Management Theory of Frederick Taylor

FREDERICK W. TAYLOR

Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915) rested his philosophy on four basic principles:

1. The development of a true science of management, so that the best method for performing each task could be determined.

2. The scientific selection of workers, so that each worker would be given responsibility for the task for which he or she was best suited.

3. The scientific education and development of the worker.

4. Intimate, friendly cooperation between management and labor.

Taylor contended that the success of these principles required "a complete mental revolution" on the part of management and labor. Rather than quarrel over profits, both sides should try to increase production; by so doing, he believed, profits would rise to such an extent that labor and management would no longer have to fight over them. In short, Taylor believed that management and labor had a common interest in increasing productivity.

Taylor based his management system on production-line time studies. Instead of relying on traditional work methods, he analyzed and timed steel workers' movements on a series of jobs. Using time study as his base, he broke each job down into its components and designed the quickest and best methods of performing each component. In this way he established how much workers should be able to do with the equipment and materials at hand. He also encouraged employers to pay more productive workers at a higher rate than others, using a "scientifically correct" rate that would benefit both company and worker. Thus, workers were urged to surpass their previous performance standards to earn more pay Taylor called his plan the differential rate system.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT THEORY

The modem assembly line pours out finished products faster than Taylor could ever have imagined. This production "miracle" is just one legacy of scientific management. In addition, its efficiency techniques have been applied to many tasks in non-industrial organizations, ranging from fast-food service to the training of surgeons.

LIMITATIONS OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT THEORY

Although Taylor's method led to dramatic increases in productivity and to higher pay in a number of instances, workers and unions began to oppose his approach because they feared that working harder or faster would exhaust whatever work was available, causing layoffs.

Moreover, Taylor's system clearly meant that time was of the essence. His critics objected to the "speed up" conditions that placed undue pressures on employees to perform at faster and faster levels.