George Albert Smith papers

George Albert Smith Jr. (1905-1969) was a minister and Harvard Business School (HBS) professor. He attended the Parkfield School in England before earning his A.B. with high honors from the University of Utah in 1926. Smith then came to Harvard where he was awarded an MBA in 1934 and a DCS in 1937.

He joined the Harvard Business School faculty in 1934 where he taught courses in business policy, administrative practices and the responsibility of business in American society. Smith served as Assistant Dean from 1939-1945 and, in 1945, became Professor of Business Administration, a position he held until his unexpected death in 1969.

Smith held many visiting professorships during this period including stints at Yale Law School, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, the Institut pour l'étude des méthodes de direction de l'entreprise (IMEDE) in Lausanne, Switzerland and at the Advanced Management Program at the University of Hawaii. Smith also was very active in the Church of Latter Day Saints, serving as missionary and administrative officer in the Church in Basel, Switzerland from 1926-1929.

In addition to his many teaching responsibilities, Smith worked as a consultant for several institutions and offices, including the U.S. Navy, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Secretary of Commerce, Luther H. Hodges. During World War II, Smith served as Assistant Director of the Special Navy Supply Corps. His research focused on the social responsibilities of business leaders, an issue he was working on at the time of his death. He was the author of three books: Policy Formulation and Administration (1951), Managing Geographically Decentralized Companies (1958), and Business, Society, and the Individual (1962).