Taylorism L3

Question 1

What 3 main problems did taylor identify ?

Answer 1

¥ Systematic and natural soldiering
¥ Union militancy and collective decision making
¥ ‘Rule of the Thumb’ and idiosyncratic methods

Question 2

What are the 4 principles of scientific management ?

Answer 2

1. Scientific job design- ach task is carefully analyzed and redesigned according to scientific principles to make it as efficient as possible
2. Scientific Selection and Training of Workers-
   Management matches each workers to job for which they are best suited
3. Cooperation Between Management & Workers-Managers provide supportive work environment to use SM approach
4. Management has responsibility for designing and planning tasks; workers execute them according to scientific design

Question 3

What does Scientific management result in ?

Answer 3

De-skilling due to principle of maximum fragmentation.

Question 4

What are 4 criticisms of scientific management ?

Answer 4

1. Separation of conception of work from its execution
2. Individual workers as unit of analysis, neglects social/group dimension of work
3. Paternalistic view of workers as lazy and solely motivated by money, ignoring psychological needs of workers.
4. Taylor operated with a limited conception of communication as being ‘top down’, limiting possibilities for ‘shop floor’ innovation

Question 5

What is the key difference between taylorism and fordism ?

Answer 5

fordism is much like Taylorism, but here the emphasis is on techologising (where possible) tasks to make them more efficient

Question 6

What are 5 features of fordist organisations ?

Answer 6

1. Highly bureaucratic structure
2. Highly differentiated labor process ( unskilled/semiskilled jobs)
3. Large economies of scale/ mass production principles
4. Standardization of products
5. Stable, lifetime employment and the $5 wage

Question 7

What are the 4 principles of mcdonaldization ?

Answer 7

1. Efficiency: high speed of product manufacture or service provision
2. Calculability: high value and minimum waste
3. Predictability: of product or service irrespective of time or location
4. Control: staff perform a limited range of tasks in precisely detailed way.