scientific management in modern society
Scientific management in modern society
Introduction
Scientific management also known as Taylorism (Mitchan 2005) is a set of rules that govern job design in manufacturing department. Taylor(1911), the pioneer of scientific management first came up with the theory in the late nineteenth century after viewing widespread inefficient work or soldiering among workers. Taylor’s promotion of time and motion study, production-control methods and incentive pay” (Burrell and Morgan 1979,Littler 1982 cited in Green 1986) has made great contributions to the boom of production since they were applied in practice. With the emergence of knowledge and information society which is science, technology and innovation intensified (Fagerberg, landstorm,Martin 2012 ),whether scientific management is still appropriate and effective in the modern society is uncertain. This article will explore suitability of scientific management in the new era. Firstly, principles of scientific management and influence of these principles in practical management will be reviewed followed by critiques of scientific management pointed out in the human relations movement. Then analysis of appropriateness and inappropriateness of scientific management in modern organizations will be illustrated in detail. Finally, conclusions will be made upon how to apply scientific management in the modern organization with modification of its demerits and giving full play to its merits to satisfy the demand of modern society.
Principles and influence
The principles of scientific management are major component of Taylorism. Taylor assumes that people are economic men who are so rational and self-interested that they can only be motivated by remuneration. The approaches of scientific management are based on several principles. First, tasks should be divided into simplest components. Second, management should integrate all knowledge in a particular industry and transforms knowledge into rules that can be precisely
Introduction
Scientific management also known as Taylorism (Mitchan 2005) is a set of rules that govern job design in manufacturing department. Taylor(1911), the pioneer of scientific management first came up with the theory in the late nineteenth century after viewing widespread inefficient work or soldiering among workers. Taylor’s promotion of time and motion study, production-control methods and incentive pay” (Burrell and Morgan 1979,Littler 1982 cited in Green 1986) has made great contributions to the boom of production since they were applied in practice. With the emergence of knowledge and information society which is science, technology and innovation intensified (Fagerberg, landstorm,Martin 2012 ),whether scientific management is still appropriate and effective in the modern society is uncertain. This article will explore suitability of scientific management in the new era. Firstly, principles of scientific management and influence of these principles in practical management will be reviewed followed by critiques of scientific management pointed out in the human relations movement. Then analysis of appropriateness and inappropriateness of scientific management in modern organizations will be illustrated in detail. Finally, conclusions will be made upon how to apply scientific management in the modern organization with modification of its demerits and giving full play to its merits to satisfy the demand of modern society.
Principles and influence
The principles of scientific management are major component of Taylorism. Taylor assumes that people are economic men who are so rational and self-interested that they can only be motivated by remuneration. The approaches of scientific management are based on several principles. First, tasks should be divided into simplest components. Second, management should integrate all knowledge in a particular industry and transforms knowledge into rules that can be precisely