Vytautas Andrius Graiciunas
Encyclopedia
Vytautas Andrius Graičiūnas (August 17, 1898 in Chicago
– January 9, 1952 in Olzheras, Siberia
) was a Lithuania
n management theorist, management consultant, and engineer
. Born to Lithuanian immigrants, he studied at the University of Chicago
. During the World War I
served in France
. After coming back in 1919, he became interested in management and continued his studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology
.
In 1927 he came to Lithuania and worked at Kaunas
factories. Soon he started traveling and working across Europe. Until 1935 he worked as a consultant and helped to establish large companies in Barcelona
, Brussels
, Copenhagen
, London
, and Milan
. During this period he published his classical study printed in Geneva
Relationship in Organization in 1933. Soon other editions appeared in the United States
. He mathematically proved that a manager should not have more than 4-5 subordinates. He came up with the following formula to express the total number of relationships between a boss and his or her subordinates:
When number of subordinates increases, the number of relationships increases exponentially; at 5 subordinates the number of relationships is 100, at 10 - 5,210. Many scientists expanded or criticized the theory, among them was Herbert Simon
.
In 1935 Graičiūnas returned to Lithuania, where he worked as an engineer, management consultant at various state and private institutions, including Ministry of Defense, Lithuanian aviation
, Lithuanian State Theatre, Lithuanian Film Company. He also lectured at the Vytautas Magnus University
and was awarded Commander's Cross of Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
. During the World War II
Graičiūnas decided to remain in Lithuania despite clear threats of the occupation by the Soviet Union
.
In 1951 while visiting Moscow
with a group of students he visited the embassy of the United States where he was told that only he could leave the Soviet Union
because his wife, actor Unė Babickaitė
, did not have U.S. citizenship. After this incident Graičiūnas and his wife were arrested for espionage and anti-soviet activities, tried and sentenced to several years in GULAG
. He died the following year under unclear circumstances. His wife, after Stalin's death in 1953, got her sentence reduced and returned to Kaunas.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
– January 9, 1952 in Olzheras, Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
) was a Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n management theorist, management consultant, and engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
. Born to Lithuanian immigrants, he studied at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. During the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
served in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. After coming back in 1919, he became interested in management and continued his studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly called Illinois Tech or IIT, is a private Ph.D.-granting university located in Chicago, Illinois, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, communications, industrial technology, information technology, design, and law...
.
In 1927 he came to Lithuania and worked at Kaunas
Kaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
factories. Soon he started traveling and working across Europe. Until 1935 he worked as a consultant and helped to establish large companies in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. During this period he published his classical study printed in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
Relationship in Organization in 1933. Soon other editions appeared in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He mathematically proved that a manager should not have more than 4-5 subordinates. He came up with the following formula to express the total number of relationships between a boss and his or her subordinates:
- N [(2N/2) + N - 1], where N is a number of subordinates.
When number of subordinates increases, the number of relationships increases exponentially; at 5 subordinates the number of relationships is 100, at 10 - 5,210. Many scientists expanded or criticized the theory, among them was Herbert Simon
Herbert Simon
Herbert Alexander Simon was an American political scientist, economist, sociologist, and psychologist, and professor—most notably at Carnegie Mellon University—whose research ranged across the fields of cognitive psychology, cognitive science, computer science, public administration, economics,...
.
In 1935 Graičiūnas returned to Lithuania, where he worked as an engineer, management consultant at various state and private institutions, including Ministry of Defense, Lithuanian aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
, Lithuanian State Theatre, Lithuanian Film Company. He also lectured at the Vytautas Magnus University
Vytautas Magnus University
Vytautas Magnus University ) is a public university in Kaunas, Lithuania. The university was founded in 1922 during the interwar period as an alternate national university...
and was awarded Commander's Cross of Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas
The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas is the Lithuanian Presidential Award which was re-instituted to honour the citizens of Lithuania for outstanding performance in civil and public offices. Foreign nationals may also be awarded this Order. The Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke...
. During the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Graičiūnas decided to remain in Lithuania despite clear threats of the occupation by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
In 1951 while visiting Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
with a group of students he visited the embassy of the United States where he was told that only he could leave the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
because his wife, actor Unė Babickaitė
Une Babickaite
Unė Babickaitė-Graičiūnienė was a Lithuanian actress and theater director. She was a wife of business theorist Vytautas Andrius Graičiūnas....
, did not have U.S. citizenship. After this incident Graičiūnas and his wife were arrested for espionage and anti-soviet activities, tried and sentenced to several years in GULAG
Gulag
The Gulag was the government agency that administered the main Soviet forced labor camp systems. While the camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas and other instruments of...
. He died the following year under unclear circumstances. His wife, after Stalin's death in 1953, got her sentence reduced and returned to Kaunas.