The Apprentice Manager Summary and Analysis

Carnegie works twelve years at the Pennsylvania Railroad while he develops managerial skill, economic principles and personal relationships to become a successful manager, capitalist and entrepreneur. The size and complexity of a railroad business requires creation of bureaucratic organization, structure, and policy to fit the needs. For example, a small railroad with thirty miles of rail route and support facilities takes days to tour, compared to the largest industrial unit, a textile mill, that may take an afternoon. Railroads need huge amounts of capital to construct track and more as they expand. During the nineteenth century American railroads are financed by bonds with over 20 percent of their earnings used to pay bond interest. Railroad receipts increase from $40 million in 1851 to $334 million fifteen years later in 1867. The business is "nickel and dime" with conductors and station agents collecting...