.A. Bulletin (August 1): 1309–1330.