Briefly Explain the Main Conclusions That Canbe Drawn from Taylors Theory of Scientific Management
Essay – IRHR1001 Jeremy Buckley C3137793
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
Scientific management is directly associated with organisational theory and is linked with improving labor productivity and the economic efficiency of businesses. Scientific management focuses on how to improve work procedures and practices. The principal object of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee (Taylor 2003, p.123). The purpose of this essay is to explain the main conclusions that can be drawn from Taylor’s theory of scientific management which involve outlining the four main principles to Taylor’s theory and discussing the impact of scientific management on organisational behaviour, mainly employees. A discussion on the impacts on behaviour and the opinion that may be evidenced towards scientific management is also mentioned. The scope of this essay will be to investigate the impact scientific management has had on work practices and also the impact it has had in changing the environment of management and finally a few implications of Scientific and Contemporary management are presented.
Scientific management, in its most simplest form, is a term referring to methods called for optimizing the way that tasks were performed and simplifying the jobs enough so that workers could be trained to perform their specialized sequence of motions in the one ‘’best’’ way. (NetMBA, September 2010). The father, or creator, of Scientific Management is Frederick Winslow Taylor who developed his theory on scientific management based on studies of organizational behaviour and studying the work performance and work practices of individuals, usually men, within organizations, often factories. Taylor’s theory was heavily centered on productivity improvement
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
Scientific management is directly associated with organisational theory and is linked with improving labor productivity and the economic efficiency of businesses. Scientific management focuses on how to improve work procedures and practices. The principal object of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee (Taylor 2003, p.123). The purpose of this essay is to explain the main conclusions that can be drawn from Taylor’s theory of scientific management which involve outlining the four main principles to Taylor’s theory and discussing the impact of scientific management on organisational behaviour, mainly employees. A discussion on the impacts on behaviour and the opinion that may be evidenced towards scientific management is also mentioned. The scope of this essay will be to investigate the impact scientific management has had on work practices and also the impact it has had in changing the environment of management and finally a few implications of Scientific and Contemporary management are presented.
Scientific management, in its most simplest form, is a term referring to methods called for optimizing the way that tasks were performed and simplifying the jobs enough so that workers could be trained to perform their specialized sequence of motions in the one ‘’best’’ way. (NetMBA, September 2010). The father, or creator, of Scientific Management is Frederick Winslow Taylor who developed his theory on scientific management based on studies of organizational behaviour and studying the work performance and work practices of individuals, usually men, within organizations, often factories. Taylor’s theory was heavily centered on productivity improvement
References: Taylor, FW 2003, ‘Scientific Management’, Volume 1, p. 123-130, viewed 12 September 2010, NEWCat Library catalogue, eISBN: 9780203498569. ‘Frederick Taylor and Scientific Management’, viewed 16 September 2010, <www.netmba.com/mgmt/scientific>. ‘Historical perspective on productivity improvement’, viewed 17 September 2010, <www.accel-team.com/scientific/scientific_02.html>. Taylor, FW 1947, "Scientific management, comprising Shop management, the principles of scientific management [and] Testimony before the special House committee. With a foreword by Harlow S. Person", Extracts from Chapter 2, pp. 30-39; 84-85; 98-105. Freeman, M 1996, ‘Scientific Management: 100 years old; Poised for the next century’. Journal of S.A.M. Advanced Management Journal, vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 35-41. ‘What is Scientific Management?’ viewed 21 September 2010, <www.bola.biz/motivation/taylor.html>. Taylor, FW 2005, ‘The Principles of Scientific Management’, 1st World Library-Literary Society, 2005, n.v., pp. 9-35, n.d., viewed 18 September 2010, LCCN: 2004195619 Wood et al, 2010, ‘Job design, goal setting and flexible work arrangements’, ch.5, in Wood et al, Organisational Behaviour: Core concepts and Applications, Wiley & Sons, QLD, pp. 161-165.