Characteristics of Scientific Management

1667 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Frederick Taylor's contributions to scientific management as an approach to management were significant because Taylor

Introduction Scientific management can be defined from a broad sense as the endeavors made in order to come up with suitable systems in the sector of industrial production and organization. In a narrower sense, it refers to the specific principles that were championed by Fredrick Taylor who was an engineer before the First World War. Taylor focused on ways of increasing productivity and reducing waste that resulted from management controlling the labor process. It is important to realize maximum output from every individual or machine and it is only through embracing scientific management that these problems could be solved. The central way that Taylor proposed of achieving these goals was task idea which was regarded as the single most important concept in scientific management. Task idea held that the tasks of every worker were to be planned out and the workers given clear instructions with details of the work they were supposed to do and ways of doing it. Scientific management is governed by laws, rules and principles which are clearly defined hence they can be used in all social activities. It can be used to manage non-profit institutions, homes, churches, businesses, farms, universities and government agencies. It is therefore important in organizations for increasing efficiency and ensuring that there is no waste which is a major problem in organizations. This paper will discuss the main features of scientific management and how it relates with modern management models. It will also focus on the relevance of scientific management in modern business organizations (Hollway, 2002). Characteristics of Scientific Management Maximum Prosperity Maximum prosperity in scientific management implies that there is development in a... ... middle of paper ... ...iency in the work place, scientific management attempts to offer great service to the public in the shortest time possible using the limited resources. This report has highlighted the basic characteristics of scientific management and its assumptions. For instance, it advocates maximum prosperity in an organization that can be achieved if employers and employees have a common interest. Scientific management is also based on assumptions of predictable market, mass market and soldering as natural. Its principles are also applicable in modern organizations where they are applied to achieve efficiency and reduce wastage. Many organizations adopt the concept of division of labor because assigning individual workers specific tasks increases productivity. Workers are also trained to be specialists in certain areas and these are all concepts based on scientific management.

Show More
Related

  • Target Human Relations Case Study

    1645 Words  | 4 Pages

    The scientific management theory deals with dividing work into certain task that a person does. Target’s floor members are given specific task such as cashier, are there to scan products, and handled cash, cart attendant team member who are there to handle the cart arrangements and distributions, protection specialist who prevent and report theft issues. When you move up from Target retail departments you have the main offices, where human resource team members have their own responsibilities which are to be strategic advisors, manage and support talent in the department stores and introduce any new changes in the organization. The areas they cover are with Employee Relations, Talent Acquisition and Compensation of Employees. The higher ups, such as the CEO, CFO, and Chair Members, make major decisions on how the company is operated and what direction it

    Read More

  • Virgin Group Essay

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    Management Theorists such as F.W Taylor created the concept of scientific management, which is made up of six key aspects including observation, experiment, standardisation, selection and training, payment by results and co-operation. Despite some facets of his theory becoming outdated, scientific management can still be seen in the some way in current business structures. For example within Virgin, despite its reputation for having a relaxed working environment, some aspects of scientific management are used. Such as the selection and training and payment by results, with certain employees being offered rewards for showing ambition to set up their own businesses and showing signs of creative thinking.

    Read More

  • Taylorism and Work Place Efficiency

    1844 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fredrick W. Taylor’s main intentions for his theory of Scientific Management was to effectively increase the amount of productivity and efficiency within an organisation. As Robbins and Coulter stated, ‘the use of scientific methods to define the “one best way” for a job to be done’. (Robbins, Coutler, n.d, pg. 29). Taylor introduced a ‘fair days wage’ as mentioned in Episode 143: Fredrick Winslow Taylor’s Scientific Management (2013) to be paid regardless for the amount of output each person produced. This wage was determined by the standard a worker should be pr...

    Read More

  • Fordism is the Scientific Management for Contemporary Organizations

    1988 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fordism and Scientific Management are terms used to describe management that had application to practical situations with extremely dramatic effects. Fordism takes its name from the mass production units of Henry Ford, and is identified by an involved technical division of labour within companies and their production units. Other characteristics of Fordism include strong hierarchical control, with workers in a production line often restricted to the one single task, usually specialised and unskilled. Scientific management, on the other hand, "originated" through Fredrick Winslow Taylor in 1911, and in very basic terms described the one best way work could be done and that the best way to improve output was to improve the techniques or methods used by the workers. (Robbins p.38)

    Read More

  • Principles of Frederick W. Taylor

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    By the constantly changing dynamics of the 21st century business world, it is clear that it would be highly unproductive for managers to employ what is in actual fact a restrictive, controlling theory of management. As a results of globalisation of the economy, intensification of international competition, pervasive influence of the social market economy, increasing participation of women in the labour force and ecological consciousness, scientific management is no longer suitable in modern workplaces, as this theory tends not to allow for the constant innovation that is necessary to maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

    Read More

  • Thomas Khn The Nature And Necessity Of Scientific Revolution Summary

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Nature and Necessity of Scientific Research” it says, “they are the source of the methods, problem-field, and standards of solution accepted by any mature scientific community at any given time.” These new discoveries can lead then to advancements and as a result can lead them to build a better society. Human beings will be able to reconstruct a better institutional framework which will bring them a prosperous and happy

    Read More

  • Taylor, Fayol, Mayo and Weber

    2891 Words  | 6 Pages

    Urwick, L. F. and E. F. L. Brech (1966). The making of scientific management: Pitman.

