Taylor’s Scientific Management
Taylor’s theory of scientific management aimed at improving economic efficiency and labor productivity. Taylor had a simple view that money motivated people at work. He felt that workers should get a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, and that pay should be linked to the amount produced. He introduced the differential piece rate system, of paying wages to the workers.
The industrial revolution provided the impetus for developing various new approaches to increase the productivity and efficiency of the workers. Taylor during 1856 and 1915 propounded that there is a need for developing a scientific way of performing each job and workers should be trained to perform that particular job in a scientific way. Harmonious relations should be developed between management and workers to ensure that the job is performed in the desired way. This led to the management theory known as principles of scientific management.
This theory is a Classical management theory that is based on the belief that workers only have physical and economic needs and prescribes specialization of labor. Classical theories recommend centralized leadership and decision-making and focus on profit maximization. Three streams of classical management theory are - Bureaucracy (Weber), Administrative Theory (Fayol), and Scientific Management (Taylor).
Principles of Scientific Management
Four Principles of Scientific Management are:
- Time and motion study: Develop a science for each element of the job to replace the old rule of the methods. Study the way jobs are performed and find new ways to do them.
- Training: Scientifically select employees and then train them to do the job as described in step-1. Teach, train, and develop the workman with improved methods of doing work. Codify the new methods into rules.
- Supervision: Interest of employer & employees should be fully harmonized so as to secure mutually understanding relations between them. Supervise employees to make sure they follow the prescribed methods for performing their jobs. Continue to plan the work but use workers to actually get the work done.
- Differential Rewards: Establish fair levels of performance and pay a premium for higher performance.
Taylor's scientific approach resulted in a piece-rate incentive system, and the time-and-motion study.
Taylor's Differential Piece Rate Plan:
Taylor felt that the wage system was one of the major reasons for soldiering. To resolve this problem, he advocated the use of a piece-rate incentive system. The aim of this system was to reward the workers who produced the maximum out-put. The system proposed:
- If Efficiency is greater than the defined Standard then workers should be paid 120 % of the Normal Piece Rate.
- If Efficiency is less than standard then workers should be paid 80% of the Normal Piece Rate.
Time and Motion Study:
Taylor also tried to determine the best way to perform each and every job. To achieve this objective, he introduced a method called time-and-Motion study. In this method, a large production job was broken down into various small tasks or motions and unnecessary motions were removed to find out the best way of doing a job. A motion study involves finding out the best sequence and the minimum number of motions needed to complete a task.
After Taylor, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth made numerous contributions to the concepts of scientific management. Frank and Lillian were mainly involved in exploring new ways of eliminating unnecessary motions and reducing worker fatigue.
- Frank Gilbreth (1868-1924) is considered the "father of motion study"
- Lillian Gilbreth (1878-1972) contributed to studies pertaining to motion.
Limitations of Scientific Management:
Although Scientific Management Theory has been instrumental in providing various valuable insights into the development of management thought. In spite of the numerous contributions made by scientific theory, given below are the few limitations:
- The principles of scientific management focus on solutions from an engineering point of view rather than a managerial point of view
- The entire theory is based on the assumption that humans are rational and motivated primarily by the desire for material gain. It overlooks the social and emotional needs of workers and overstressed their economic and physical needs
- The human desire for self-actualization and job-satisfaction (working conditions, job content, etc.) is ignored by the theory
Suggested Reading and Resources
Related Links
You May Also Like
-
In this study of power, Raven identified five bases of power as coercive, reward, legitimate, referent, and expert. The 5 Types of Power can help you decide when it is appropriate to use a particular type of power in important situations. Leadership involves authority and it is very important for leaders to understand what type of power they're using.
-
McClelland's Theory of Needs is a human motivation theory which states that an individual's specific needs are acquired over time through our culture and life experiences. As per the three needs theory, these acquired needs significantly influence the behavior of an individual. The three main driving motivators are the needs for achievement, affiliation, and power.
-
The ten most important qualities that define a good leader are self-awareness, interpersonal and communication skills, ethical values, organizational consciousness, self-confidence, adaptability and flexibility, imagination and creativity, focus & result-orientation, continuous self-development and accountability and ownership for his actions. These ten qualities of leadership every good leader should possess to a certain extent and must continually strive to develop them.
-
Frederick Winslow Taylor started the “Scientific Management Movement”, and attempted to study the work process scientifically. Scientific management, also called Taylorism, was a theory of management that analyzed and synthesized workflows. It is a system for increasing the efficiency of manpower to its maximum potential and streamlining production to improve efficiency. This article explores this theory in more detail.
-
In today's innovation-driven economy, understanding how to generate great ideas has become an urgent managerial priority. Managers need to encourage and champion ideas and need to help their organizations incorporate diverse perspectives, which spur creative insights and facilitate creative collaboration by harnessing new technologies. Innovation is the embodiment, combination, and/or synthesis of knowledge in original, relevant, valued new products, processes, or services.
-
The best career choices are ones that match your values. Each person has several values that are important to him. These values are highly personal and knowing them provides a clearer sense of what's most important to you in your life and career. Career values are the beliefs you consider important from a work standpoint. Values help you understand what you want from a job? Explore a few examples of work values that can influence career path and job satisfaction.
-
Teams are part of the modern organizational culture. Whether you are a team leader or a team member, having a better understanding of how teams work, and being able to identify where the team is in the process, is a critical part of ensuring the team is ultimately successful. Start with the basics and understand what a team is and what role they play in an organization.
-
Emergent leadership occurs when a group member is not appointed or elected as leader, but rather that person steps up as the leader over time within-group interactions. Have you ever faced challenges in getting accepted into your new role of position as a leader? Groups don't automatically accept a new "boss" as a leader. Emergent leadership is what you must do when taking over a new group. Learn more about emergent leadership.
-
Leadership has been defined in different ways by different sets of scholars. In very simple terms leadership can be defined as the skill of a person to influence an individual or a group for achievement of a goal in a given situation. One can use different dimensions and perspectives to define leadership. Through the evolution of leadership thought, leadership has been defined in various ways discussed here.
-
Administrative Theory by Fayol
The administrative theory of management is focused on principles that could be used by managers to coordinate the internal activities of organizations. The most prominent of the administrative theorists was Henri Fayol. Fayol observed a work stoppage and judged it to be a management failure. He believed that organizational managerial practices are important for driving predictability and efficiency in organizations.
