Frederick W. Taylor's The Father Of Scientific Management And Strategic Management

1. Introduction

What is Strategic Management?

“Strategy” is an action oriented involves goal directed setting and integrate an organization’s skills and resources with the opportunities and threats in its environment.

“Strategic Management” is a continuous process for situation analysis and strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation for an organization to meet its goals and objectives. It is also consideration of resources and an assessment of the internal and external environments of the organization competes. (wikipedia, 2015)

Early Management thinking

During 1960s, the term “strategy” was primarily a matter for the military used in wars and politics, not in the business. (wikipedia, 2015) Early leaders used authority and strong

The first entrepreneurs were business owners used their own finances resources to support organization that they managed themselves. Because of industrial growth rapidly and complexity, can saw the formation of large company became scarce of capital and often supplied by outsiders. It splits between owner/shareholders and management gradually become common. It also brought a new management challenges. (B., 2009)

Scientific Management

One of the early contributors of management theory and known as “The Father of Scientific Management” was Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915), a mechanical engineer who deemed work deserving of systematic observation and study.

Taylor’s the Scientific Management approach show that precise procedures develop from a scientific observation of working environment can improve the productivity. He observed the machines and workers perform tasks, measure and analyse each of the work. After that, managers adequately equipped to supervise each phase of the production process. This approach standardized labour, training and provides incentive to motivate employees to achieve higher productivity.

The Principle of Scientific Management

In 1911, Taylor published his work, The Principle of Scientific Management in which he described how the scientific approach to the management of worker could improve

Therefore, Taylor compensation plans included piece rates. To against soldering and improve efficiency, Taylor conducted time and motion studies. It is management to find the best method to complete each task through a time and motion study, train the worker and keep individual records for incentive based pay. These studies were use a stopwatch to record worker’s sequence of motion, with the goal of determine the one best way to perform a task. Taylor provides some case studies to support his case: pig iron, the science of shovelling and Bricklaying. (wikipedia, Scientific management, 2015)

Disadvantage of Scientific Management

While highly successful, this approach did not consideration the diversity of abilities and needs within the workforce. The core job dimensions of autonomy, task identity, skill variety, and feedback were disappeared from the scientific management.

After implement the scientific management, workers became dissatisfied with the work environment and it also lowered workers morale and increase existing conflicts between labour and management. The use of stopwatches was an objection issue and led to refusal to work at factory when “scientific management” was being tested. As a consequence, this approach causes reinforce labour unions and their bargaining power in labour disputes.

2. Strategic Management