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Introduction principles of management
Management: science, theory, and practice
Introduction principles of management
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The central theme of this essay will deal with the role of Taylorism or scientific management in a specific organization. The primary focus will be to critically discuss how the various methods of scientific management are applicable to the chosen organization, which in this case will be Ford Motors. The essay will describe F.W. Taylor's early work life and techniques of scientific management and its success. It will then go on to discuss the production methods at Ford Motors prior and post the application of the management principles along with their benefits and criticisms. 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). While conducting his research, he noticed a phenome... ... middle of paper ... ...tated that it had a significant impact on the work methods at Ford Motors. Taylor's presence made it possible to maximize workers efficiency and productivity in the manufacturing process at Ford Motors through introduction of novel working styles. Through application of the scientific management principles, production increased and massively benefited the company. However, despite the numerous advantages Taylor brought to the company, the success of Ford cannot solely be attributed to Taylor. This conclusion can be drawn due to the fact that although the management principles were applied, they weren’t followed to the core as various flaws were spotted while putting the principles to work. Dehumanization and worker dissatisfaction were the two main features that were observed during the production phases. Thus, the need to shift from pure Taylorism was experienced.
Taylorism is a system that was designed in the late 19th century, not only to maximise managerial control, but to also expand the levels of efficiency throughout workplaces. With this being said, productivity levels increased and fair wage distribution was the main result. However, with other, more recent theories and systems, such as Maslow and Herzburg’s theories, these helped to focus on the satisfaction and motivation of the workers rather than the concern of managerial control and empowerment. Fredrick W. Taylor ended up developing 4 main principles to help increase the work efficiency and productivity in workplaces; these will be discussed later on. Other theories relating to this include, Fayol, Follett, Management Science Theory as well as Organisational-Environmental Theory. All theories listed have an influence on the way businesses work effectively and put their skills to action. This essay will highlight how Taylorism was designed to maximise managerial control and increase productivity, furthermore, showing how more recent theories were developed to focus on empowering employees and to extend the use of organisational resources.
Taylorism uses managers to find the most effective process and then design optimal methods of procedure for workers to follow step by step, exactly how it is now done at McDonalds. The control principle of Ritzer's theory al...
In my essay we will take a look at Frederick Taylors principles of scientific management and his contribution to manufacturing and the influence he has had. We will use Ford as the organization as Fordism I closely linked to Taylorism and has been majorly influenced by it. The U.S. motor vehicle industry emerged at the end of the 19th century as a craft production system with a labor force that included skilled workers who had knowledge about mechanical design and the materials they were working with. After World War I, Henry Ford invented the mass production system (now known as Fordism). In his system, the product, the production process, and the tasks that each particular worker performed were standardized.
“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.
Based on research so far in this essay, it seems that the whole reason behind Frederick Taylor’s theory is that he tends to aim for making the most of his employees, to work to their highest standards for a successful company. When we look at the Ryanair case study on Management, D. Boddy pg 23 we can see that one of the key points is that the staff must turn an aircraft round between the flights in a matter of 25 minutes, which has a positive effect on increasing revenue. However, this leaves the employees under pressure, but this also tells us that the Ryanair organisation makes the most out of their employees, just like Frederick Taylor’s theory. Getting these tasks completed by the employees is all in the manager’s responsibility, Ryanair regulates their staff so that the managers are held responsible for providing the strategies for the employees as mentioned in the case study on Management, D. Boddy pg 23.