    Read More

  • Is Scientific Progress Inevitable?

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    Scientific, as a culture, can provide value in understanding the cultural, ideological, intellectual and aesthetic aspects. "We often think of science as something inescapably linked to progress, and of progress as continually marching forward. We assume that there is something inevitable about the increase of knowledge and the benefits this knowledge brings" (Irvine & Russell). Provide humanity with wisdom and speculative enjoyment. This enjoyment of the public is through reading, learning and thinking obtained. But scientists are met from the real research work. The development of scientific and technology, which are also, depend on culture and education progress. Educations have a cultural and technological knowledge and imparted training of personnel functions. Education is to promote the development of science and technology that is an important social factor. At the same time, advances in science and technology is an important factor in promoting cultural development, the use of modern information technology, the collection, transfer, storage means and methods of cultural resources has been a fundamental change, which greatly promoted the cultural transmission, inheritance and development. In a sense, science is a great adventure, is a stimulating and exciting career filled. It is made the human thirst for knowledge and curiosity satisfied, and so that people further

    Read More

  • The Human Side Of Enterprise By Mcgregor Summary

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article entitled “The Human Side of Enterprise” by Douglas Murray McGregor , McGregor stated that industry has fundamental know how to utilize physical and technology science. The conventional view of management consisted of three propositions which are called Theory X (Shafritz & Hyde,2012).

    Read More

  • The Impact of Taylorism and Fordism on the US Motor Vehicle Industry

    1853 Words  | 4 Pages

    The major change came through the work of Fredrick Winslow Taylor and his theory of scientific management system. It was not that Taylor was unique or completely new; only time and motion study could be put in that category. The trend was already moving towards systematic management such as formal management methods or by cost ...

    Read More

  • Evolution of Management

    660 Words  | 2 Pages

    The evolution of management though the decades can be divided into two major sections. One of the sections is the classical approach. Under the classical approach efficiency and productivity became a critical concern of the managers at the turn of the 20th century. One of the approaches from the classical time period were systematic management which placed more emphasis on internal operations because managers were concerned with meeting the growth in demand brought on by the Industrial revolution. As a result managers became more concerned with physical things than towards the people therefore systematic management failed to lead to production efficiency. This became apparent to an engineer named Frederick Taylor who was the father of Scientific Management. Scientific Management was identified by four principles for which management should develop the best way to do a job, determine the optimum work pace, train people to do the job properly, and reward successful performance by using an incentive pay system. Scientifi...

    Read More

  • Taylor's and Weber's Theories of Management

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are several theories that examine an organization and it’s approach to managing work in an effort to develop efficiency and increase production. Two classical approaches to management are Taylor’s scientific management theory and Weber's bureaucratic management theory. Both men are considered pioneers of in the study of management.

    Read More

  • Evaluate The Contribution Of The Hawthorne Studies To The Development Of Management Theory And Practice

    1673 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the past, managers considered workers as machinery that could be bought and sold easily. To increase production, workers were subjected to long hours, miserable wages and undesirable working conditions. The welfare of the workers and their need were disregarded. The early twentieth century brought about a change in management and scientific management was introduced. This sort of management, started by Frederick Winslow Taylor, emphasised that the best way to increase the volume of output was to have workers specializing in specific tasks just like how a certain machine would perform a particular function. His implementation of this theory brought about tremendous criticism by the masses arguing that the fundamentals of Scientific Management were to exploit employees rather than to benefit them (Mullins, 2005)

    Read More

  • Compare The Management Theories Of Frederick Taylor, Henri Fayol, Elton Mayo And Douglas Mcgregor

    1864 Words  | 4 Pages

    Frederick Taylor and Henri Fayol are both considered classical contributors to management theory. Both were developing and expression their viewpoints at similar time period with the aim of “raising standard of management in industry” (Brodie,1967, p7) in a period were very few publications and theories on management. While both theories were developed with the same influencing factors such as war, social struggles and industrial revolution (Urwick. 1951, p7) each developed quite different management theories. Frederick Taylor is considered the Father of Scientific management and he developed scientific principles of management, focusing on the individual,...

    Read More

  • Theories of Organizational Management

    430 Words  | 1 Pages

    Management plays a significant role in how business operates. The diversity of approaches to the theoretical and practical background of management has come up with several versions of what is meant by such key words as management and organization. The academia views expressed in relation to management theories take a different role than that prescribed to managers. There has not been any concrete definition of management even though the classic definition of Henri fayol still remains in contention to be the preferred choice after eighty years. In the context of what is required I would like to elaborate on the following journals.

    Read More

More about Characteristics of Scientific Management

Open Document