Scientific managment Flashcards
Who was behind scientific management
Fredrick W Taylor
Who was Fredrick Taylor
An American engineer who sought to improve industrial efficiency
The ‘father’ of scientific management
His ‘principles of scientific management’ was developed at a time when most employees were low killed and doing repetitive tasks
How did scientific management work
Work study
Examined the way the workers did the job to maximise efficiency through time and motion studies
Identify
Find the most efficient workers to identify ‘one best way’ to complete the task
Train
All staff are trained to this best method to improve efficiency. This creates standardisation and consistency
Reward
Workers are then paid based on their productivity
Eg. Piece rates- fair days pay for a fair days work
What are Taylor’s 5 principles of scientific management
1 science, not rule of thumb
- Harmony, not discord
- Mental revolution
- Cooperation, not individualism
- Development of each person to their greatest efficiency and prosperity
Explain Taylors first principle
‘Science, not rule of thumb’
In order to increase organisational efficiency, personal judgment should be substituted by the methods developed through scientific analysis of work
Explain Taylors second principle
‘Harmony, not discord’
There should be complete Harmony between the workers and management, because if there is any conflict between the 2, it will not be benificial for either
What is Taylor’s third principle
‘Mental revolution’
Change in the attitude of workers and managers should have of each other. They should work in cooperation, they should both aim to increase profits for the organisation
What’s Taylor’s 4th principle
‘Cooperation, not individualism’
The intention is to have cooperation between workers and managers
Cooperation, mutual confidence and a sense of goodwill should prevail among both managers and workers replace internal competition with cooperation
What’s Taylor’s fifth principle
‘development of each person to their greatest efficiency and prosperity’
Efficiency of any organisation depends on the skills and capability of its workers
Effective recruitment and training of the workers is essential in order to learn the best method through the scientific approach
What did Taylor aim to achieve (3)
Efficiency
Increase output per worker, maximise productivity by offering a piece rate incentive
Standardisation
Cresting consistent job performances by dividing g tasks up into small, specified tasks
Discipline
Establishing hierarchical authority and introducing a system whereby all management policy decisions should be implemented
What are some disadvantages of scientific management (3)
It is top down- authorative management style, which is naive and outdated, which results in demotivated staff
- it is less flexible with having skilled workers only in one area, meaning there is few promotional opportunities
- Taylor reduces workers to efficient machines- ignores social and psychological needs and doesn’t work for all types of workers creating high staff turnover
What are some advantages of scientific management (2)
- there is a division of labour, this meaning that specialisation, higher quality and overall a higher quantity and productivity
- there is motivation for employees- money incentives such as piece rates incentives paying systems
What is the relevance of scientific management today
(4)
- it works well in manufacturing industries which have routine processes and have standardised outputs. More production meaning higher chances of more sales and profits
- used in fast food outlets to help with uniformity of service no matter which branch. Eg specific timings for tasks such as cooking times
- lean production, eg just in time is based on scientific management as it attempts to eliminate waste and time at each stage
- recents recessions and the UK governments austerity measures means that money is currently a key motivator for staff
