F. W. Taylor- Scientific Management Theory

Context:

The scientific management theory emerged and gained prominence at a time during the early industrial revolution, when there was low productivity and profits, the work was not properly planned, and there were no standard tools of doing works. There used to be conflicts in the organisation between the workers and the management. There was no proper personnel management, the workers were selected unscientifically and not given proper training and proper salaries and there were no systematic disciplinary methods. Workers used to adopt the rule of thumb.
During this period, Frederick Winslow Taylor, regarded as the father of Scientific Management and a pioneer of modern management approaches and techniques, started working on the science of management and to establish the best way to do a work. He started experimentation with a Dutch worker, Schmidt. Taylor used to observe him load and unload pig iron. Using a stop watch and a motion camera he calculated the work. By changing tools, he improved the performance by 60%. 
Taylor named his findings as "Time and Motion studies". It is a systematic way of getting things done at the industrial manufacturing/ workshop/ shopfloor level.

Books written by Taylor:

  1. A piece- Rate system (1895)
  2. Shop Management (1903)
  3. The art of cutting metals (1906)
  4. The principles of Scientific Management (1911)
Taylor's concept of management is to secure the maximum prosperity for both the employer and the employee.

Principles of Scientific Management:

  1. The development of a true science of work- enables the organisation to produce more, enables the worker to receive high wages and a much larger profit to the company.
  2. The scientific selection and progressive development of a workman- the responsibility of which lies in the management
  3. The bringing together of the science of work and the scientifically selected and trained men- management should inspire the workers and the bringing together of the both of them causes the "Mental Revolution".
  4. the division of work and responsibility between management and workers- equal responsibility between management and the worker.
These principles are summarized by Taylor as:
  1. Science, not rule- of- thumb
  2. Harmony, not discord
  3. Cooperation, not individualism
  4. Maximum output, in place of restricted output
  5. Development in each greatest efficiency and prosperity

Functional Foremanship:

Taylor did not believe in the linear system of organisation where a worker is subordinate to only one boss. he replaced it with what he called "Functional Foremanship". In this, each worker receives orders from 8 specialised supervisors- 4 will be responsible for planning and the other 4, for execution .

Apart from this, Taylor also devised many mechanisms to serve his theory.
  • Time study
  • Standardisation of all tools and implements
  • Use of time- saving implements
  • The differential Piece rate- Salary payment according to the number of units produced by the worker. (Also known as monistic theory of motivation)
  • A routing system
  • Modern cost system

Mental Revolution:

Taylor said, without the mutual cooperation of the worker and the manager, mutual prosperity is not possible and scientific management does not exist. If the both sides take their eyes off the division of the surplus and together run their attention towards increasing the surplus, it would be mutually rewarding and leads to a great mental revolution. This is where the philosophy of scientific management was contained and continued. 

Criticism:

Although the scientific management stirred a movement among management studies and offered a hope to resolve industrial problems, it has been criticized on many grounds.
  • The trade unions were against the modern methods of increasing output by the introduction of the premium bonus system.
  • Taylor neglected the human aspects of production.
  • Taylorism was attacked by managers who wanted quick promotions sans merit.
  • Some criticised it as impersonal and underemphasised human factor.
  • Simon and March described it as "Physiological organisation theory".
  • Marxists say it is a new method of exploiting the workers.
  • Some argued that Scientific Management is treating the worker as a cog (spare part) in the machine.
Despite the limitations, Scientific management is extremely important, for it heralded the application of quantitative techniques in industrial management. it had a major influence on the growing reform and economy movements in Public Administration.

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