Taylorism and Hours of Work

Scientific Management was first described by Frederick Taylor in the late 19th century. Its relevance to modern day management is widely debated in academic circles. In this essay, I will address the question of whether Scientific Management has a place today, in a 21st Century Knowledge Economy, or whether it belongs to a ‘different time and place. I will argue that much of modern management practice is derived from Taylor’s theories and that in this sense his work is very relevant. Next, I will examine the context in which Taylor developed his principles and contrast this with the contemporary context. Then I will evaluate the relevance of each of Taylor’s 4 Principles to today, with help from a

Frederick Taylor’s fundamental thoughts on scientific management dated back to early 1880s when he was employed at Midvale Steel Company and observed his coworkers “soldiering” at work. In the following two decades, he moved around different companies while developing his management theory

Scientific management or "Taylorism" is an approach to job design, developed by Frederick Taylor (1856-1915) during the Second World War. With the industrial revolution came a fast growing pool of people, seeking jobs, that required a new approach of management. Scientific management was the first management theory, applied internationally. It believes in the rational use of resources for utmost output, hence motivating workers to earn more money. Taylor believed that the incompetence of managers was the major obstacle on the way of productivity increase of human labour. Consequently, this idea led to the need of change of management principles. On the base of research, involving analysing controlled experiments under various working

Scientific management is defined by (Robbins et al., 2012) as ‘an approach that involves using scientific methods to define the “one best way” for a job to be done’. Frederick W. Taylor is said to be the forefather of scientific management, during his time many people criticised Taylor and his work, however it is easy to see that many of his approaches are used in contemporary management systems. This essay will provide a review of the article ‘The Ideas of Frederick W. Taylor’, Academy of Management Review (Locke, E., 1982) which discusses the positives and negatives of Taylor’s theory. A further 3 articles will be analysed on the critiquing or support of scientific management and Taylor.

“Scientific Management” and “Human Relations” are two different management approaches. In Scientific Management, managers are responsible to think and workers do. Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) develops the Principles of Time and Motion Study, which leads to a conclusion that certain people have a higher work efficiency compared to the others. In his means, cooperation is “to do what workers are told to do without asking questions or making suggestions.” (as cited in Miller & Form, 1924).

What are the main features of Taylor’s approach to ‘Scientific Management” and what criticisms have been made of it? Do firms use scientific management today?

Frederick W. Taylor was ahead of his time for his concept of Scientific management. It was a revolutionary way of running a business, that swept all over the globe, and his ideas were applicable to many different industries. Substituting disorder and conflict for a new untested method of control, cooperation, and science. Taylor understood there were no incentives for working harder. Knowing this, he payed workers based on output, allowing workers to make more money on any given day. It seemed like everyone would enjoy and prosper under this system, but that was not the case. Workers liked the opportunity to make more money in this system but many of them resisted this new idea. Being under constant supervision made work much harder for them.

1. Briefly explain the main conclusions that can be drawn from Taylor’s theory of Scientific Management and critically evaluate the implications for contemporary management practice

Taylorism can be linked to Fordism in relation to pay. Henry Ford introduced the $5 rather than piece rate, this came with wholesale mechanization and rationalization and exceedingly controlled operational conditions (Lawley & King) workers disliked

Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915), who was a mechanical engineer, pioneered scientific management in the early 1900’s. Taylor believed that it was the management’s duty to designate jobs for workers and motivate them to achieve the task they’re assigned. He introduced five principles that make up the structure of scientific management, four are universal and one is contingent. “Taylor labeled the first principle, ‘A Large Daily Task.’ The idea was that each member of the organization, from top to bottom, should have a "clearly defined task" assigned each day.” The second principle “labeled ‘Standard Conditions,’ specified that: (a) each worker 's task should ‘call for a full day 's work,’ and (b) each worker should be given ‘such standardized conditions and appliances as will enable him to accomplish his task with certainty.’” Again, Taylor clearly believed in assigning accomplishable tasks to workers.

Scientific management or Taylorism refers to a school of thought on how organizations should be run, created in the early 20th century by Frederick Taylor. Taylor created Taylorism in an attempt to increase and improve efficiency in firms. There were five keys components in his theory:

Despite many criticisms, and a wealth of newer theories on the topic of managing people, Taylorism (i.e. Scientific Management) is alive and well in the 21st century.

With those evocative words, Frederick W. Taylor had begun his highly influential book; “The Principles of Scientific Management” indicating his view regarding management practices. As one of the most influential management theorists, Taylor is widely acclaimed as the ‘father of scientific management’. Taylor had sought “the ‘one best way’ for a job to be done” (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg & Coulter, 2003, p.39). Northcraft and Neale (1990, p.41) state that “Scientific management took its

Taylor used valuable knowledge into work practice, as the appearance of scientific management, the productivity of all the developed countries increased nearly 50 times (Zuo, 2007). In the meanwhile, whether the scientific management is suitable for modern age has sparked much debate. Some people

Scientific management theory was introduced by Frederick Winslow Taylor, which explains the application of science to work. Taylor (1911) emphasized that the wages should be provided in accordance with mental and physical difficulty of tasks. Taylor also argued on ‘one best way’ of doing a job, and also selecting the right person for the job, provide training and then motivate them.