Taylor’s Scientific Management

There are many Management Theorists who have devised ways in which a business can achieve success efficiently. The two management theorists that I am going to talk about are Fredrick Winslow Taylor and Max Weber, and I will also compare and contrast their contributions to the field of management. There are 4 main classical theories in management which are: 1. Scientific Management 2. Bureaucracy 3. Administrative Management 4. Human Relations. The two that I will be focusing on for this assignment are Scientific Management and Bureaucracy. Frederick Taylor (March 20th, 1856-March 21st, 1915) was an American Engineer. He sought to improve industrial efficiency in the workplace. The birth of Scientific Method is attributed to Taylor and his main

Scientific Management was found in US by Frederick Winslow Taylor (1856-1915) who has been accorded the legacy of Scientific Management system by most scholars (Wren, 2005). According to Wren (2005), Taylor was aspired to bring out an effective management system due to no formal management at that time and were characterizes by various anomalies. Sullivan (1987) stated that Taylor’s effort not only symbolized the beginning of managerial era in industrial production but also indicate the end of craft era in the United States. In this essay, we shall explore Taylorism reception outside USA and compares the reception of Taylorism between western and Asian Country.

For centuries, scholars, philosophers, and lay-persons alike have been concerned about the issue of management. This includes management of processes, people, things, events, and societies all with the focus of the basic motivations that drive individuals to become most productive. Of course, outside of Maslow's Hierarchy, we know that compensation has historical been a great motivator, but in the modern age, there are more complex motivators that focus more on individual actualization. As long ago as Ancient Greece, philosopher Aristotle, in his Metaphysics, developed the thesis that reality is knowable through the senses and through reason. By rejecting mysticism, Aristotle became the father of the scientific method and established the intellectual foundation for the Renaissance and the Age of Reason. Eventually this spirit of scientific inquiry would form a basis for scientific management (Wren, 2005, p. 19)

Classical management theory or scientific management came to prominence in the early 1900 hundreds and Fredrick Taylor’s work was pioneering in this area of management theory (Taneja, 2011). One definition of scientific management that Taylor endorsed was that it is “a system devised by industrial engineers for the purpose of serving the common interests of employers, workmen and society at large through the elimination of avoidable wastes, the general improvement of the processes and methods of production, and the just and scientific distribution of the product” (Hoxie, 1915:140). Delving deeper into classical management theory, this paper looks at two more recent proponents of management theory, namely Henri Fayol and Henry Mintzberg. Both had their theories on classical management theories which will be critically analysed. It will also be shown how these theories apply to modern day organisations.

An organizational theory that is still very much alive in modern day business practice is Taylor’s Scientific Management Theory. This theory was very influential when it first came out in increasing productivity, creating job specialization, and finical advantages. But, it is also important to keep in mind that all things have their setbacks and for this theory that entails, dehumanization, under education, and becoming an enemy of the workingman. Furthermore, when outweighing the positives and negatives, we can still see that for being in the manufacturing industry this theory would still be considered appropriate.

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:

Taylor introduced scientific management, which has formed the theory of management and examines work in order to improve productivity of labour. He

In management literature today, the greatest use of the concept of Taylorism is as a contrast to a new, improved way of doing business. In political and

This led to lowered overall productivity and systematic underproduction. Hence, this provoked Taylor to develop scientific management. The principles behind Tayor’s management concept were based on the idea that workers put in the least amount of effort and that they are motivated solely by material gains. As a result, the theory implied that greater external control is needed for more productive operations. Furthermore, the theory basically built an instrumental view of human behaviour making the human factor a mere component in a machine (Morgan, 2006) . Taylor’s concept was considered a milestone in the development of management as it proposed a different, efficiency-orientated approach that relied on how work was organized. From his point of view surely it was the increased productivity, predictability and control of the system that made the idea better. H e himself states that if applied in a correct manner his methods would lead to far larger and better results (Taylor, 2007) . However, when the scientific management theory was applied the negative effects of the system manifested. Frederick Taylor was even called “enemy of the working man” because of the principles he introduced (Morgan, 2006) . The separation between execution and conception and tightened control led to workers going to strike or leaving their jobs. Furthermore, the fact that the applied system presumed that workers had no other

It is important to understand the manager’s role today along with the workforce diversity as it became a current main issue relating to management. Therefore, Taylor’s and Contingency theories are being critically analysed in this regard.

According to Koumparoulis and Dimitrios (2012), Taylor 's management theory is still relevant today and despite of the location of organization, it helps shape of organization. Above mentioned scholars also suggested that, regardless of the acceptance of workers, any type of business organization wants to increase their productivity, they often implement Taylorism into the firm’s work place.

Historical Foundations of management have been around for years and were first introduced by Fayol around the turn of the century . This essay will discuss three main points and questions around management, the first question will cover how modern management practices have evolved from the “classical approaches to management”. The second question will cover the challenges contemporary managers face in 2013 compared to managers in the era of the classical approaches and the third question will be around comparing and contrasting bureaucratic management to a style of management I have been faced with. This discussion will pay particular attention to Frederick Taylor’s scientific approach to management.

Taylor’s main focus was on the tasks and the workers, whereas Fayol was not concerned with worker; he was concerned with the managements. Taylor laid his attention on the problems of shop floor while Fayol concentrated on the functions of managers at top level. Taylor worked from the bottom of the industrial hierarchy upwards, while Fayol focused on the chief executive and worked downwards. The main aim of Taylor was to enhance productivity of labor and eliminate wastage. Fayol tried to develop a universal theory of management. Taylor called his philosophy of work as ‘Scientific Management’ whereas Fayol expressed his work as ‘General Theory of Administration’. More differences are in the approach, although their similarities in this regard are influenced by their foundational principles they both approached it in different ways. Taylor was a man of action; he saw management at an intrinsic nature. He was very adapting to understanding individuals and their needs. In this his management style compliments those that work hard. Fayol wanted to change the way upper management was running and instituted some very important principles of action for these administrative managers. He valued leadership and sought to bring that to the forefront of his management

This report discusses briefly about the Taylor’s contribution to the management theory in terms of

Frederick Taylor and Henri Fayol were both theorists of the classical management movement. The classical approach was the framework to what management is all about. Therefore it can be said that they laid the foundation for many theorists. Frederick Taylor was an important theorist of the early 20th century and he made many important contributions to management. He proposed the principles of scientific management which he believed would improve industrial efficiency. He believed management could be formulated as a discipline. Taylor’s principles of scientific management focused on cooperation between management and the workers as well as improving the technical skills of the workers (Hodgetts, 1995). His approach is often referred to