scientific management

Question 1

Who introduced scientific management?

Answer 1

Scientific management was brought in in 1911 by Federick Winslow Taylor (Taylorism)

Question 2

What is it?

Answer 2

A form of job design, which stresses short, repetitive work cycles; detailed, prescribed task sequences; a separation of task conception from execution; and motivation based on economic rewards

Question 3

What is a 21st day example of scientific management?

Answer 3

• Call centres
• They follow strict implemented patterns such as set scripts and monitored calls
• Allows managers to quickly train staff and set repetitive tasks

Question 4

How did scientific management come about?

Answer 4

Taylors engineering past led him to notice that few workers were working to their ‘optimum’ something he named ‘systematic soldiering’

Question 5

Why does Taylor argue systematic soldering occur?

Answer 5

• The view that an increase in output would lead to redundancies
• Poor management controls enabling workers to work slowly
• The choice of methods that were left entirely to the discretion of workers who wasted a large part of there efforts using inefficient and untested rules of thumb

Question 6

What were the objectives Taylor aimed to achieve due to the inefficiency of industrial practices ?

Answer 6

• Efficiency - by increasing the output per worker and reduce deliberate ‘underworking’
• Predictability of job performance - standardising tasks and dividing them into small closely specified tasks
• control - established discipline through hierarchal authority

Question 7

What are the principles of scientific management put in place to achieve the objectives?

Answer 7

• Division of labour
• Performance related pay
• Planning
• Surveillance through the use of close supervision

Question 8

How did Taylor theory prove to be a success?

Answer 8

• Completed an experiment on a worker named smidt who originally only carried 12 tonnes of pig iron a day vs being able to carry 47 tonnes after the rearrangement and production raised 300%
• Helped the worlds fastest writer type even faster

Question 9

What are the criticisms of scientific management?

Answer 9

• Maslow argues that its not just money that motivates workers, there is a hierarchy of needs that must be met to reach self actualisation
• Workers see it as deskilling and alienating due to the repetitive tasks and constant surveillance which may be demotivating
• Ignored any threat to mental health e.g apple store example
• Expensive and time consuming

Question 10

Reference from Taylor talking about his approach on efficient physical movements?

Answer 10

Taylor 1911 - ‘Approach enabled people to do more work in less time, using less effort because of the more efficient physical movements’

Question 11

When did mallows hierarchy of needs come around?

Answer 11

In 1943 in his book named ‘a theory of human motivation’

Question 12

Reference from Maslow on Self esteem?

Answer 12

‘all people in our society have a need or desire for a stable, firmly based high evaluation of themselves, for self respect, self esteem and for the esteem of others’ Maslow 1989

Question 13

What does Maslow argue about Taylorism?

Answer 13

He argues that it isn’t just money that motivates workers, there is a hierarchy of needs that must be met in order for us to meet self-actualization - 1989

Question 14

What does Taylor say about the criticisms of the mental health criticisms?

Answer 14

• After the implementation of his method workers would be rewarded by pay increases and managers secure higher productivity and profits