Taylor

Scientific Management

Frederick W. Taylor was a central figure in the development of management thought. He is the father of the Scientific Management which is a tool of greater productivity, bigger purchasing power and a higher standard of living. His work is truly revolutionary, he sowed the seeds of employee selection and training, job design, inventory control, and wage and salary administration and his insights have been widely used in enterprises.

Taylor had a scientific approach to managerial decision making, which meant that the decision was made based on proven facts and the management also approached his job scientifically. Taylor believed that both the management and labour would benefit from the higher production, lower costs and higher wages. Taylor advocated the rule of knowledge and believed that orders should be issued on the basis of specialised knowledge rather than based on position or title, thus he fully rejected authoritarianism.

Taylor’s techniques:

A: Today well accepted

1. Time and motion study:

He measured the distances the workers and materials traveled and drew the conclusion that a large effort and material was wasted because of the improper management. Then he suggested to break down the work task into its constituent elements or motions in order to eliminate wasted motions. This method now is routinely used in industrialised countries.

2. Standardised Tools and Procedures:

The Standardisation of the design and use of tools in order to increase effectiveness was based on experiments. This principle is still valid today.

3. The Task- Management system (Goal setting)

The essential ingredients in this system were time study and the development of performance standards and the selection of workers who could meet those standards when motivated by a different pay plan. In other words he would assign each day to each worker a specific task and give detailed instructions and time allowance for their...