Scientific Management
Describe some ways in which the principles of scientific management and bureaucracy are still used in organisations. Consider in your response if these characteristics will ever cease to be a part of organisational life.
Scientific management is a concept that has been a part of the management landscape since the eighteen hundreds. It is classified as a subfield to the classical management perspective and it was thought to have bought a new outlook into how companies and organisations operate. The name came from the fact that this approach came from scientific study and thus the name “scientific management.” (Samson, D & Daft, R. 2012) This was pioneered by a man named Frederick Winslow Taylor, and it revolved around the notion of treating the organisation as a system and trying to find the best possible way for this system to operate and produce optimal results. He stressed the importance of how the organisation should be put first before any individual. “In the past the man has been first. In the future, the system must be first.” (Wren, D.A. 1979) Another important subfield to the classical management perspective is, bureaucratic organisations. This approach consists of 6 elements which revolve around organisations operating in accordance to a formal structure, relies of rules and written records, making sure ownership and management are separate and most importantly everyone including managers are subject to rules and procedures. (Samson, D & Daft, R. 2012) This essay will look at if these two concepts have survived through history, if they are still used in organisations today and moreover if they will ever cease to exist in an organisational sense.
It is hard to see how something that was put into place more than one hundred and fifty years ago can still be present in today’s organisations. Take mainstream companies such as MacDonald’s and Ford for example. Their implementation of scientific management has resulted in it being their core of
Scientific management is a concept that has been a part of the management landscape since the eighteen hundreds. It is classified as a subfield to the classical management perspective and it was thought to have bought a new outlook into how companies and organisations operate. The name came from the fact that this approach came from scientific study and thus the name “scientific management.” (Samson, D & Daft, R. 2012) This was pioneered by a man named Frederick Winslow Taylor, and it revolved around the notion of treating the organisation as a system and trying to find the best possible way for this system to operate and produce optimal results. He stressed the importance of how the organisation should be put first before any individual. “In the past the man has been first. In the future, the system must be first.” (Wren, D.A. 1979) Another important subfield to the classical management perspective is, bureaucratic organisations. This approach consists of 6 elements which revolve around organisations operating in accordance to a formal structure, relies of rules and written records, making sure ownership and management are separate and most importantly everyone including managers are subject to rules and procedures. (Samson, D & Daft, R. 2012) This essay will look at if these two concepts have survived through history, if they are still used in organisations today and moreover if they will ever cease to exist in an organisational sense.
It is hard to see how something that was put into place more than one hundred and fifty years ago can still be present in today’s organisations. Take mainstream companies such as MacDonald’s and Ford for example. Their implementation of scientific management has resulted in it being their core of