Taylorism, Scientific Management, Is a Theory of Management Methodology That Emphasizes on Maximising Work Efficiency.
Introduction
Taylorism, additionally known as Scientific Management, is a theory of management methodology that emphasizes on maximising work efficiency. Developed and named after an American industrial engineer, Frederick Winslow Taylor. Through thorough use of a stopwatch and a clipboard, Taylor put all his research and outcomes into a book called the Principles of Scientific Management, which was later published in 1911. In the monograph Taylor’s notion was to mend the economical proficiency, principally in the labouring output. He believed that there were great losses, when “the whole country is suffering through inefficiency in almost of all of our daily acts” (Taylor 1911) and that “remedies in inefficiency lies in systematic managements” (Taylor 1911). Only by succeeding in “clearly defined laws, rules, and principles, as a foundation” (Taylor 1911), results that follow will be truly astounding. While his theories have survived the system for the last ten decades through much criticism, can it still benefit the practices in the 21st century? Moreover will it be abolished by newer theories because of its weaknesses? This literature review will be an attempt to discuss the principles of Scientific Management, how it advances and limits its application in present-day organisations.
Principles
Taylor’s approach on Scientific Management, was merely based on “developing a science for each element of a man’s work” (Taylor 1911), exchanging for the traditionally ancient ‘rule of thumb’ system. During Taylor’s research he mentioned “that when men work in gangs … the loss of ambition and initiative will be cited … their individual efficiency falls almost invariably down to or below the level of the worst man in the gang” (Taylor 1911). Taylor concluded that people would only respond as individuals, thus implementing the principle of separating one person’s work into smaller and smaller sections, openly “specifying not only what is to be done but how it is to be
Taylorism, additionally known as Scientific Management, is a theory of management methodology that emphasizes on maximising work efficiency. Developed and named after an American industrial engineer, Frederick Winslow Taylor. Through thorough use of a stopwatch and a clipboard, Taylor put all his research and outcomes into a book called the Principles of Scientific Management, which was later published in 1911. In the monograph Taylor’s notion was to mend the economical proficiency, principally in the labouring output. He believed that there were great losses, when “the whole country is suffering through inefficiency in almost of all of our daily acts” (Taylor 1911) and that “remedies in inefficiency lies in systematic managements” (Taylor 1911). Only by succeeding in “clearly defined laws, rules, and principles, as a foundation” (Taylor 1911), results that follow will be truly astounding. While his theories have survived the system for the last ten decades through much criticism, can it still benefit the practices in the 21st century? Moreover will it be abolished by newer theories because of its weaknesses? This literature review will be an attempt to discuss the principles of Scientific Management, how it advances and limits its application in present-day organisations.
Principles
Taylor’s approach on Scientific Management, was merely based on “developing a science for each element of a man’s work” (Taylor 1911), exchanging for the traditionally ancient ‘rule of thumb’ system. During Taylor’s research he mentioned “that when men work in gangs … the loss of ambition and initiative will be cited … their individual efficiency falls almost invariably down to or below the level of the worst man in the gang” (Taylor 1911). Taylor concluded that people would only respond as individuals, thus implementing the principle of separating one person’s work into smaller and smaller sections, openly “specifying not only what is to be done but how it is to be
References: George, R 1993, ‘McDonaldisation and its Precursors’, The McDonaldisation of society: an investigation into the changing character of contemporary social life, Pine Forge Press, Thousand Oaks, pp. 21-42. Paul, T & David, M 2003, Work Organisations: Critical Introduction, 3rd edition, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 30. George, R 2008, ‘The McDonaldisation of Society’, in LG Whitaker (eds.), Getting Started in: Sociology, 3rd Edition, the McGraw-Hill Companies, pp. 13-18. Daniel, N 1992, ‘Scientific Management in Retrospect’, in D Nelson (eds.), A Mental Revolution: Scientific Management since Taylor, Ohio State University Press, pp. 5-32, retrieved 20th March 2012, . Dianne, W 2011, ‘What is Management’ Contemporary Management, 2nd edition, the McGraw-Hill Companies, Australia, pp. 03-35. Anne, MB & James, LM 2010, ‘One hundred years after THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT: FREDERICK TAYLOR’S life and impact on the field of human performance technology’ Performance Improvement, vol. 49, no.4, pp. 27-34, retrieved 20th March 2012, Wiley InterScience database. George, R 2010, ‘Introduction to McDonaldisation’, the McDonaldisation of Society 6, Pine Forge Press, pp. 01-22. Frederick, WT 1911, the Principles of Scientific Management, retrieved 20th March 2012, .