Principles of Scientific Management

Since its inception in 1911 Scientific Management has soared to incredible heights, spread across the entire world as an expert`s way to make the most out of the time an employee. Before I begin analysing its use today it`s important to first establish what Scientific Management means. It is defined concisely in the business dictionary as “an early 20th century school of management thought concerned primarily with the physical efficiency of an individual worker” that “emphasises the rationalization and standardisation of work through the division of labour, time and motion studies, work measurement and piece rate wages” (businessdictionary.com,2014)

The four overriding principles of scientific management are that:

After intense scientific analysis of an individual`s work from management, the most effective method for doing the work is set out. This is regarded as the one and only best way of doing the job. The analysis involves considers the environment needed to perform the work, and measuring the maximum amount that the ideal employee can do in order to constitute a good day`s work. Employees are then expected to deliver this much work every day.

The most suitable person to do the job is selected. The worker is taught to do the job in the exact same way as the scientific method describes. It is the mangers role to find out which job suited each employee and train them until they were first-class.

Managers must communicate effectively and constantly with workers to ensure the job is done in the best scientific way to which it was assigned to them.

There is a clear division of work and responsibility between the management and workers involved in the firm. Workers simply carry out the work while managers are concerned only with th...

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...enced. They also are required to deal with any complaints, deliveries or any other extraordinary events that goes on in the work place. This leaves all the actual production of the products down to the employees. Their work is in this way still separated showing Scientific Management is still at large today.

Conclusion

In spite of what others might think I feel that my investigation into Scientific Management`s rise and its` current has shown how influential it has been both in the past and today as well as how it will be an ever-present in the future to the companies that still employ its theories. It has been the backbone behind the development, profitability and the stability of some of the biggest companies in the world and to say that it does not portray itself still today as much as it did back when it began would be a huge stretch of a person`s imagination.