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Frederick Taylor and organizational theory
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The following essay will define what rational organisation design is and how it can be used in business to both cut costs and give increased control to management as well as giving reference to important figures who relate to the systems development. Both the benefits and drawbacks of rational organisation will be explored with both theoretical and real life examples. The conclusion will highlight how rational organisation can be implemented into Junction Hotel and the extent to which it is desirable. “Management is a process of planning, organisation, command, coordination, and control” (Morgan 2006, p.18). Rational organisation design is a bureaucratic method of management which emphasizes efficiency to achieve the end goal and the management of multiple companies have taken upon this system. Figures such as Frederick Taylor and Henry Ford have both shown and laid a path way for Rational Organisation which has become known as Taylorism and Fordism. The design has received criticism and both Taylor and Ford have been portrayed as villains with Taylor being called “enemy of the working man” (Morgan 2006, p.23) as the system dehumanised workers by taking all of the thought and skill from them and giving it to the managers this is because the tasks given were simple and repetitive. As staff needed little training they became an easily replaceable asset and thus more machine than human. Rational organisation can and has reduced costs and gave management a greater control over the workforce. With bureaucratic methods workers can be monitored to make sure that they are achieving output targets and new methods to increase efficiency can be recorded and then implemented to the workforce. McDonalds undertakes a very strong rational... ... middle of paper ... ...ganisation is desirable and the extent to which it can be used throughout the business. Works Cited MORGAN, G (2006) Images of Organization London: Sage (Ch. 2 – ‘Mechanization Takes Command’) RITZER, G (2008) The McDonaldisation of Society (5th edition) London: Sage. (Ch. 3 – Efficiency) DONKIN, R (2001) Blood, Sweat and Tears: The Evolution of Work London: Texere. (Ch. 11 – Western Electric Discovers Motivation). COGHLAN, D (1994) ‘Managing organizational change through groups and teams,’ Leadership and Organization Development Journal 15(2): 18-23 ANON (2010) ‘Bureaucracy hampers social workers,’ BBC News [Online], 28 July 2010. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-10788737 DAVIS, Evan (2007), ‘Value Engineering’, BBC News [Online], Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/evandavis/2007/05/value_engineering.html
Also Qantas was running with an autocratic leadership style meaning autocratic managers like to make all the important decisions and closely supervise and control workers. Managers do not trust workers and simply give orders (one-way communication) that they expect to be obeyed. This approach derives from the views of Taylor as to how to motivate workers and relates to McGregor’s theory X view of workers. This approach has limitations but it can be effective in certain situations.
Spector, B. (2013). Implementing organizational change: theory into practice. (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ
sociologist George Ritzer argues that the relationship between McDonald’s and our society runs even deeper. Beyond its commercial propaganda and symbolism, Ritzer says, McDonald’s is a potent manifestation of the rational processes that define modern society.
Graetz, F., & Smith, A. C. T. (June 2010). Managing organizational change: A philosophies of change approach. Journal of Change Management 10(2), 135–154.
Many comparisons can be made between the two theories, such as the mechanisation, fragmentation and specialisation of work and that a lack of intellectual or skilled content will speed up the work at hand. Fordism's mechanisation of mass production further emphasised many of Taylor's popular beliefs about management being divorced from human affairs and emotions, using 'humans as instruments or machines to be manipulated by their leaders' (Hersey p.84). Fordism fused and emphasised the scientific methods to get things done by Ford's successful mass-production processes. Contrasts also exist between the two theories. Fordism dehumanisied the worker whereas scientific management convinced the workers that their goals could be readily achieved along with their employers goals, therefore they should all work together in this direction. Fordism suited industrial companies participating in mass production, whereas Scientific Management could be used in many types of organisation. Large companies such as Ford Motors, The Reichskuratorium fur Wirtschaftkichkeit (RKW) in Germany examples these theories in practice. These theories of the past are lessons for the way modern organisations are run today. Managers now realise that they should treat their workers more democratically and since the mid-70's, sweeping changes in markets and technology have encouraged managers and manufacturers to use greater product diversity and more flexible methods of production. Movements towards a more flexible organisation have become apparent. Examples of orgainisations such as Nissan, NASA and Toyota serve as modern day examples of post-Fordism and depict movement towards a modified Scientific Management.