Fordism and Scientific Management are terms used to describe management that had application to practical situations with extremely dramatic effects. Fordism takes its name from the mass production units of Henry Ford, and is identified by an involved technical division of labour within companies and their production units. Other characteristics of Fordism include strong hierarchical control, with workers in a production line often restricted to the one single task, usually specialised and unskilled. Scientific management, on the other hand, "originated" through Fredrick Winslow Taylor in 1911, and in very basic terms described the one best way work could be done and that the best way to improve output was to improve the techniques or methods used by the workers. (Robbins p.38)
Frederick Taylor and Henri Fayol are both considered classical contributors to management theory. Both were developing and expression their viewpoints at similar time period with the aim of “raising standard of management in industry” (Brodie,1967, p7) in a period were very few publications and theories on management. While both theories were developed with the same influencing factors such as war, social struggles and industrial revolution (Urwick. 1951, p7) each developed quite different management theories. Frederick Taylor is considered the Father of Scientific management and he developed scientific principles of management, focusing on the individual,...
Today’s era of business world adapts to everything new but these modern concepts are an indirect tribute to the theories produced by Taylor, Fayol, Mayo and Weber. Taylor’s Scientific management theory is one such example which has become such an important aspects of modern management that it feels unbelievable that his concepts were a part of the history. It is falsely assumed that as the society progresses, the older theories tend to lose their importance. The thing to be noted here is that these theories are based on basic human needs which do not change with time; the thing that changes is the method to fulfil those needs. Investigating earlier management theories is important because these theories are less complex and provide immediate solution to the problems. These theories basically help us to go to the root of the problem and understand its complexity. The better understanding we have about the problem, the easier it is to accomplish the objectives of the company. The following essay states the importance of the Taylor’s Scientific management theory and how it is implemented even today in the business world.
There are several theories that examine an organization and it’s approach to managing work in an effort to develop efficiency and increase production. Two classical approaches to management are Taylor’s scientific management theory and Weber's bureaucratic management theory. Both men are considered pioneers of in the study of management.
The concept of scientific management is based on the idea that work could be studied to increase efficiency, and specialization. Economist Adam Smith changed the way the world looked at the economy and organization. In his essay, “Of the Division of Labour,” Smith emphasizes the importance of specialization, and how division of labor leads to specialization. He states that this would allow a worker to be more productive and efficient (Shafritz, Ott, & Jang, 2011, p. 41-45). Frederick Taylor introduced the principles of scientific management, which stated that management is a science, workers should be scientifically selected and trained scientifically, and both management and workers should work together.
Frederick Taylor thought that changes in the work process and/or rules would advance efficiency and productivity. He originated the scientific management approach in public administration. It was based on the idea that work processes should be observed via experiments which would greatly improve productivity. It would do so by doing away with the rule of thumb work methods and replacing them with the results of actual timed observations (14). The application of the scientific approach to management methods would lead to optimizing task time by simplifying the job. It would mean observing work processes to find the one best way to perform each job (15). Once the best way was discovered, all employees were to use it. The simplification of the job would improve task time. This method would lead to increased productivity, higher wag...
Taylor, Frederick Winslow (1911). The Principles of Scientific Management. New York, NY, US and London, UK: Harper & Brothers. Print. 8 Feb. 2014.
Scientific Management theory arose from the need to increase productivity in the U.S.A. especially, where skilled labor was in short supply at the beginning of the twentieth century. The only way to expand productivity was to raise the efficiency of workers.
In the past, managers considered workers as machinery that could be bought and sold easily. To increase production, workers were subjected to long hours, miserable wages and undesirable working conditions. The welfare of the workers and their need were disregarded. The early twentieth century brought about a change in management and scientific management was introduced. This sort of management, started by Frederick Winslow Taylor, emphasised that the best way to increase the volume of output was to have workers specializing in specific tasks just like how a certain machine would perform a particular function. His implementation of this theory brought about tremendous criticism by the masses arguing that the fundamentals of Scientific Management were to exploit employees rather than to benefit them (Mullins, 2005)
Frederick Taylor’s view is refer to the scientific management, he focused on the relationship between workers and production systems. He also developed a theory of organizations which ‘altered the personalized autocracy which had only been tempered by varying degrees of benevolence, such as in the Quaker family businesses of Cadbury's and Clark's.’ (http://www.accel-team.com/scientific/scientific_02.html)