Malone, Elizabeth, and George Ritzer. "Globalization Theory: Lessons from the Exportation of McDonaldization and the New Means of Consumption." Amerstud (2008): 97-112. Web. 26 Apr 2011. .
Jones, G. R. (2010). Organizational theory, design, and change. 6th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
Robbins, S. Judge T. 2012, Groups in the organizations, Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 12(12): 188.
As the popularity of systematic management rose, there were many organizations that were implementing its main features such as employment of more unskilled workers and work standardization methods (Thompson and Mchugh, 2009, p.28 a). It had several features, a few of which included focusing on the manner in which production took place, being precise about how the activities were going about and to ensure that productivity and overall efficiency improved. Thus, the primary focus was on methods of production as compared to the end result of the production activity. This is when the role of Taylorism came about. Frederick Winslow Taylor, a name that transformed the management scheme forever. Also known as the Father of scientific management, Taylor was the brain behind recognizing the need for efficiency in the workplace. He first started off with his research at Midvale Steel Works, where he meticulously observed the workers and in order to develop his principles and theories with the prime focus of constructing a way to have full control over the activities taking place (Thompson and Mchugh, 2009, p.28 a).
“ Organizations are collectivities oriented to the pursuit of relatively specific goals and exhibiting relatively highly formalized social structures” (page 29). The rational system is a group of individuals, bound together as an organization, designed to reach predetermined goals. The rational system models sees organizations as a mechanical model. A machine that has multiple parts that also works individually but also work together for the better good of the whole. All the individuals of the group can be replaced with a new one if it doesn’t meet the standards of
...ople for stability. In this todays modernised world, change has become inevitable and there is no doubt that change has to occur in order to survive and achieve success through a number of ways such as focusing on internal strengths, exploiting external forces and making potential threats into opportunities. In the long run, there are clearly more benefits rather than disadvantages because change does not have to be met with negativity. It needs to be embraced through cooperation between managers and employees, clear organisational culture and rewards that improve performance that are not based on tightly structured procedures. Ultimately, overcoming the difficulties of organisational change shows how management systems and people rewarded for stability is not just black and white but is shades of grey and how it is approached will determine its success or failure.
Latham, G. P. (2007). Work motivation: History, theory, research, and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Hedberg, B., Nystrom, P., & Starbuck, W. Camping on seesaws: Prescriptions for a self-designing organisation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 1976, 21, 41-65.
Cummings, T. G. & Worley, C. G. (2001). Organizational development and change (7th ed.). Ohio, USA: South-Western College Publishing.
The fast food restaurant Burger King uses Scientific Management by following a ‘one best way’ method of doing tasks, implemented by Taylor as an advanced form of standardised production. This includes scientifically hiring, training and developing each employee, encouraging a ‘work-for-reward’ based mind-set, and dividing workload between managers and workers fairly with regards to specific roles. This provides a stable working environment where workers work harder under better working conditions. Burger King shows evidence of a modern organisations that can reflect the scientific management principles; as Burger King consists of a system that offers rewards to employees for meeting the objective goals. Taylor stated that if workers are given no incentives despite putting in more effort, workers will be discouraged to work. Burger King uses a competitive wage and promotion programme where hard work is recognised and rewarded. Regular monitoring of performance and pushing for improvement avoids ‘under working’. Therefore, creating supervisors and leaders ensure discipline and makes a business perform well. The challenges that encouraged Taylor’s time and motion studies is still present within organisations today. However, management has developed new ways of encouraging output. In today’s business organisations employers are more concerned with ‘performance’ rather than